All of the top five risks facing the world are now linked to
the climate crisis, according to the World Economic Forum.
Extreme weather events, major biodiversity loss and a
failure to halt global warming are the biggest threats concerning hundreds of
key decision makers, a poll by the WEF found.
It is the first time in 15 years of carrying out the
research that climate change has dominated the list of risks, underlining how
the environment has shot up the agenda for the world’s elite in a year of
record-breaking temperatures and unprecedented wildfires, alongside
high-profile activism from the likes of Greta Thunberg and Extinction
Rebellion.
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| Global risk to the world economy |
Tackling the crisis will be made even more difficult by an
increasingly polarised and fragmented political landscape, which could hinder
the kind of collaboration required, the WEF’s report warned.
“The political landscape is polarised, sea levels are rising
and climate fires are burning,” said Borge Brende, president of the World
Economic Forum.
The research found a generational divide, with younger
respondents even more alarmed by the state of the planet.
Almost nine in 10 of those born since 1980 believe extreme
heat waves, destruction of ecosystems and health impacted by pollution will be
aggravated this year, compared to seven in 10 of those born before 1980.
The research is published as global business leaders,
financiers and politicians prepare to attend next week’s WEF summit in Davos,
Switzerland. This year’s event has been billed this year as a “carbon-neutral”
event thanks to a range of schemes to offset emissions.
Silvia Dall'Angelo, senior economist at Hermes Investment
Management said it was “refreshing” to see the Davos community highlight
environmental risks as more important than economic and geopolitical concerns.
However, she cautioned that all three strands were closely
intertwined and could not be dealt with separately.
“Rising global temperatures, which are on track to increase
by at least 3 C by the end of the century, twice the level deemed safe by
climate experts, imply loss of life, heightened social and geopolitical
tensions and a negative economic impact.”
Environmental campaigners expressed scepticism that Davos’
clientele were taking the action required to halt climate change.
“It’s not enough to identify how grave the climate emergency
is,” said Paul Morozzo, climate finance campaigner at Greenpeace.
“The banks and financial institutions jetting into Davos
next week have made trillions pumping money into climate crashing fuels like
oil, gas and coal.
“It’s time to stop funding the crisis and start backing the
solutions. That means immediately ending support for fossil fuels we cannot
afford to burn.
John Drzik, chairman of Marsh & McLennan Insights, which
helped compile the research, said companies must do more to prevent climate
change.
“There is mounting pressure on companies from investors,
regulators, customers, and employees to demonstrate their resilience to rising
climate volatility," he said.
“High profile events, like recent wildfires in Australia and
California, are adding pressure on companies to take action on climate risk at
a time when they also face greater geopolitical and cyber risk challenges.”
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