World Economic Forum analyses the world’s greatest threats in 2021
The Global Risks Report 2021 is the 16th edition of the Forum’s annual analysis and looks back at a year ravaged by a global pandemic, economic downturn, political turmoil and the ever-worsening climate crisis.
The report explores how countries and businesses can act in the face of these risks.
Unsurprisingly, one of the big changes between this year and last, in terms of risks, has been brought about by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The risk posed by infectious diseases is now ranked at number one, while in 2020 it came in 10th place.
Widespread effects
“The immediate human and economic costs of COVID-19 are severe,” the report says. “They threaten to scale back years of progress on reducing global poverty and inequality and further damage social cohesion and global cooperation.”
For those reasons, the pandemic demonstrates why infectious diseases hits the top of the impact list.
Not only has COVID-19 led to widespread loss of life, it is holding back economic development in some of the poorest parts of the world, while amplifying wealth inequalities across the globe.
At the same time, there are concerns the fight against the pandemic is taking resources away from other critical health challenges – including a disruption to measles vaccination programmes.
Main risks
These are the TOP RISKS by impact:
- Infectious diseases
- Climate action failure
- Weapons of mass destruction
- Biodiversity loss
- Natural resource crises
- Human environmental damage
- Livelihood crises
- Extreme weather
- Debt crisis
- IT Infraestructure breakdown
