The cost-of-living crisis, a consequence of inflation exacerbated by the war in Ukraine and the post-Covid reopening of the economy, is the number one global risk for the next two years, according to a World Economic Forum survey.
Ce risque, qui crée de fortes tensions dans de nombre uses regions du mundo en faisant basculer des millions de personnes dans la grande pauvreté tout en attisant les tensions sociétales, dépasse celui des desastres naturales et vénements climatiques extrêmes, toutefois identifiés como le plus fort risque de Long-term.
“Geoeconomic conflicts and tensions have unleashed a series of deeply interconnected planetary risks,” according to a statement for the launch of the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2023, a survey of 1,200 experts and policymakers released Wednesday.
A risk undermining climate efforts
These risks include “pressure on energy and food supplies, expected to last for the next two years, and sharp increases in the cost of living crisis and the cost of debt” due to a rise in energy prices. and interest rates, the statement continued.
They “damage efforts to combat other long-term threats, mainly climate change” and the collapse of biodiversity, the statement continues, 5 days before the start of the great annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, which takes place in Davos on starting January 16. to 20
The report, produced in partnership with insurance and risk management consultancy Marsh McLennan and insurer Zurich Insurance Group, calls for swift global collaborative action amid “rapidly shrinking windows of action.”
The threat of geopolitical rivalries
“The global pandemic and the war in Europe have revealed the energy, inflationary, food and security crises”, the press release develops, which also mentions the risk of “societies polarized by disinformation and bad information” or even “geo-economic wars”.
“Unless the world begins to collaborate effectively in moderation (of climate change) and climate adaptation, the next ten years will bring more global warming and ecological collapse,” the text underlines.
At the same time, crises linked to geopolitical rivalries between different countries “threaten to create social distress at an unprecedented level, as investments in health, education and economic development disappear, further eroding social cohesion.”
The specter of a resumption of armaments
Another damaging consequence of these rivalries: a resurgence of weaponization and militarization, particularly through new technologies or rogue actors,” the report concludes.
At a press conference in London, one of the leaders of the World Economic Forum, Saadia Zahidi, stressed that experts and officials interviewed during the survey believed that traditional conflicts had become less risky compared to geo-economic wars (sanctions, trade ). barriers, etc.) or IT.
“The nature of the conflict is changing,” he said. “That’s not to say we shouldn’t worry, because for the first time in a long time military spending has seen a small but marked increase in many major economies,” he said.
Source: BFM TV
