Environmental risks now a shorter-term concern, says WEF

Environmental risks have moved from a long-term concern to a much shorter-term issue according to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) latest Global Risks Report.

This year’s Global Risks Perception Survey (GRPS), part of the report, highlights that environmental problems, from extreme weather to pollution, are here now and the need to implement solutions is urgent.

The report notes that the outlook for environmental risks over the next decade is alarming. “While all 33 risks in the GRPS are expected to worsen in severity from the two-year to the ten-year time horizon, environmental risks present the most significant deterioration. Extreme weather events are anticipated to become even more of a concern than they already are, with this risk being top ranked in the ten-year risk list for the second year running,” it says.

Similarly, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse ranks second over the ten-year horizon, with a significant deterioration compared to its two-year ranking.

In terms of immediate concerns, for the year ahead, extreme weather events is ranked second behind state-based armed conflict, with 14% of respondents selecting it as top risk of 2025. Extreme weather also ranked second over the short term (two years). Extreme weather events remain a persistent concern year-on-year – the risk was also ranked second last year

Environmental risks dominate the long-term (ten-year) global risks landscape according to the GRPS. In fact, nearly all environmental risks are included in the top ten, says the report. Extreme weather events are anticipated to become even more severe, with the risk ranked first over the next decade for the second year running.

Biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse ranks second, up from third last year and with a significant deterioration compared to its two-year ranking (21st). Critical change to Earth systems third, natural resource shortages fourth and pollution tenth complete what the WEF calls “the very bleak outlook for environmental risks”.

The report notes that for the short term (two years), pollution is ranked sixth, up four places from last year’s report. “The uptick in pollution demonstrates that environmental risks that are often perceived as long-term threats are starting to be perceived with more certainty by respondents as short-term realities, as their effects become more apparent,” says the WEF.

The report includes a special section on pollution, noting the different types of pollutant, including air pollutants including particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide, as well as black carbon, more commonly known as soot, and methane, as well as water pollutants such as PFAS, micro- and nanoplastics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

The WEF report calls for a “pollution-conscious green transition”. It adds: “Some of the pollutants that must be accounted for in that transition are newer or emerging, not well understood, or do not yet have enough evidence of their potential impacts. Different pollutants tend to come under the regulatory spotlight only as our awareness of their profound long-term impacts on health and ecosystems grows. Better understanding these pollutants and their impacts is a first step towards both targeted policies and adaptive strategies.”

The report calls for improved monitoring, reporting and evaluation systems, noting a lack of reliable data on health risks including reproductive and developmental toxicity and longer-term effects of low-level exposures.

It also says there is a need for strengthened regulatory frameworks, stating: “To mitigate the health and ecosystem impacts of pollutants, more holistic and pre-emptive regulatory action is needed.”

The WEF report also calls for the unlocking of ambitious funding, since chronic underfunding of initiatives on pollution persists, and says public-private collaboration in this area to unlock ambitious funding can help turn pollution challenges into opportunities.

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