World Economic Forum Report: Environmental Issues Identified as Greatest Global Threat

The World Economic Forum released its annual report on the eve of the Davos summit in Switzerland. In the report on “global threats” compiled based on the views of 750 experts, environmental issues have been identified as the greatest threat in the world.

In the World Economic Forum’s survey released on Wednesday, December 25 (January 15) for the fifteenth time, respondents were asked about the greatest risks threatening the world. According to the assessment of survey participants, numbering 750 people, the environment is considered the “most important and greatest global threat” in the long term.

Survey participants are concerned that environmental problems will jeopardize the growth and development of Earth.

Respondents’ primary concern regarding threats in the next 10 years is climate change and environmental problems. A section of the report emphasized: “Climate change will occur more severely and rapidly than expected. The hottest days on record globally have been recorded in the past five years. Humanity has experienced the greatest natural disasters in the past five years.”

Another concern of World Economic Forum survey participants is “the extinction of various animal and plant species.” According to this survey, the rate of extinction of some animal and plant species is thousands of times higher than the average that has occurred over the past 10 million years. The report warns that the extinction of animal and plant species will have significant consequences for the world and humanity.

In the aforementioned report, economic and political dangers are also considered part of global threats, which reduces the capacity of governments and global society to respond appropriately to widespread environmental damage.

The World Economic Forum report also addresses short-term threats for 2020. In the report on the current year, economic war tops the list of global threats. Internal conflicts are also ranked as the next global threat.

This report discussed the unstable geopolitical situation in the current year and criticized the fact that countries worldwide are increasingly viewing opportunities and threats unilaterally. The report also warned about nationalist approaches that pay little attention to geopolitical consequences.