Categories: Ranks & Reports

World Economic Forum releases “The Global Risks Report 2020”: Key takeaways from the report

The World Economic Forum has released the “The Global Risks Report 2020“. The Global Risks Report 2020 is the 15th edition of the WEF’s Global Risks Report prepared in partnership with Marsh & McLennan and Zurich Insurance Group. The Global Risks Report 2020 is a part of the WEF’s Global Risks Initiative. The report states the major risks to be faced in the coming year by the world. It also stated the need of multistakeholder approach to address the greatest challenges of the world. The WEF report is a compilation of the risks data, Global Risks Perception Survey (GRPS) being the source of all the data. GPRS harnessed the skillset of the Forum’s extensive network of business, government, civil society and thought leaders. GPRS collected the data through a survey among the World Economic Forum’s multistakeholder communities, the professional networks of its Advisory Board, and members of the Institute of Risk Management. The survey was conducted by GPRS from 5 September to 22 October 2019.

Key takeaways from the report:

According to the Global Risks Report 2020, a “global risk” is defined as an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, can cause significant negative impact for several countries or industries within the next 10 years.
The report has placed ‘failure to mitigate and adapt to climate change’ as the number one risk by impact and number two by likelihood over the next 10 years.

Here is the list of the “top 10 risks by likelihood (stated by multistakeholders)” and “top 10 risks by impact (stated by multistakeholders)” to be faced by the world in 2020:

S.No.	Top 10 risks by “Impact”	S.No.	Top 10 risks by “Likelihood”
1	Climate action failure	1	Extreme Weather
2	Weapons of mass destruction	2	Climate action failure
3	Biodiversity loss	3	Natural disaster
4	Extreme weather	4	Biodiversity loss
5	Water crises	5	Human-made environmental disasters
6	Information infrastructure breakdown	6	Data fraud or theft
7	Natural disasters	7	Cyberattacks
8	Cyberattacks	8	Water crises
9	Human-made environmental disasters	9	Global Governance failure
10	Infectious diseases	10	Asset Bubble

Here is the complete list of Short-Term Risk Outlook (stated by multistakeholders):

S.No.	Short Term Risk Outlook
1	Economic confrontations
2	Domestic political polarization
3	Extreme heat waves
4	Destruction of natural ecosystems
5	Cyberattacks: infrastructure
6	Protectionism on trade/investment
7	Populist and nativist agendas
8	Cyberattacks: theft of money/data
9	Recession in a major economy
10	Uncontrolled fires