On the 11th of January, the World Economic Forum released the Global Risks Report 2023, exploring some of the most severe risks the world may face over the next decade. Among the top 10 risks in the long term (10 years), “Biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse” is enlisted in the 4th place.
Indeed, climate and environmental risks are the core focus of global risks perceptions over the next decade – and are the risks for which people are less prepared. The lack of meaningful, concerted progress on climate action targets has exposed the divergence between what is scientifically necessary to achieve net zero and what is politically feasible. As current crises divert resources from risks arising over the medium to longer term, the burdens on natural ecosystems will grow, given their undervalued role in the global economy and overall planetary health. Nature loss and climate change are intrinsically interlinked – a failure in one sphere will cascade into the other.
Without significant policy change or investment, the interplay between climate change impacts, biodiversity loss, food security and natural resource consumption will accelerate ecosystem collapse, threaten food supplies and livelihoods in climate-vulnerable economies, amplify the consequences of natural disasters, and limit further progress on climate mitigation.
Read more at Global Risks Report 2023 | World Economic Forum | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
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