Climate change and cyber threats among biggest risks in 2019, World Economic Forum warns

Climate change and evolving cyber threats are among the biggest risks in 2019, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has warned.

But the organisation said geopolitical tensions, such as the US-China trade dispute, were hindering the fight against climate change and could impact global growth in the coming year.

The WEF’s global risks report – ahead of its annual gathering of world leaders and business figures in Davos next week – called for greater collaboration between nations.

A survey of 1,000 decision-makers from the public and private sectors as well as academia found that the threat of extreme weather events and climate change were the biggest risks, followed by large data thefts and large-scale cyber attacks.

“2018 was sadly a year of historic wildfires, continued heavy flooding and increasing greenhouse gas emissions,” Alison Martin chief risk officer at Zurich Insurance Group said.

“It is no surprise that in 2019, environmental concerns once again dominate the list of major concerns.”

She added that the world was “sleepwalking into catastrophe” and called on businesses to adopt climate resilience strategies and urged policymakers to invest in infrastructure to aid the transition to a low-carbon economy.

WEF president Borge Brende the world must be prepared for an increased misuse of technology, highlighted by the Gatwick drone incident.

Cyber risked jumped in prominence in the survey’s 10-year outlook following a number of data breaches and frauds.

Brende added that international cooperation was crucial to prolong growth for as long as possible before a potential recession.

He said: “We simply do not have the gunpowder to deal with the kind of slowdown that current dynamics might lead us towards.

“What we need now is coordinated, concerted action to sustain growth and to tackle the grave threats facing our world today.”