World Economic Forum
“Committed to improving the state of the world.”
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| World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland each year |
Global Risks 2012
An Initiative of the Risk Response Network, which includes:
· Marsh & McLennan Companies
· Swiss Reinsurance Company
· Wharton Center for Risk Management, University of Pennsylvania
· Zurich Financial Services
“Economic imbalances and social inequality risk reversing the gains of globalization, warns the World Economic Forum in its report Global Risks 2012. These are the findings of a survey of 469 experts and industry leaders, indicating a shift of concern from environmental risks to socioeconomic risks compared to a year ago. Respondents worry that further economic shocks and social upheaval could roll back the progress globalization has brought, and feel that the world’s institutions are ill-equipped to cope with today’s interconnected, rapidly evolving risks. "
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| To view click on The Report below . . . |
The findings of the survey fed into an analysis of three major risk cases:
Seeds of Dystopia
The word dystopia describes what happens when attempts to build a better world unintentionally go wrong.
Questions for the world:
How can countries collaborate more effectively to correct chronic labor imbalances?
What will social contract be like in 2022?
How can unemployed workers be better trained for the skills required?
What steps can be taken to reduce income disparity?
What measures should be undertaken today to deal with the changing socio-economic dynamics of an ageing population and bulging young population?
How can fostering entrepreneurship prevent the seeds of dystopia from taking root?
Unsafe Safeguards
Unintended consequences of regulations indicate far-reaching weaknesses in regulations and suggests that we may be falling behind in our capacity to protect the systems that protect the systems that underpin growth and prosperity.
Questions for the world:
How can leaders break the pattern of crises followed by reactionary regulation and develop anticipatory and holistic approaches to system safeguards?
How can appropriate regulations be developed so that firms will undertake effective safeguards?
How can businesses and governments prevent a rapid breakdown in trust following the emergence of a new widespread risk?
How can business, government, and civil society work together to improve resilience against unforeseen risks?
The Dark Side of Connectivity
The critical infrastructure that underpins our daily lives increasingly depends on hyper-connected online systems can suffer devastating consequences by skilled individuals who can do so remotely and anonymously through networked systems. As power shifts from the physical to the virtual world, a new paradigm for ensuring a healthy digital space must emerge.
Questions for the world:
What steps can be taken to improve the sharing of information and to construct appropriate safeguards to reduce cyber threats in the coming decade?
What incentives will effectively mobilize businesses and the public sector to invest in the resilience of critical information infrastructures?
How can we reconcile the potential benefits of innovations created through open source software with the risk that some individuals may manipulate the code for malicious purposes?
Is online anonymity an integral aspect of freedom in a hyper-connected world?
The report analyses the top 10 risks in five categories - economic, environmental, geopolitical, societal and technological ”
Global Risks over the next 10 years:
Economic Risks
1. Major systemic financial failure
2. Chronic fiscal imbalances
3. Extreme volatility in energy and agricultural prices
4. Recurring liquidity crises
5. Severe income disparities
6. Unforeseen negative consequences of regulations
Environmental Risks
1. Failure of climate change adaptation
2. Rising green house gas emissions
3. Land and waterway use mismanagement
4. Mismanaged urbanization
5. Species overexploitation
6. Vulnerability to geomagnetic storms
7. Irremediable pollution
Geopolitical Risks
1. Diffusion of weapons of mass destruction
2. Global governance failure
3. Terrorism
4. Critical fragile states
5. Pervasive entrenched corruption
6. Failure of diplomatic conflict resolution
7. Militarization of space
Societal Risks
1. Water supply crises
2. Food shortage crises
3. Unsustainable population growth
4. Backlash against globalization
5. Ineffective drug policies
Technological Risks
1. Critical systems failure
2. Cyber attacks
3. Mineral resource supply vulnerability
4. Massive incident of data fraud or theft
5. Proliferation of orbital debris
Silly Sally . . . and you just thought it was Americans who owned the world.
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