The World Economic Forum (WEF), yesterday, listed terror attacks, debt crises, high cost of living, severe commodity supply crises, rapid or sustained inflation, and unemployment or livelihood crises as major risks facing Nigeria’s economy in 2023.
In a new report titled: “The Global Risks Report 2023,” published on its website, the Forum said its submission on Nigeria was based on responses from 1,200 private-sector risk managers, public policy-makers, academics, and industry leaders across the world
Risk Management Leader, Continental Europe, Marsh, Carolina Klint, said: “2023 is set to be marked by increased risks related to food, energy, raw materials, and cyber security, causing further disruption to global supply chains and impacting investment decisions.”
She added that “At a time when countries and organizations should be stepping up resilience efforts, economic headwinds will constrain their ability to do so.
“Faced with the most difficult geo-economic conditions in a generation, companies should focus not just on navigating near-term concerns but also on developing strategies that will position them well for longer-term risks and structural change.”
The Geneva-based WEF said globally, the coming years would present tough trade-offs for governments facing competing concerns for society, the environment, and security.
Specifically, it said crises-driven leadership and geopolitical rivalries risk creating societal distress at an unprecedented level, as investments in health, education and economic development disappear, further eroding social cohesion.
It used data from the Global Risks Perception Survey 2022-2023 to highlight the risks the world was likely to face over the coming 10 years.
…crises-driven leadership and geopolitical rivalries risk creating societal distress at an unprecedented level, as investments in health, education and economic development disappear, further eroding social cohesion.
Global crisis
It also identified the cost-of-living crisis occasioned by energy and food supply crunches as the most severe threat facing developed and developing countries over the next two years.
“Next is natural disasters and extreme weather events while geo-economics confrontation also features in the top three most severe risks in our most immediate future,” the report said.
“From failure to mitigate climate change to biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, findings showed the top four most severe risks over the next 10 years are all environmental.
“Already, short-term geo-economic risks are putting net-zero commitments to the test and have exposed a gap between what is scientifically necessary and politically palatable,” the report said.
It further warned that unless the world starts to cooperate more effectively on climate mitigation and climate adaptation, over the next 10 years this will lead to continued global warming and ecological breakdown.
“Failure to mitigate and adapt to climate change, natural disasters, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation represent five of the top 10 risks – with biodiversity loss seen as one of the most rapidly deteriorating global risks over the next decade.
WEF urged leaders to act collectively and decisively to balance short- and long-term views.
In his assessment, the Managing Director of WEF, Saadia Zahidi, said: “The short-term risk landscape is dominated by energy, food, debt, and disasters. Those that are already the most vulnerable are suffering – and in the face of multiple crises, those who qualify as vulnerable are rapidly expanding, in rich and poor countries alike.
“In this already toxic mix of known and rising global risks, a new shock event, from a new military conflict to a new virus, could become unmanageable. Climate and human development therefore must be at the core of concerns of global leaders to boost resilience against future shocks.”
