Wars? AI? Cybersecurity? No — people say Climate Change is biggest risk to the world

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The 11th edition of the AXA Future Risks Report 2024 has just been released — and climate change topped the list on every continent.

The annual poll queried 3,000 experts from 50 countries and 20,000 individuals from 15 countries to rank their top 10 emerging risks. This was based on the sample’s view of their potential impact on society over the next five to ten years.

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Climate worry also ranked among the top five areas of concern among 77% of the general public, up from 72% in the survey last year.

Geopolitical instability ranked second, with AXA’s experts commenting that “This increase is likely linked to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, combined with the continuing conflict in Ukraine and a heightened global atmosphere of tensions, defiance and protectionism.”

Cybersecurity ranked third.

Climate was mentioned 97 times in the 44 pages of the study
What were among the triggers of climate anxiety? The researchers reported, “On the environmental side, summer 2024 was the northern hemisphere’s hottest on record. Climate change continues to trigger a surge in various risks.”

The report’s consulting about the cost of climate change — ”climate change is on course to cause anywhere from 19 trillion to 59 trillion dollars’ worth of damage to the global economy every year by 2050.”

The money, however, is unlikely to be the reason for climate’s place in the study; rather, it is due to the direct effects of the climate crisis on those polled.