"The World Economic Forum is sounding alarm bells on climate change, with environmental risks occupying the group’s top five long-term concerns for the first time on record.

Extreme weather events, the failure of climate-change mitigation, major natural disasters, biodiversity loss and human-made environmental damage were the risks identified as most likely by respondents in the WEF’s 2020 report. It’s the only time in the survey’s 14-year history that climate-related concerns took all top spots.

Economic confrontations and domestic political polarization were also recognized as short-term issues by global experts and decision-makers, the report published Wednesday showed.

Confronting climate change will be a key topic of discussion when business and political leaders meet in Davos, Switzerland, for the WEF’s annual meetings next week. In a presentation prepared for the meeting, Deutsche Bank strategists said that the “question of our age” is how much societies would be willing to sacrifice in economic growth to reverse climate change, and that governments will need to work across borders to find solutions."

Jill Ward reports for Bloomberg January 15, 2020. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Environmental Issues Top Worries For Those Heading to Davos" (AP) [3]

"Donald Trump vs. Greta Thunberg: Davos Prepares For Climate Crisis Showdown" (CNBC) [4]