Extreme weather events and ecosystem collapse have, for the second year running, been confirmed as the risks which experts across the world are most concerned about over the next ten years.
The 2025 edition of the Global Risks Report from the Word Economic Forum (WEF).
Drawing on surveys of more than 900 risk experts, policymakers and industry leaders, the report provides a snapshot of the risks perceived to be the most likely and most severe over a two-year and ten-year horizon.
The top two risks for the next two years remain the same year-on-year, with misinformation and disinformation taking the top spot and extreme weather events in at second. Indeed, Christian Aid recently estimated that extreme weather events resulted in at least $200bn of costs and damages in 2024.

More than half of the respondents expect instability over the next two years.
And for a ten-year horizon, extreme weather continues to be classed as the top risk. Moreover, as was the case last year, experts believe a range of interlinked and cascading environmental risks will crystallise within a decade.
The top ten list for the next ten years includes biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, natural resource shortages, critical change to Earth systems (i.e. climate tipping points) and pollution.
Yet the WEF found that many large businesses are not prioritising environmental risk management in their strategies. When businesses were asked which challenges they expect the highest benefits from addressing in terms of resilience, nothing related to climate and nature was in the top ten.
Corporations are far more likely to be preparing to address talent and labour shortages. Most are concerned about supply chain disruptions and more than one-quarter are preparing for disruptions to critical infrastructure, which can be caused by climate risks, but are not using environmental framing.