The World Economic Forum (WEF) has released a new report that clearly shows the hard work ahead of the next Nigerian president.
Based on responses from 1,200 private sector risk managers, public policymakers, academics and industry leaders around the world, the WEF 2023 report highlights terrorist attacks, debt crises, cost of living, severe commodity supply shocks, rapid or sustained inflation, and employment or livelihood crises as the most immediate risks facing the Nigerian economy.
“The resulting pressure on fiscal balances may exacerbate concerns about debt sustainability, leaving emerging and developing countries with much less fiscal space to protect their populations in the future,” the WEF said on Wednesday.
WEF said a combination of extreme weather events and limited supplies could lead the current cost of living crisis into a catastrophic scenario of hunger and distress for millions in Nigeria and other import-dependent countries.
The pandemic and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine have brought energy, inflation, food and security crises back to the fore, according to the report.
He said the risks that will dominate the next two years include the risk of recession, mounting debt problems, an ongoing cost-of-living crisis, polarized societies enabled by disinformation and misinformation, natural disasters, extreme events, and all-out geoeconomic warfare. zero.
“The near-term risk landscape is dominated by energy, food, debt and disasters. Those who are already the most vulnerable are suffering and in the face of multiple crises, those who qualify as vulnerable are expanding rapidly, in rich and poor countries alike,” said Saadia Zahidi, WEF Director General, of the report’s findings.
“In this already toxic mix of known and growing global risks, a new shock event, from a new military conflict to a new virus, could become unmanageable.”
He said that climate change and human development should be at the center of the concerns of world leaders to increase resilience against future shocks.
The report also urged world leaders to “act collectively and decisively, balancing short-term and long-term visions,” and recommended “joint efforts among countries, as well as public-private cooperation to strengthen financial stability, governance technology, economic development and investment in research”. , science, education and health”.
“If we accelerate action, there is still an opportunity by the end of the decade to achieve a 1.5C trajectory and address the nature emergency. Recent progress in the deployment of renewable energy technologies and electric vehicles gives us good reason to be optimistic,” Scott said.
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The goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C by the end of the century was agreed in the 2015 Paris Agreement, but the world is on track to exceed this threshold as efforts are not enough to achieve emission cuts necessary.
Carolina Klint, risk management lead covering continental Europe at Marsh, said this year will be marked by increased risks related to food, energy, raw materials and cybersecurity, leading to further disruption to global supply chains and will affect investment decisions.
“No country is immune to these crises,” he said. “At a time when countries and organizations should be stepping up resilience efforts, economic headwinds will limit their ability to do so,” he said. “Faced with the most difficult geoeconomic conditions in a generation, companies must focus not only on navigating short-term concerns, but also on developing strategies that position them well for long-term risks and structural change.”
The conclusions of the report, prepared ahead of the WEF’s annual talks in the Swiss resort of Davos next week, come after a year in which many commitments to act on climate change have been shelved in the energy crisis that followed the Ukrainian war.
