Climate inaction is a breach of trust. It's time to turn the ship around.

Climate inaction is a breach of trust. Time to turn the ship around. 

The world – let’s face it – is a scary place.  And as leaders from business, government, civil society, media, and academia gather at the World Economic Forum in Davos to discuss some of the most pressing issues of our time, there is a rich menu of things to worry about.  And amidst the immediate and pressing issues of conflict, economic stress and disinformation, it’s critical that we also stay focused on the urgent action needed to address the climate and environmental crises facing our planet.   

The World Economic Forum’s 2024 Global Risks Report assesses the top ten risks facing the world on a two-year and ten-year time frame. In the two-year timeframe, extreme weather events are the second biggest risk, only behind misinformation and disinformation, while environmental risks pose the greatest medium-term threat – with the very real prospect that they could hit the point of no-return in the next few years.   

The interrelated nature of the challenges the world faces in WEF’s Global Risk Report cannot be overstated.  Rising temperatures and sea levels, drought, floodings and biodiversity loss all exacerbate risks of economic stress, forced migration, societal polarization and conflict.  While other immediate pressures – including misinformation and disinformation – risk distracting from or undermining the environmental action needed.    

Sometimes it all feels too daunting, the task too great: that it’s too hard to turn the ship around.  But we can’t indulge defeatism – just as we can’t indulge denial.  We know we have the solutions to address the challenges we face.  We have the finance, the technology, and the international frameworks such as the UNFCCC and Convention on Biological Diversity. Both frameworks outline clear goals, targets and timeframes, but to achieve them, the implementation phase must begin.  We have proven that we can pull together and collaborate, and it’s time to ensure that public and private financial flows support, rather than undermine, a sustainable future. 

As more than half the global population is due to vote in elections this year, it’s vital that world leaders use this opportunity to restore trust by taking action on environmental challenges:  transforming their discussions at Davos into concrete actions by building on existing commitments and delivering positive change.  The law can build trust and help drive the change we need to build a better future, both by setting a positive framework for action, and holding governments and businesses to account.   

In this interconnected world, action to address conflict, economic stress, inequality, misinformation and polarisation must go hand in hand with urgent climate and environmental action – otherwise we’re just moving the furniture while the roof is burning.