The latest edition of the World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report places the global risks for 2025 in an unsettling scenario that combines social tension, political polarisation, growing inequality and an acceleration of climate impacts. The report distinguishes between the risks that may materialise over the next two years and those likely to shape the coming decade. The picture is clear: social and technological risks dominate the short term, while environmental risks continue to define the long-term horizon. Below we set out what the report says, how these risks interrelate and why anticipating them is essential. Here are the key points.
What are the 2025 global risks according to the WEF?
The World Economic Forum publishes an annual, comprehensive analysis of the global risks that may affect the economy, the environment, geopolitics and social cohesion. When we speak of 2025 global risks, we mean the events or trends that could disrupt the stability of human and natural systems in the short term.
The report is built from surveys of experts and international leaders, and serves as a guide for governments, companies and institutions seeking to anticipate scenarios and strengthen resilience.
Short-term risks (2 years): polarisation, inequality and misinformation
Misinformation: the leading risk of 2025
Of all the threats identified, misinformation tops the two-year risk ranking. Although it is classified as a technological risk, its impact is felt above all in the social and political sphere.
The proliferation of manipulated content, the intensive use of algorithms that reinforce pre-existing beliefs and the lack of reliable filters on social media all feed a cycle of confusion and democratic vulnerability.
Growing inequality and social polarisation
Socio-economic inequality continues to widen and is becoming a catalyst for social tension. As certain sections of the population perceive a lack of opportunity or a loss of rights, discontent grows and polarisation deepens.
This context is particularly favourable to simplistic narratives that promise quick solutions but often produce counterproductive effects in the medium term.
Setbacks in human rights and civil liberties
The WEF also warns of a regression in rights and freedoms, a phenomenon affecting the democratic quality of many countries. Restrictions on civil rights, the erosion of electoral processes and the drift towards more authoritarian models are part of a landscape that creates instability and makes long-term decision-making more difficult.
Long-term risks (10 years): the weight of climate change
While social risks set the immediate course, the long term remains dominated by climate and environmental risks, which are at once the cause and the consequence of other global tensions.
Increasingly frequent extreme weather events
Climate change is intensifying extreme weather events: heatwaves, violent storms, torrential rain and prolonged droughts. Each year we see these episodes carry rising human, economic and social costs.
The report insists that ignoring this trend only deepens vulnerability.
Critical shifts in planetary systems
Beyond isolated episodes, the WEF warns of possible irreversible changes in essential systems such as the ocean, polar ice and the great forest ecosystems.
Crossing certain planetary boundaries could bring us closer to points of no return that compromise the planet's capacity to absorb climate impacts.
Involuntary migration and social tension
Climate impacts could become a powerful driver of forced migration. Environmental degradation, the loss of resources and conflicts arising from water or food shortages could force millions of people to move, generating new geopolitical tensions and humanitarian challenges.
Why are these global risks interconnected?
The combination of inequality, misinformation and climate inaction creates a scenario in which the 2025 global risks reinforce one another. Polarisation hampers the political consensus needed to drive climate measures, while misinformation generates confusion and delays the implementation of effective policy.
In the same way, climate impacts aggravate inequality and generate new social conflicts.
What are the implications for society and public policy?
To address these risks, the WEF stresses the need to:
- Improve the quality of information and combat misinformation.
- Reduce inequality and guarantee more equitable opportunities.
- Invest in climate mitigation and adaptation, since the cost of not acting is far higher than the cost of acting now.
- Develop resilience strategies that integrate social, technological and environmental risks.
Only a cross-cutting perspective makes it possible to drive policies with a real and sustained impact.
What should we bear in mind in the face of the 2025 global risks?
The 2025 global risks remind us that we face a set of complex and deeply interdependent challenges. There are no simple solutions or shortcuts, and postponing decisions will only make the costs higher.
Conveying rigorous information, promoting social justice and acting decisively against climate change are essential steps towards building a safer, more resilient and more sustainable future.