Navigating a Perilous Landscape

Business leaders around the globe are increasingly confronted with a myriad of risk challenges, including escalating technology and cyber threats, societal issues, and widening geopolitical divides. According to executives from Marsh and Zurich, these risks are poised to significantly influence the business landscape over the next year, as highlighted in a recent report by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The WEF’s Global Risks Report 2026 underscores uncertainty as its central theme. This comprehensive report distills insights from experts worldwide regarding the key risks impacting business leaders today (in 2026), in the near future (up to 2028), and in the long term (up to 2036).

Geoeconomic confrontation stands out as the foremost concern among respondents, identified as the risk most likely to instigate a material global crisis in 2026. Following closely are concerns regarding state-based armed conflict. The report also emphasizes the rising importance of international cooperative movements.

As noted in the report: “As cooperative mechanisms crumble, with governments retreating from multilateral frameworks, stability is under siege. A contested multipolar landscape is emerging where confrontation is replacing collaboration, and trust—the currency of cooperation—is losing its value.” This growing divide is expected to further complicate the risk landscape.

“Deepening divisions are at the center of the societal risks we all now face, from social fragmentation and inequality to declining health and well-being,” stated Andrew George, president of Specialty at Marsh Risk, in response to the report. “Despite the increasing severity of these global risks, major governments are moving away from many established frameworks designed to tackle our shared challenges.”

In the short term, the report identifies the top five global risks as follows:

1. Geoeconomic confrontation
2. Misinformation and disinformation
3. Societal polarization
4. Extreme weather events
5. State-based armed conflict

Looking ahead to the next decade, the report ranks the top five risks as:

1. Extreme weather events
2. Biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse
3. Critical changes to earth systems
4. Misinformation and disinformation
5. Adverse outcomes of AI technologies

Interestingly, one global risk that has not emerged as an immediate concern is the escalating threat to infrastructures worldwide. Peter Giger, group chief risk officer at Zurich, expressed this concern, stating, “Despite extreme weather, cyberattacks, and geopolitical conflicts posing escalating threats, disruptions to critical infrastructure ranked just 23rd among global risks for the next decade. This is a dangerous oversight.” He highlighted that critical infrastructure systems, from power grids strained by record heat to coastal cities vulnerable to rising sea levels, are underprepared and underfunded. “When infrastructure fails, everything else is at risk,” he warned.

The report is based on survey insights from 1,300 experts and 11,000 business leaders, along with interviews with hundreds of specialists, to evaluate their perspectives on risks in the near, short, and long term. The Global Risks Report is produced by the Global Risks Initiative at the WEF’s Centre for the New Economy and Society, with Marsh and Zurich serving as partners and members of its Global Risks Advisory Board.

Business leaders around the globe are increasingly confronted with a myriad of risk challenges, including escalating technology and cyber threats, societal issues, and widening geopolitical divides. According to executives from Marsh and Zurich, these risks are poised to significantly influence the business landscape over the next year, as highlighted in a recent report by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The WEF’s Global Risks Report 2026 underscores uncertainty as its central theme. This comprehensive report distills insights from experts worldwide regarding the key risks impacting business leaders today (in 2026), in the near future (up to 2028), and in the long term (up to 2036).

Geoeconomic confrontation stands out as the foremost concern among respondents, identified as the risk most likely to instigate a material global crisis in 2026. Following closely are concerns regarding state-based armed conflict. The report also emphasizes the rising importance of international cooperative movements.

As noted in the report: “As cooperative mechanisms crumble, with governments retreating from multilateral frameworks, stability is under siege. A contested multipolar landscape is emerging where confrontation is replacing collaboration, and trust—the currency of cooperation—is losing its value.” This growing divide is expected to further complicate the risk landscape.

“Deepening divisions are at the center of the societal risks we all now face, from social fragmentation and inequality to declining health and well-being,” stated Andrew George, president of Specialty at Marsh Risk, in response to the report. “Despite the increasing severity of these global risks, major governments are moving away from many established frameworks designed to tackle our shared challenges.”

In the short term, the report identifies the top five global risks as follows:

1. Geoeconomic confrontation
2. Misinformation and disinformation
3. Societal polarization
4. Extreme weather events
5. State-based armed conflict

Looking ahead to the next decade, the report ranks the top five risks as:

1. Extreme weather events
2. Biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse
3. Critical changes to earth systems
4. Misinformation and disinformation
5. Adverse outcomes of AI technologies

Interestingly, one global risk that has not emerged as an immediate concern is the escalating threat to infrastructures worldwide. Peter Giger, group chief risk officer at Zurich, expressed this concern, stating, “Despite extreme weather, cyberattacks, and geopolitical conflicts posing escalating threats, disruptions to critical infrastructure ranked just 23rd among global risks for the next decade. This is a dangerous oversight.” He highlighted that critical infrastructure systems, from power grids strained by record heat to coastal cities vulnerable to rising sea levels, are underprepared and underfunded. “When infrastructure fails, everything else is at risk,” he warned.

The report is based on survey insights from 1,300 experts and 11,000 business leaders, along with interviews with hundreds of specialists, to evaluate their perspectives on risks in the near, short, and long term. The Global Risks Report is produced by the Global Risks Initiative at the WEF’s Centre for the New Economy and Society, with Marsh and Zurich serving as partners and members of its Global Risks Advisory Board.