Issue Weak governance and lack of political consensus as the main barriers

Summary

Respondents most often named weak governance and coordination mechanisms as what prevents effective management of global risks. This obstacle was seen as affecting nearly every global risk. Looking at risk groups, the absence of political consensus was identified as the main hurdle for political risks, while wrong prioritisation was named the key barrier for environmental risks and new pandemics. The report's backcast from war likewise finds three barriers standing in front of joint action to ease geopolitical tension, namely weak governance and coordination, lack of political consensus, and a deficit of trust and accountability. The report holds that the road to large-scale war has exits that could lower the risk, but they are blocked by barriers that are already known.