It is a challenge to handle the risks of the future, whether they will be about climate change, demographics, geopolitics, the global financial system, technology or innovation. In fact, many risks are interrelated and can have a significant impact on each other. For example, climate change may increase the likelihood of conflict in certain parts of the world, as well as huge movements of refugees. The same can be said of the financial system and technology, which have become so closely intertwined that innovations in one area have a direct impact on the other. To manage these interlinked risks and opportunities, we need to develop a shared understanding of their impacts and implications.
The risk management landscape is crucial for survival for the private business sector as well as the public sector. There are many examples of risk management failures. For example, the financial system was not well prepared for the global financial crisis that began in 2007 and led to a severe recession in many countries. Similarly, climate change is a growing concern for policy makers around the world because of its potential impact on food security, water availability and health systems.
In the future new technologies may mean challenges that we can not foresee now. Biotech and information technology might marry in ways we do not understand yet. Nano tech and Artificial intelligence are other areas that are hidden in the fog of the future. . All these challenges are interrelated and include a wide range of social, economic, political, cultural and environmental factors. Policy makers need to be able to assess the impact of their decisions on all these different levels and take into account the human factor that is often overlooked in policy making.