COVID-19 Risks Outlook

The COVID-19 Risks Outlook identifies a landscape of compounding risks, with a prolonged global recession and structural unemployment viewed as the most likely and concerning outcomes. The report warns of 'brown recovery' paths that could stall climate action, increased societal inequalities, and heightened cybersecurity threats due to abrupt technological adoption. It argues that the crisis presents a unique opportunity to 'build back better' by embedding sustainability and social equality into economic recovery strategies.

• Economic risks are the most dominant concern for both the world and businesses, specifically a prolonged global recession, which 68.6% of survey respondents identified as the most likely fallout for the world.
• There is a significant risk of a 'brown recovery' where governments prioritize economic rebooting over sustainability, potentially leading to a 'sharp erosion of global decarbonization efforts' and a failure to meet the 1.5°C target.
• The pandemic may exacerbate societal inequalities, particularly through gender-based job losses and a 'digital divide' caused by accelerated workforce automation, which 25% of respondents see as a likely result of the crisis.
• Youth are at risk of becoming a 'second lost generation' due to high structural unemployment and massive educational disruptions, with 80% of the world's enrolled students (over 1.6 billion) being out of school by the end of March 2020.
• The use of tracking and monitoring technologies for health security may lead to long-term erosions of privacy and civil liberties if emergency powers are retained beyond the pandemic.
• Environmental degradation, specifically biodiversity loss and deforestation, is identified as a driver of zoonotic diseases, increasing the risk of future pandemics.

APA

World Economic Forum (2020). COVID-19 Risks Outlook. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_COVID_19_Risks_Outlook_Special_Edition_Pages.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. COVID-19 Risks Outlook. 2020. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_COVID_19_Risks_Outlook_Special_Edition_Pages.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=COVID-19 Risks Outlook |date=May 2020 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_COVID_19_Risks_Outlook_Special_Edition_Pages.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2020covid19, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{COVID-19 Risks Outlook}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2020}, month = may, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_COVID_19_Risks_Outlook_Special_Edition_Pages.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }