Shaping Cooperation in a Fragmenting World

The report argues that while geopolitical distrust is a 'baked-in feature' of current reality, global stakeholders can still cooperate through issue-specific, functional bodies and inclusive frameworks. It proposes reforming climate finance to reduce the cost of capital for the Global South, creating a 'Responsibility to Protect' framework for emerging technologies, and expanding the global trade agenda to include climate and social inclusion goals to prevent the world from fracturing into competing economic blocs.

• Global security cooperation must be premised on the reality that distrust is a permanent feature of the current geopolitical landscape, rather than hoping it will disappear. The report suggests using third parties and 'middle-power diplomacy' to broker de-escalation and crisis avoidance.
• To manage competitive multilateralism in security, the authors propose establishing an 'M-10' grouping of major and middle powers (including Brazil, India, South Africa, and the UAE) to act as a 'coalition of the capable' that can straddle the divide between the G7 and BRICS.
• Current global climate governance has failed because developed nations have not met financial commitments, such as the $100 billion annual goal for the developing world. The report argues for reframing climate investment as an opportunity and shifting the scale of discussion from billions to trillions of dollars.
• The primary barrier to private climate investment in the Global South is the prohibitive cost of capital. The report recommends expanding guarantees, reforming multilateral development banks (MDBs) to assume more risk, and creating internationally administered pools of capital to discount costs for climate projects.
• To bridge the climate technology divide, the report suggests a mechanism similar to health sector compulsory licenses, allowing governments to override patent protections during emergencies to ensure the diffusion of green technology to the Global South.
• The report proposes a 'Responsibility to Protect' (R2P) framework for emerging technologies, which would obligate states to protect populations from tech misuse and allow the international community to take collective action if a state fails to do so.
• To govern frontier technologies, the report suggests convening a standing 'Conference of the Parties' (COP) for future technologies and implementing a three-tier 'innovation to market' roadmap consisting of regulatory sandboxes, city-scale testing, and commercial application.
• Global trade is under pressure from geopolitical rivalry and protectionism, risking a decline in global GDP of at least 5% if the economy decouples into two blocs. The report advocates for 're-globalization' by expanding the trade agenda to include climate targets and social inclusion.
• The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (ACFTA) is cited as a model for integrating green transition goals into trade through its Protocol on Investment, which promotes low-carbon investments and prevents a 'race to the bottom' on environmental standards.

APA

World Economic Forum (2024). Shaping Cooperation in a Fragmenting World. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Shaping_Cooperation_in_a_Fragmenting_World_2024.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Shaping Cooperation in a Fragmenting World. 2024. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Shaping_Cooperation_in_a_Fragmenting_World_2024.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Shaping Cooperation in a Fragmenting World |date=January 2024 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Shaping_Cooperation_in_a_Fragmenting_World_2024.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2024shaping, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Shaping Cooperation in a Fragmenting World}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2024}, month = jan, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Shaping_Cooperation_in_a_Fragmenting_World_2024.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }