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Global Catastrophic Risks 2026

This year's Global Catastrophic Risks report looks at five of the biggest risks facing humanity today — climate change, biodiversity collapse, weapons of mass destruction, artificial intelligence (AI) in military decision-making and near Earth asteroids.

Catastrophic Climate Change
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Catastrophic Climate Change

Ecological Collapse
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Ecological Collapse

Weapons of Mass Destruction
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Weapons of Mass Destruction

Artificial Intelligence
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Artificial Intelligence

Near Earth Asteroids
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Near Earth Asteroids

Justice and governance are not passive backdrops to transformation; they are active levers of stabilisation or destabilisation depending on how they are exercised and resourced.
Fatima Denton & Johan Rockström
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What are Global Catastrophic Risks?

A global catastrophic risk is a possible event or process that can threaten the lives of a large part of humanity, across multiple continents. Humanity today faces a multitude of such risks, ranging from environmental crises to the potentially disastrous consequences of advanced technologies. These risks are rapidly increasing, interconnected, and demand global cooperation to manage.

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