Axa sees ‘striking’ rise in perception of climate change risk

Axa has seen a “striking” jump in the perception of climate change as the top emerging risk in its latest survey, said Hélène Chauveau, head of emerging risks at the company.

In the firm’s 2018 Emerging Risks Report the percentage of respondents ranking climate change as the top risk reached 63 percent. Chauveau said this was “striking”, because the percentage had remained stable between 2015 and 2017 (at 39 percent, 40 percent and 39 percent respectively).

“This shows an increase of the sentiment of how big of an impact climate change will have on our societies by 2025,” she said.

Chauveau said the survey, conducted with AXA analysts and external risk experts from 50 countries, also highlighted a "psychological bias" that can influence the perception of risks, which is why, she said, “capturing the perception of risks through a qualitative questionnaire is essential”.

“Essentially, perception can influence reality, and once people are more aware or perceive a risk strongly they are more likely to recognize it occurring,” she said.

“Since the very beginning when AXA decided to be engaged in the fight against climate change, we have had the strong conviction that any individual action won’t be enough. We must all act collectively to address the issue. This is why an increased consensus of the risk of climate change is key to mounting action.”

The survey also captured an increase in the concerns of respondents on geopolitical and social concerns (ranked third as ‘volatility of the geopolitical landscape’ and fifth as ‘social discontent and local conflicts’).

“This reflects the worrying situation on both international (e.g. US-China trade war) and national (e.g. European populists movements, etc) sides,” she added.

Top ten emerging risks that AXA’s experts believe will change the world landscape by 2025 are:

1. Climate change
2. Cyber security risks
3. Volatility of the geopolitical landscape
4. Natural resources management
5. Social discontent and local conflicts
6. AI and big data
7. New threats to security
8. Pollution
9. Medical innovations and use of tech in healthcare
10. Pandemics and infectious diseases

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