The “urgent” global issues of 2013

The unstable global economy tops the list of “urgent” issues to address in 2013, says the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The WEF’s Network of Global Agenda Councils, a network of more than 1,500 experts from academia, business, civil society, government and international organizations, has published the Global Agenda Outlook 2013,  which rates the issues that urgently need to be addressed in 2013. The top five issues relate to or are offshoots of the unstable economic environment that has plagued the world for the past five years.

“This report provides insights and views into pressing global issues, through a collection of survey results and interactive discussions among Members of the Network,” writes Martina N. Gmür, head of the Network of Global Agenda Councils.

Here is how the 1,500 members of the Network ranked the issues in November 2012 in terms of urgency:

1. 14%  Unstable global economy
2. 11%  Eurozone fragility
3. 10%  Financial system instability
4. 9%  Widening income inequality
5. 9%  Persistent structural unemployment
6. 8%  Global leadership vacuum
7. 8%  Climate change adaptation
8. 7%  Economic-driven social unrest
9. 6%  Natural resources scarcity
10. 6%  Chronic fiscal imbalance
11. 4%  Shifting balance of power
12. 4%  Rising influence of emerging economies
13. 2%  Hyperconnectivity
14. 1%  Generational shift in values
15.  1% Internet governance,

The Global Agenda Outlook notes that a “particularly prevalent theme” is the economic rise of China. Although opinion is divided on the significance of China’s rise, it does note the pressures that will challenge China’s new leadership: “It will depend as much on the country’s internal progress (in areas such as market reforms and combating income disparity) as on its external focus (and the diplomatic decisions the country has to take in areas as diverse as East Asia and the Middle East).”

The report also notes that the theme that recurs most frequently in discussions is one of global leadership. There needs to be “clear, dynamic leadership” — and there is little or no confidence that such leadership exists in our fast-changing world. “Given (as one participant noted) that most of today’s leaders — political, business, academic and society — grew up in a vastly different world from today’s, it is perhaps no surprise that leadership remains the biggest challenge of all for 2013 and beyond.”

Lack of confidence — whether merited or not — is clearly a factor in how the Network sees the challenges of 2013. In a “knowledge-capture session” at the Summit on the Global Agenda 2012 in Dubai, close to 50% said they were not confident in global leaders’ ability to address major systemic failure. Worse yet, more than 60% lacked confidence in global leaders’ ability to address chronic fiscal imbalances and about 70% lacked confidence in their ability to deal with persistent structural unemployment.

The worse scores were reserved for dealing with severe income disparities. When asked “How confident are you about the current capacities of global leadership to solve severe income disparities?” 54% were “Not confident” and 23% “Not confident at all.”

The 28-page Global Agenda Outlook 2013 is structured around six chapters that tackle: globalization, economic growth, geopolitical risks, hyperconnectivity, the post-2015 development agenda and values. It does, indeed, provide insight into the issues we face in 2013.