In the 2021 edition of AXA's annual Future Risks Report, “climate change”, which fell to second place last year due to “epidemics and infectious diseases”, rose back to first place this year. AXA is continuing its efforts to contribute to the fight against climate change and reducing its effects following the report.

AXA has published the 2021 edition of the Future Risks Report, in which it reveals the risks that await humanity and the planet every year. According to the report, which takes into account the opinions of risk experts from around the world, as well as public opinion, "climate change", which fell to the second place in the shadow of "epidemics and infectious diseases" with the pandemic last year, rose to the first place again this year with the effect of climate-related natural disasters such as heat waves, forest fires, floods and frosts that affected the whole world. “Cyber security risks”, which were in third place last year, rose to second place in the 2021 report as a result of digitalization accelerated by the pandemic. Other risks facing the world in the Future Risks Report are respectively, epidemics and infectious diseases, geopolitical instability, social unrest and local conflicts, risks related to natural resources and biodiversity, new security risks, risks related to financial stability, macro-economic risks and risks related to artificial intelligence and big data. 

PEOPLE FEEL VULNERABLE TO CRISES, THINK THE SOLUTION IS SCIENCE

Some of the prominent assessments from AXA's Future Risks Report are as follows:

• Risks are not experienced the same everywhere in the world; risk perception differs according to geography. The survey reveals regional differences in risk perception. While climate change is considered the highest risk in Europe, “epidemic and infectious diseases” continue to be considered the number one risk in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, where the pandemic still cannot be controlled in certain regions and vaccination rates are low. In North America and South America, where major cybersecurity and ransomware attacks occurred last year, “cybersecurity risks” are at the top of the list.
• The group that cares most about environmental risks is young people.  Participants aged 25 and under assess environmental risk not only as a climate crisis, but also as a more comprehensive risk, which includes different phenomena, including biodiversity and pollution.
• Digitalization, which gained momentum with the pandemic, increased cyber risks. Experts who draw attention to the risks of cybersecurity here point out that ethical phenomena such as privacy vulnerabilities and deviations in algorithms, rather than advances in technology, can create risks.
• People are worried about their health. However, there are also different titles that stand out among these concerns, with the exception of the pandemic. A large majority of people consider “chronic diseases” and “long-term exposure to harmful substances” to be important risks that follow epidemics and infectious diseases.
• People feel vulnerable to future risks.The proportion of people who believe they are more or less vulnerable to future risks compared to five years ago has increased by 7 percent compared to last year to 80 percent. The reasons for feeling vulnerable are listed as 74 percent pollution, 72 percent epidemic and infectious diseases, and 72 percent ethical risks related to the use of technology.
• Scientists and academics hold the key to controlling crises. Three-quarters of people trust the ability of scientists and academics to control future crises without growth. Despite widespread concerns about disinformation, a significant majority of people value expertise and knowledge in creating policies.

Yavuz Ölken, AXA Insurance CEO said “It is promising that climate change will become our number one agenda item again in the 2021 edition of the Future Risks Report. It shows a growing awareness and the need to take action all over the world. This year, we have been shaken by climate-related natural disasters in the world and in Turkey. Forest fires that burn our lungs, floods, hail... climate change is the reason of all this. It has been scientifically proven that climate change increases the frequency and severity of climate-related natural disasters. We must recognize such signals, recognize the climate urgency that exists for every living being on this planet, and take action for our future. While the Future Risks Report draws attention to the importance of climate change, it also perfectly reflects our mission as an insurance company. We strive to provide resistance to future risks and protection against today's risks.  In the coming period, we will continue to protect what is important for people in the name of human development.”

The AXA Future Risks 2021 Survey was conducted by Ipsos on behalf of AXA between 6 May and 15 June 2021 with 3,448 experts in 60 countries and 19,001 participants in 15 countries. 

• Interviews with experts were held in 60 countries from 6 to 28 May. Distribution of specialists by continent:
• Europe: 1,674 
• Asia-Pacific: 969 
• America: 678 
• Africa: 118
• Other: 9
• While the average age of the experts was 45, men made up 60 percent and women made up 40 percent.
• Interviews with public participants were held from 21 May to 15 June in 15 countries: USA, UK, Australia, Belgium, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Spain and Switzerland.
• Participants from the public were sampled from people aged 18 and over, taking into account representation in terms of age, gender and occupation, along with countries selected according to region and market size.