Lack of global cooperation is the biggest barrier to preventing climate change, report finds

The biggest hindrance to addressing environmental issues comes from the very people with the power to tackle them.
In the World Economic Forum's annual risk report, climate-related risks were at the top of around 1,000 experts' and decision-makers' concerns, The Guardian reports. But the report states international cooperation on major issues has reached "crisis levels," thus limiting any chance at international action on climate change, CNBC reports.
"Global risks are intensifying but the collective will to tackle them appears to be lacking. Instead, divisions are hardening," the report said, per The Guardian.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
President Trump announced in 2017 that the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change in accordance with his "America First" strategy. He has since cancelled former President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan and adopted his own policy that could increase carbon dioxide emissions by 8.7 percent compared with ignoring the issue altogether.
The report noted a shift in state-centered politics throughout 2018 as a contributing factor to lessening global cooperation. The Guardian reports that the global economy slowed in the second-half of 2018, and that the WEF report showed 88 percent of respondents anticipating a continued erosion of multilateral trading rules and agreements.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Marianne is The Week’s Social Media Editor. She is a native Tennessean and recent graduate of Ohio University, where she studied journalism and political science. Marianne has previously written for The Daily Beast, The Crime Report, and The Moroccan Times.
-
July 6 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include paying for school lunch by enlisting, and the banality of evil
-
5 biting editorial cartoons about 'Alligator Alcatraz'
Cartoons Artists take on dangerous green things, historical precedent, and more
-
A journey into the deep past on beautiful Arran
The Week Recommends New Unesco Global Geopark played a 'key role' in the birth of modern geological science
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami