Commissioners Among Authors of Global Risks Report
16/12/2025
From ecological collapse to nuclear weapons and even near-Earth asteroids, a growing set of global threats is putting unprecedented pressure on societies and the planet.
Together, these risks are pushing Earth’s life-support systems closer to breaking point.
A Global Catastrophic Risks Report 2026, published on December 15, warns that stronger global cooperation and governance are urgently needed to prevent the most severe consequences and safeguard humanity’s future.
The report examines five major threats facing the world today: climate change, biodiversity loss, weapons of mass destruction, the use of artificial intelligence in military decision-making, and near-Earth asteroids.
Impacts could be devastating
While the chances of each risk differ, the report makes it clear their potential impacts could be devastating for large parts of the world. It also outlines practical steps governments and institutions can take to reduce these risks and strengthen global resilience.
Several Commissioners contributed to the report, including Co-chairs Johan Rockström and Fatima Denton who co-authored a section on Earth system stability.
They write how a stable Earth system is the foundation for a safe and just future. Critical natural processes are interconnected and regulate the cycles that sustain life, our economies, and societies. Nowadays human activities have pushed these systems out of balance, threatening food, water, energy security, and increasing risks of disease, displacement, and conflict.
Science assessed by the Earth Commission shows that coordinated global action is essential to retain the resilience of the planet. Achieving a safe and just future by 2050 will require halving emissions each decade, restoring ecosystems, reducing pollution, and strengthening Earth’s natural systems, with governance, policy, finance, and innovation working together.
“This generation carries both a heavy responsibility and a unique opportunity,” says Johan Rockström. “By realigning our systems and staying within the limits of a stable Earth system, we can turn today’s risks into a pathway toward prosperity and equity for all—now and in the future.”
Global governance needed
Commissioner David Obura also contributed to the report, writing the section on ecological collapse. His chapter highlights how ecological collapse, like the mass bleaching of coral reefs, is also a failure of global governance, arguing that preventing biodiversity loss requires fairer power relations and adaptive, nature-based solutions that work from local to global scales.
“The risk of multiple ecological collapses, both at regional and global scales, should be placed firmly at the centre of global governance discourse,” he writes. “This risk is of greater existential importance than short-term economic or financial concerns.”
The Global Catastrophic Risks Report is published by the Global Challenges Foundation, a Swedish non-profit working to raise awareness of global risks and strengthen international cooperation.
The foundation is also a key supporter of the Earth Commission, funding its work to define and update the Safe and Just Boundaries that help guide the world toward a stable and equitable future.
