Making the Green Transition Work for People and the Economy 2025

Business views on the economic impact of the green transition across countries, by income groupFIGURE 3The remainder of this chapter draws from data from the World Economic Forum’s EOS, as well as additional indicators collected across global sources and measuring countries’ long-term socioeconomic foundations. The EOS provides insights into critical aspects of socioeconomic development. The survey has 69 questions, organized into eight topical areas: infrastructure and tourism; dynamism and capacity of the private sector; dynamism and capacity of the public sector; enabling environment; talent and employment; innovation ecosystem; managing risks; and industrial policy. The survey is administered by 135 partner institutes and receives over 10,000 responses annually, across more than 110 countries.30 In most countries, the business community remains generally optimistic about the economic impact of climate mitigation and the green transition, according to the World Economic Forum’s most recent EOS. New data from the EOS 31 shows that in almost 80% of countries, business leaders believe that the green transition will have an overall positive impact on the economy of their country. Executives were asked whether the economy of their country would benefit or suffer from the green transition overall. Business leaders remain more optimistic in high-income economies, with expectations decreasing for lower income levels. However, large variations exist within these groups. A total of 29 out of 125 economies report a sentiment score below four, corresponding to a neutral or negative sentiment. Among these, eight are high-income economies (Figure 3). These results are consistent with the growing economic and business case of the green transition, with estimates suggesting that the global green economy could be valued at $7.9 trillion in 2025, due to the exponential growth over the past decade in sectors such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, electric vehicles, green industrial sectors and climate adaptation. 32 Economic impact of decarbonization and green transition High income Upper middle income Lower middle income Low income Score (1-7)Income group High income Upper middle income Lower middle income Low income2.5 3 4 5 6 EST CZE HUN AUT GRC BEL ARE LVA SVN DEU BHR NOR FIN COL ECU ARGBIH BGR PER BRACRI IDN AZE CMR HND BOLLSO ASO IRN PAK BGD EGY ZMB VNM TCD MOZ MLI MWI RWA COD Note: Score (1 = The economy will greatly suffer from decarbonization; 7 = The economy will greatly benefit from decarbonization) Source: World Economic Forum Executive Opinion Survey 2024 and 2025. Making the Green Transition Work for People and the Economy 11