core component of Japan’s preparedness strategy centres on building momentum for a nationwide movement from local preparedness and resilience measures. Likewise, ensuring rapid dissemination of official cyclone warning signals across communities encourages collective preparedness measures to be implemented along Bangladesh’s coast. Technology can act as an enabler for collective action. Information and communication technologies, including social media, have transformed the speed and the way in which information is shared, and while there are risks associated with this (Chapter 1.3: False information), there are also benefits in terms of mass mobilization for public good. There are several risk governance approaches identified within the GRPS that would fall under collective action: Public awareness and education, Multistakeholder engagement, and Corporate strategies. Public awareness and education campaigns amplify (grassroot) initiatives that have yet to reach a critical mass in order to make an impact. In some cases, governments have established specific units to effect change through encouraging collective behaviours, such as those to prevent the spread of disease. 11 Multistakeholder engagement platforms favour knowledge and best practice sharing to support and guide individual efforts towards a common goal. GRPS respondents recognize Corporate strategies as having the most potential to reduce economic risks relating to financial and labour markets (Figure 3.3). If companies adopt responsible business practices and investment decisions, they will reap reputational and performance benefits 12 while making the wider economic and financial system more resilient and prepared to face the risk of Economic downturn. Businesses can also contribute to shoring up the labour market, both locally and globally, by addressing Labour shortages and Unemployment risks through investing in skills development, upholding workers’ rights and granting contract security. In order for collective action to be sufficiently effective, there must be some degree of consensus on the nature and urgency of the risk, the type of action required to address it and the intended outcome. This is no small feat in a world increasingly subject to societal polarization and where short-term cost-of-living pressures continue to bite. It is crucial therefore to build platforms that set standards and favour knowledge-sharing, channeling individual efforts towards a common goal. Tax incentives can strengthen collective action by business and individuals. Policy-makers can also strengthen regulation on environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) reporting to ensure transparency on corporate social responsibility strategies. This contributes to creating a positive cycle where investors can recognize and reward the businesses that act, which in turns incentivizes more and more companies to align. Cross-border coordination 3.4 Cooperation may be constrained in an increasingly fragmented world, but it remains imperative to solve the biggest, most existential risks. Cross-border coordination for risk reduction takes many forms and is typically centred on mitigating likelihood. It ranges from mutual restraint (agreement between two or more parties that possess dangerous capabilities to refrain from using them), to addressing the weakest link in a system (enforcing commitment to minimum standards and guardrails or by investing in a country that has the potential to destabilize others), to international agreements (such as those that aim to limit global warming, maintain security and ensure free trade). OCG Saving the Ocean, Unsplash Global Risks Report 2024 90

The Global Risks Report 2024