The World Economic Forum 2026 was awaited with anxiety: a new global order in the
making, escalating geopolitical conflicts, strong opinions, and bold — often polarising —
statements. Against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, technological disruption, and
mounting social pressure, sustainability has moved from a long-term ambition to an
immediate stress test for governments, businesses, and societies alike.
Let’s take a closer look at the sustainability trends shaping 2026 and the years ahead
— the challenges, the urgent problems, and the ideas that can help solve them.
Gender equality.
The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2025 shows that full parity remains 123 years away.
It is proven that women in the workforce drive economic progress and contribute to growth:
closing the gender gap could raise global GDP by up to 20%. Transparency and data are
“the best disinfectant.” Equality is key to stronger economies and authentic leadership, yet
experts acknowledge that in today’s reality, having the right laws in place is not enough — we
need concrete action.
Source: https://www.weforum.org/videos/expert-explains-why-gender-gap-persists/
Another indicator: the lack of women in leadership roles and the persistent absence of
gender-balanced leadership teams.
Globally, women make up 41.2% of the workforce but only 28.1% of leaders — a persistent
“drop-to-the-top” that reflects systemic barriers rather than a lack of capability. This gap is
particularly visible in high-growth, high-influence fields: while women account for nearly one-
third of STEM graduates, they represent just 14% of STEM leaders.
In a world shaped by cascading uncertainty — climate shocks, geopolitical fragmentation,
inflation, supply-chain instability, and the disruptive rise of AI — gender-balanced leadership
is not merely a fairness imperative; it is a performance multiplier. Evidence across markets is
consistent: diverse leadership teams broaden risk identification, improve governance, and
strengthen innovation capacity.
Source: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/01/why-gender-balanced-leadership-matters/
AI and its influence on decent work and economic growth and climate change.
Decent work and economic growth is one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG
8), which aims to promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and
productive employment, and decent work for all. AI has clearly had a major impact on this
goal.
Finally, leaders are beginning to understand that AI is not equipped to replace humans —
and that AI itself does not buy products. Without a workforce, economic growth cannot be
sustained. At the same time, one of the core pillars of sustainability is human well-being,
which has been seriously tested over the past two years by mass layoffs and the AI hype
cycle. Now, the rhetoric is starting to change.
Ravi Kumar S., CEO of Cognizant, emphasised that context engineering and the
integration of work between machines and people are critical. As he noted, “The
infrastructure of enterprises has been built for humans, not machines.” In this model, AI sits
in the middle of the workflow — with people at the front driving ideation and creativity, and
people at the back ensuring validation and accountability.
Another founder, Zhang Lei, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Envision, highlighted
the energy-efficiency challenge linked to AI. Training and operating large-scale AI models is
extremely energy-intensive, placing growing pressure on energy systems and putting
several Sustainable Development Goals — particularly affordable and clean energy (SDG 7)
and climate action (SDG 13) — under stress.
Looking ahead to a future increasingly dominated by energy-hungry AI, he stressed that economies will require abundant, low-cost energy resources, and that only renewable energy can realistically meet this demand at scale.
Global risks
Extreme weather, the top global risk in 2022, has been overtaken by geoeconomic
confrontations in 2026. Numerous conflicts have dominated headlines over recent years,
spanning almost every continent. The livelihoods crisis, ranked second in 2022, has been
replaced by misinformation and disinformation — another defining indicator of our time.
Social media has increasingly become a political weapon, amplifying propaganda and
competing narratives at scale.
Societal risks have remained a central and stable component of the global risk landscape
across the last five editions of the Global Risks Report, with inequality at its core. Cost-of-
living crises were identified as the top global risk over the next two years in the 2023 edition.
However, as highlighted in a 20-year retrospective, economic risks have not appeared in the
top ten short-term risks over the past two years, nor have they featured in the ten-year risk
outlook over the last five years.
Humanitarian crisis
The numbers tell their own story: nearly 240 million people will require humanitarian
assistance in 2026, yet global funding has fallen by more than half. Conflicts are more
numerous than at any point since the Second World War.
This reality has prompted a clear call to the private sector to act as an innovation partner.
The humanitarian system needs more than funding; it needs capabilities. The private sector
brings tools that can accelerate impact at scale — from AI models, data platforms, and
payment systems to climate-risk analytics, satellite technologies, and connectivity
infrastructure.
AI, mobile messaging, and web-based platforms are increasingly used for crisis coordination.
In conflict zones where authorities are fragmented or inaccessible, digital tools are becoming
the backbone of humanitarian response. They help frontline responders track population
movements, identify supply-chain gaps, and assess the most urgent needs facing
communities. Mobile-based data collection is also speeding up service delivery in remote or
restricted areas, enabling faster and more targeted interventions.
Source: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/01/humanitarian-efficiency-revolution-irc/
Greenhouse emissions and farmers
Farmers across Europe — and beyond — have come under intense pressure to meet
greenhouse gas emission targets by complying with policies that were often approved
without adequately incorporating the views of key experts and stakeholders: the farmers
themselves. This disconnect has fuelled resistance and highlighted the risks of top-down
climate policy design that overlooks on-the-ground realities.
In an article, Jai Shroff, Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer of UPL, shares his
perspective on how this transition should have been handled and proposes a framework to
better involve and support farmers. Crucially, he argues that environmental policy must be
farmer-first, aiming to support businesses and decision-makers in translating ambition into
action. The proposed framework rests on four pillars:
- Pay: Reward farmers for saving water, restoring biodiversity, and capturing carbon.
- Protect: Provide subsidies and insurance products to help farmers withstand
- droughts, pests, and extreme weather.
- Procure: Improve farmers’ access to public markets for certified sustainable produce.
- Promote: Scale up digital tools, soil health data, and training to empower farmers in
- the transition.
Source: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/01/farmers-are-key-to-fighting-climate-
change//
Conclusion :
Gender equality remains stubbornly out of reach, with parity still more than a century away,
even as evidence mounts that inclusive leadership is a driver of economic resilience.
Artificial intelligence dominated discussions not only as a growth engine, but as a force reshaping
work, energy systems, and social cohesion — testing the very foundations of decent work,
economic growth, and climate goals.
At the same time, societal risks such as inequality, misinformation, and cost-of-living
pressures have overtaken climate risks in global rankings, while humanitarian crises intensify
amid declining funding and a record number of conflicts. From energy-hungry AI to farmer-
led climate transitions, a clear message emerged: sustainability cannot succeed through
regulation or technology alone — it requires human-centred design, credible incentives, and
collaboration across the public and private sectors.
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