The World Economic Forum (WEF) has published its 13th edition of its Global Risks Report. WEF’s analysis affirmed the trend of recent years: as the financial crisis has receded, economic risks are no longer perceived as global risks. These were replaced by environmental risks, increasingly growing in prominence. According to the WEF’s Report, four of five top risks in terms of impact are associated with climate change (extreme water events, natural disasters, failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation, and water crisis). In addition, three environmental risks (extreme water events, natural disasters and failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation) appear in the list of the top 5 global risks by perceived likelihood. All five risks in the environmental category have been ranked higher than average for both likelihood and impact. The most pressing environmental challenges that the world community faces include: • extreme weather events and temperatures, • accelerating biodiversity loss, • pollution of air, soil and water • failures of climate-change mitigation and adaptation • transition risks as we move to a low-carbon future. Extremely challenging is the depth of the interconnectedness among environmental and societal risks such as water crisis and involuntary migration. The latest data show that 76% of the 31.1 million people displaced during 2016 were forced from their homes as a result of weather-related events. Environmental risks can also lead to disruption of critical infrastructure. The Report reveals that extreme weather events (hurricanes, floods, rising sea-level) continue a trend towards increasingly costly weather events over recent decades. Unusually frequent and intensive hurricanes in 2017 resulted in the most expensive hurricane season ever. Record high temperatures were experienced from parts of southern Europe to eastern and southern Africa, South America, and parts of Russia and China. 2017 was among the three hottest years on record and the hottest non–El Niño year ever. California had its hottest summer ever, Chile experienced the most extensive wildfires ever, and Portugal has recorded 100 wildfires related deaths. Climate change is projected to disrupt agricultural systems. Vulnerability of food production which is already exposed to extreme heat, drought, and floods is heightened due to prevalence of monoculture food production (more than 75% of the world’s food comes from just 12 plants and five animal species according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization). There is now a one-in-twenty chance per decade that impacts of climate change will cause a simultaneous failure of maize production in China and USA, the worlds two main growers. The gLAWcal Team