According to the report of the Munich Security Conference, extreme weather is considered the world's biggest security risk – ahead of Russia, economic crises, and mass migration. World leaders from across the globe have travelled to the Munich Security Conference (MSC), which revolves around one question: what happens next in the war in Ukraine? That question overshadows two issues that appear even more dangerous to people than Russia's war of aggression. "Extreme weather events and wildfires" are considered the greatest security risk. In second place: the climate crisis in general.

This isn't a finding from an environmental organisation, but comes from the official "Munich Security Index 2025", published by the Munich Security Conference. The index captures the mood of populations in leading industrialised nations (G7 countries), from the USA to Japan, and in the emerging economies of Brazil, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS countries excluding Russia). The results are based on representative surveys conducted in these countries.

The data doesn't tell us much about the mood in Austria, but it does shed some light on Germany. Notably, in our large neighbour, the climate crisis only ranks 15th among security threats. Instead, Germans perceive mass migration, Russia, and radical Islamist terrorism as the three greatest threats… Read more at: derstandard.at

By Benedikt Narodoslawsky