Age of impunity.

Byline: Aisha Khan

THE political disorder is witnessing a shift in the balance of power from liberal democracies to autocratic regimes. As the rule of law weakens and decisions are made in violation of human rights, tackling global problems will become increasingly difficult. And as democracies regress, accountability will fail as a measure of ethical evaluation, corruption will become rampant and the rights of the weak will suffer a setback. Thus will begin the 'age of impunity' undoing all the gains of civilisation accumulated over more than a century and take us back to the 'law of the jungle' where might is right.

The changing rules of the game have a direct link with diminishing resources of a planet that can no longer support its growing population. The death of democracy and the emergence of the strongman, using inflammatory rhetoric, flaunting law and making promises that appeal to the baser instincts of human nature will usher in an era of political chaos, financial upheaval and moral crisis.

The free world will come to an end if leaders and political parties around the world fail to grasp and address the fundamental problem of human security. Everything in life is sacrosanct to the concept of security be it food, energy, water or protection of life and property. The shift from liberal to populist governance should be a matter of grave concern to the global community as unaccountable power, a skewed worldview and an exclusive way of looking at the development agenda will mark the beginning of the end of rule of law.

The next 20 years will unpack the climate disaster in its full fury.

There is already less outrage about moral misadventures and use of militaries, mercenaries and militias as well as demand for accountability in political decision-making for conflict resolution.

As countries start looking inwards to build adaptive resilience, explore new economic models and review national security, it is important to remember the centrality of the looming climate crisis and its potential seismic effect on financial systems. The drastic changes that range from sea-level rise to droughts and extreme weather events have quadrupled over the last four decades and are likely to increase further if fossil fuel reserves are not left untapped underground. Financial markets are not protected against climate-induced losses putting us on the brink of a financial crisis, challenging our systems and capacity to absorb climate shocks.

The fragility...