Burnt trees are seen in Mallacoota on January 15, 2020 , Australia. The Princes Highway between Mallacoota and Orbost remains closed to public due to the risk of falling trees following the devastating bushfires that have swept through East Gippsland in recent weeks.

Economic and political polarization will rise in 2020, according to the World Economic Forum's latest Global Risks report, but severe threats to the climate account for all of the top five long-term risks.

The report published Wednesday, just days before the annual WEF event kicks off in Davos, Switzerland, forecasted a year of increased domestic and international divisions as well as economic slowdown.

Respondents were asked to assess both the likelihood of a global risk occurring over the course of the next 10 years, and the severity of its impact at a global level if it were to occur.

For the first time in the survey's 10-year outlook, the top five global risks in terms of likelihood were all environmental, with extreme weather events, human-made environmental damage and disasters and major biodiversity loss and natural disasters from earthquakes to tsunamis all the likeliest risks in 2020. In terms of the severity of impact over the next 10 years, the top risk was deemed to be the failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation.

"Geopolitical turbulence is propelling us towards an 'unsettled' unilateral world of great power rivalries at a time when business and government leaders must focus urgently on working together to tackle shared risks," the report stated.

WEF said that collaboration between world leaders, businesses and policy-makers was needed to stop severe threats to the climate, environment, public health and technology systems.

"The political landscape is polarized, sea levels are rising and climate fires are burning. This is the year when world leaders must work with all sectors of society to repair and reinvigorate our systems of cooperation, not just for short-term benefit but for tackling our deep-rooted risks," Borge Brende, president of the World Economic Forum, said.