As Davos wraps up, what was gained from the glitzy event?
- Annual gathering in the Swiss Alps drew notables such as Ukraine’s first lady, activist Greta Thunberg, actor Idris Elba and hundreds of global decision-makers
- Meeting draws criticism as a hub of power-mongers and money-grubbers seeking to rule the world – it costs upwards of US$1 million a year to belong to the forum
Elites from politics, business, academia and the arts on Friday wrapped up the World Economic Forum’s annual conclave in the Swiss town of Davos – where worries about the war in Ukraine, a warming planet and a cooling global economy dominated discussions about the world’s ills.
The 53rd edition of the weeklong gathering in the Alps drew notables such as Ukraine’s first lady, climate activist Greta Thunberg and actor Idris Elba, plus hundreds of presidents, prime ministers, CEOs and other decision-makers who hashed out deals and voiced demands on everything from trade to tanks for Ukraine.
The meeting perennially draws criticism as a hub of power-mongers and money-grubbers seeking to rule the world, and this year was no exception. Long-time attendee and Kremlin critic Bill Browder launched a tirade about sitting out this year because the forum sought to triple the cost of his participation to US$250,000.
Some deep-pocketed executives shell out upwards of US$1 million a year to be members of the WEF club.
It’s anybody’s guess whether an event that churns up pledges, promises and partnerships to help realise the forum’s ambition of improving the world will bring any concrete progress.
At Davos, EU leader stresses ‘de-risking, rather than decoupling’ from China
The main Davos takeaways this year included, not surprisingly, Ukraine, the climate and the global economy.
A Ukrainian delegation headed to the Swiss mountains to push for funding, weapons and other aid – capped with President Volodymyr Zelensky beaming in by video – for the war-torn country as the anniversary of Russia’s invasion draws closer.
First lady Olena Zelenska urged the power brokers in Davos ramp up support, saying in a speech on Tuesday that “there is something that separates you, namely that not all of you use this influence, or sometimes use it in a way that separates you even more”.
While panel sessions spanned topics from green investment to greenwashing, Thunberg, Vanessa Nakate and other young climate activists brought the fire to the corporate VIPs and political leaders tuning into the talks.
The activists slammed the heavy-hitters at Davos for prioritising short-term profits from fossil fuels over people affected by the climate crisis, and capped the week with a small climate protest on Friday where activists hoisted signs saying, “There is no planet B” and chanting that “fossil fuels have got to go”.
A US clean energy law that benefits American-made products such as electric vehicles got major airtime. Some expressed concern about European companies getting shut out of the US market and being denied green tech investment.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented a major clean tech industrial plan to ease the way for green industry subsidies and pool EU-wide projects that are boosted with major funding.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in the same session on Thursday that the world should be happy after years of telling the US “‘to step up on climate change.’ Now, they are doing it”.
Many bigwigs said economic expectations are improving from the train wreck they feared amid high inflation and slowing growth. Some forecasts were signalling 0.5 per cent growth this year in the US and Europe.
The IMFsaid inflation is heading down and the outlook for the global economy is “less bad than we feared a couple of months ago”. Likewise, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said, “It’s not a brilliant year, but it is a lot better than what we had feared.”
In a panel on Friday, both pointed to an expected rebound in China, which Lagarde said “most likely will be a positive for the rest of the world” but may boost inflation as the world’s second-largest economy consumes more energy.
