Ukraine, climate, economy: Takeaways from glitzy Davos event
DAVOS, (AP):
ELITES FROM politics, business, academia and the arts on Friday wrapped up the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 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 week-long gathering in the Alps drew notables like 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 moneygrubbers seeking to rule the world, and this year was no exception. Longtime 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 $250,000.
Some deep-pocketed execs shell out upward of $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.
A Ukrainian delegation headed to the Swiss mountains to push for funding, weapons and other aid – capped with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 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 to ramp up support, saying in a speech 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”.
Zelenskyy urged his allies to speed up the delivery of more advanced weapons in a keynote speech and later gave a veiled critique of major supporters such as Germany and the US that have hesitated about sending tanks.
“There are times where we shouldn’t hesitate or we shouldn’t compare when someone says, ‘I will give tanks if someone else will also share his tanks,’” said Zelenskyy, who reiterated his plea Friday as Western allies met at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz – the only leader from the Group of Seven leading economies at Davos – has faced growing pressure to provide Ukraine with tanks, but avoided directly answering the question Wednesday.
Germany will remain one of Ukraine’s top weapons suppliers, he said, and “we are never doing something just by ourselves, but together with others – especially the United States”.
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 heavyhitters at Davos for prioritising shortterm profits from fossil fuels over people affected by the climate crisis. Ugandan activist Nakate choked up during a roundtable with the head of the International Energy Agency, saying “leaders are playing games” with people’s futures.
She and Thunberg capped the week with a small climate protest Friday where activists hoisted signs saying, “There is no planet B” and chanting that “fossil fuels have got to go”. It added a bookend: Dozens of climate activists – some with clown make-up – braved snowfall to demonstrate Sunday.
Even global financial leaders got heated about the climate.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, when asked for one thing she would change to accelerate the net zero transition, said she would lock the US, China, India and the European Union in a room.
“Let them out after they sign in blood a commitment to work together to save the planet,” she said to applause.