David Nabarro, United Nations, speaks with Kumi Naidoo, Greenpeace International, at the Open Forum; Source: Nikolaj Fischer / Studentreporter
Inside the Congress Centre (Annual Meeting)
- The Global Energy Context session discussed the dramatic macroeconomic effects of the rise of shale gas in the US, as well as how “markets are quietly achieving both growth and environmental improvements.”
- Panelists from China’s Growth Context positively noted that “for the first time, consumption is leading the economic recovery [instead of investment-driven growth]” with no mentions of environmental consequences.
- Pricing of natural resources and cost of extraction dominated the discussions at the session on Natural Resource Context. The session also highlighted advantages of open data and data exchange standards for resource management.
- (Featured quote) Kumi Naidoo, Executive Director of Greenpeace International, spoke about campaigning, climate change, China, and leadership, at An Insight, An Idea: Transformational Approach for Addressing Climate Change.
Elsewhere in Davos (Open Forum, other)
- The Open Forum commenced today with the first panel, NGOs: New Models for the 21st Century, which focused mostly on accountability.
- Talks at the evening session, Unemployed or Unemployable?, focused on jobs for green economy and training to mobilise the youth.
Forum Releases
- In the facing of increasingly frequent shocks such as political unrest and natural disasters, Building Resilience in Supply Chains lays a blueprint to advise companies.
- Other previous reports leading up to Davos include:
- Outlook on the Global Agenda 2013, highlighting environmental concerns, such as climate change adaptation and natural resource scarcity, as among the most urgent challenges today.
- The Global Risks Report 2013, analyzing them in the context of economic and environmental resilience, the report shows that we are “more at risk as persistent economic weakness saps our ability to tackle environmental challenges.”
- “Growing spinach in a skyscraper” by Frans van Houten, the Chief Executive Officer of Royal Philips Electronics, on Forum:Blog.
- “It’s the economy, stupid” by Pooran Desai, Co-founder, BioRegional and International Director, One Planet Communities, United Kingdom, on Forum:Blog.
- Ideas @Davos: Biofuels of the future with Kristala Prather, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
- “How do you measure happiness?” by Paul Dolan, Professor of Behavioural Science, Department of Social Policy, London School of Economics, on Forum:Blog.
In the Media
- Davos 2013: why food and resource security will be on the agenda, Guardian Sustainable Business (by Dominic Waughray, World Economic Forum Head of Environmental Initiatives)
- Davos man thrives while rest of us pay for his excess, Guardian Sustainable Business
- The Climate Change Endgame, The New York Times
- Davos pitch for dynamism rams into end-of-growth debate, Bloomberg