Climate, anti-Davos protesters urge world leaders to rethink economic system
DAVOS, Switzerland
Ahead of this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, which is set to start on Monday, several groups staged anti-Davos demonstrations to protest global corporations that are compounding man-made environmental damage.
Activists from the strike WEF collective and the Young Socialists of Switzerland gathered on Sunday at Davos Postplatz, criticized the Davos elite and accused them of elitism and hypocrisy, for example because they flew in private jets to a meeting to discuss climate change .
Gianna Catrina, 21, one of the protest leaders, told Anadolu that the current ecological crisis is being fueled by the current economic system, which she says is “at the root of environmental problems and many social problems as well”.
“That’s why we’re here, to protest for the change in the world economy that should change its shift from profit to an economy where business cares for nature,” she said.
“And it’s really a global movement that includes environmentalists, leftists and feminists. I think the change is happening right now, when people are starting to rethink the economy, the capitalist economy,” she said.
She also urged world leaders to shift their focus away from profit, because without “preserving nature… the economy of the future is not possible.”
The structure of the WEF is problematic
Claudıo Bernard, another protester from the strike WEF collective, said they are calling for the WEF to be abolished because the way it is structured is problematic, “with the people with power and money coming here and the Rest of the public is out”.
According to Bernard, “There’s a lot of undemocratic stuff with deals and dictators who can be welcomed here with red carpets.
“There should be international forums. But they should be structured very differently than just big-money corporations.”
He also said governments must deliver climate justice and they should accept what the planet can give and not try to take too much from it.
Rosemarie Wydler-Walti, a 72-year-old climate activist, said she is part of a group of around 2,000 women campaigning for climate action in Switzerland, which she says is “the country most affected by climate change Heat waves.”
She said they have sued the Swiss government for failing to take adequate steps to combat climate change.
“This case will be heard on March 29 in Strasbourg, where the European Court of Human Rights is based, and we hope that action on climate change will be assessed within the framework of human rights.”
“The Swiss government is doing nothing to tackle climate change. Nothing really. We are in a worse position than (other) European countries in this regard,” she said.
Annual Summit
Under the motto “Cooperation in a Fragmented World,” prominent figures from the world of global politics and business will attend the five-day annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, which concludes on Friday.
The gathering will bring together more than 2,700 leaders from 130 countries, including 50 leaders, as multiple crises deepen divisions and fragment the geopolitical landscape.
This year will also see the highest corporate participation ever in Davos, with more than 1,500 executives registered across 700 organizations.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz is the only G-7 leader attending the summit.
The heads of state of the EU, NATO, Finland, Greece, Spain, the Philippines, South Africa and South Korea also appear in the Swiss ski area.