Live Updates | Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) – The latest from the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland:
US Climate Change Commissioner John Kerry says that despite nearly $1 trillion made available to various causes by global philanthropists in recent years, only 2% of that sum goes to climate action.
He said Tuesday during a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos that an estimated $7.5 billion to $12.5 billion in global philanthropy is being spent on climate action. He and others urged philanthropists around the world to come together and do more to help protect the climate.
“So how do we get there?” Kerry asked about the preservation of the global climate goals. He replied: “Well, the lesson I’ve learned over the last year – I learned it as Secretary of State and it has been reinforced in the highest degree ever since – is money, money, money, money, money, money, money.”
The panel session also launched the Call to Action of GAEA, the World Economic Forum’s new global effort to raise additional philanthropy that can fund climate action.
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The European Union is driving a massive clean-tech industrial plan designed not only to keep the continent at the forefront of planning a greener future, but also to ensure its economic survival as it faces challenges from China and the United States.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented the main features of her “Green Deal Industrial Plan”, which will make it much easier to enforce subsidies for green industries and to bundle EU-wide projects that are being boosted with large funds, like the EU pursues carbon neutral by 2050.
Speaking Tuesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, von der Leyen said the bloc of 27 nations will be much more forceful against unfair trade practices if they come from Washington or, more importantly, Beijing.
Von der Leyen’s draft will now become the main reason for debate among member states before their 27 leaders meet for a summit on the issue on February 9-10.
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Ukraine’s first lady slammed Russia just before the anniversary of the war in Ukraine, saying parents were in tears as they watched doctors try to save their children, saying farmers were afraid to return to their fields full of explosive mines , and that “we cannot let another Chernobyl happen.”
Olena Zelenska also slammed government leaders and business executives for not always using their influence to do enough, in a speech on Tuesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
As war fuels inflation and widens food insecurity in the developing world, she called it “an insult to humanity and human nature to experience mass starvation.”
She says the war could spread beyond Ukraine’s borders and worsen crises, but “unity is what brings peace back”.
Zelenska said she had brought letters from the Ukrainian leadership to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Chinese President Xi Jinping, which she will deliver to Vice Premier Liu He, who is speaking with von der Leyen in Davos on Tuesday.
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The head of the International Energy Agency says Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has spurred renewed support for renewable energy as concerns about security of supply combine with concerns about the environment.
But IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said Tuesday during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that clean energy investment still falls far short of what is needed.
He says the disruption to oil and natural gas supplies from Russia means that “the biggest driver of renewable energy growth today is energy security…because domestic renewable energy is the energy of peace.”
Birol cited the move to battery-powered cars as progress, saying that this was only 3 out of 100 vehicles sold in 2019, but had reached 13% last year. He says every second car in major markets will be electric by 2030.
He welcomed government support such as the US Inflation Reduction Act and the EU’s Fit for 55 targets, but warned that rich countries’ efforts would not be enough if developing countries could not afford the transition to energy sources that use less emit harmful carbon dioxide.
Right now, Birol says that for every dollar invested in fossil fuels, $1.50 is invested in clean energy: “If we’re going to reach our goal, the ratio has to be one to nine.”
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Polish President Andrzej Duda predicts that the German government will one day agree to send powerful Leopard tanks to Ukraine, citing Germany’s membership in NATO and increasing public support for Ukrainians beset by Russia’s war will.
The Polish leader joked during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday: “We don’t mention that Ukraine will win this war, we mention that Ukraine will not lose this war,” before chuckling.
His Lithuanian counterpart Gitanas Nauseda was quick to reply: “I mention that Ukraine will win this war.”
Almost a year after the war began, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for more supplies of Western weapons such as tanks and air defense systems.
Duda said it was an “important moment” that NATO members like Britain had vowed to send modern tanks to Ukraine, which could sway the thinking of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government.
Scholz, speaking in Davos on Wednesday, said Germany would “carefully weigh each step” and consult with its allies on further arms sales to Ukraine.
Duda also said German public opinion was getting “stronger and stronger and stronger” in favor of Ukraine and he hoped this would lead to the “very necessary decision” to send Leopards to Ukraine.
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KEY DEVELOPMENTS:
— The First Lady of Ukraine speaking on the first big day in Davos
— Online conspiracy theories target the World Economic Forum
— According to the report, companies trust the most in a more polarized world
– Anti-poverty group calls for windfall tax on food company profits
Follow AP’s coverage of the World Economic Forum meeting at https://apnews.com/hub/world-economic-forum
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