The Carbon Column – Davos 2023. What’s it all about?

In this article I discuss Davos, the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting

Last week, the World Economic Forum (WEF) hosted its 53rd Annual Meeting which takes its name from the location of the event, Davos, a small town in the Swiss alps.

The delegates were mainly made up of political and business leaders, including CEOs from the WEF partner organisations, leaders from G7 and G20 countries, top thinkers, academics and heads of international organisations.

The overarching theme of Davos 2023 is “Cooperation in a Fragmented World”. The 4-day sessions addressed key areas which include social vulnerabilities, geopolitical uncertainty, the low growth, high debt economy, headwinds for the innovation of technology, as well as the current energy and food crises.

WEF state the annual meeting “has provided space for leaders to engage in peer-to-peer deliberations in the spirit of improving the state of the world. Never has this mission been more important”.

I watched some of the discussions. One that I reshared on my own LinkedIn was a clip of a presentation by Johan Rockström, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Professor in Earth System Science at the University of Potsdam.

This clip sums up the crisis we face. It’s not a climate crisis. It is a planetary crisis.

Rockström claims there are 16 tipping elements which could push our planet into crisis. These are large biophysical systems that regulate the Earth’s entire climate system.

Nine of them are already showing signs of instability, four of them are showing evidence of reaching the physical limit of 1.5oC of warming.

According to Rockström, if these systems are pushed too far, they will go from supporting humanity to undermining humanity.

These systems are interlinked. The destruction of one will lead to further acceleration of destruction of others. We need these systems to thrive for us to survive.

What action should we take as individuals and businesses to ensure our leaders act in the best interests of everyone?

 

If you are reading this and want to check out the video, head to my LinkedIn or find the video on WEF social media.

Let me know your thoughts on Davos 2023 or if you have any questions, please email me.

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