Climate Change High on Agenda at Davos Summit Despite Privileged Access For Fossil Fuel Industry

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As the worldโ€™s rich and powerful gather in Davos for the World Economic Forum (WEF), the threats to the global economy caused by environmental disasters and climate change are set to be high on theย agenda.

Attended by David Attenborough, 15-year-old school strike activist Greta Thunberg and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, this yearโ€™s WEF conference will hear from influential voices which have repeatedly warned that time for world leaders to address climate change is runningย out.

But the fossil fuel industry continues to be a guest of honour at the meeting, with some of the worldโ€™s largest oil, gas and mining companies having a say in shaping the forumโ€™s agenda and sitting on the conferenceโ€™s front bench as โ€œstrategicย partnersโ€.

Hereโ€™s a run down of what toย watch.

Climateย emergency

For the third year in a row, environmental risks dominated the influential World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Risks report, which is published annually ahead of the summit in the Swiss ski resort. The report gave a stark warning that the world is โ€œmost clearly sleepwalking intoย catastropheโ€.

Environmental challenges have long been relegated to the fringes of the WEF summit. But in recent years, the intensification and higher frequency of extreme weather events has seen the issue raise to the top of theย agenda.

According to the report, four of the five most impactful global risks relate to climate change. Extreme weather events and the failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation policy are ranked first and second as the most likely threat facing the global economy, and second and third for risks with the greatest impact mdash; behind only weapons of massย destruction.

The report warned that increasing geopolitical and economic tensions could hold back efforts to tackle escalating climate change threats. It also denounced the lack of progress of environmental policy and warned that the risks associated with climate inaction are โ€œbecoming increasinglyย clearโ€.

Commenting on the findings, Greenpeace Executive Director Jennifer Morgan, also a speaker at this yearโ€™s WEF conference, warned that โ€œclimate emergency must dominateโ€ theย gathering.

โ€œThe Davos โ€˜eliteโ€™ are still pretending we have time to fix the climate crisis. We donโ€™t. We have already entered into a new phase of climate change, one in which the impacts are coming faster, with greater intensity, and where we must act immediately,โ€ sheย added.

Morgan urged attendees to consider technology and the dawn of the โ€œFourth Industrial Revolutionโ€ โ€” one of the summitโ€™s central themes โ€” as a way to โ€œtotally reimagine the way we approach solutions to the climate crisisโ€ only if โ€œthis revolution is in service of solving climateย changeโ€.

She warned that technology should not โ€œstop those who are culpable in failing to curb greenhouse gas emission from taking simple actionย nowโ€.

Championing climateย action

In the age of rising populism and the rejection of the scientific consensus on climate change by Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro, the conference also includes a panel discussion on ways to bridge the increasing divide between scientific evidence and publicย opinion.

While neither Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron, nor Theresa May (who has more pressing threats to solve at home) are expected to attend Davos this year, Bolsonaro, who was sworn in as Brazilโ€™s President earlier this month, will be one of the starย attractions.

Bolsonaro has expressed his intention to align Brazil to the politics of the Trump administration. He appointed a Brazilian foreign minister who believes climate change is part of a โ€œcultural Marxistsโ€ plot to stifle western economies and pledged to open up the Amazon to miners, farmers and construction companies.ย ย 

Despite concerns about the risks posed by climate change, the summit is known for its polluting extravagance. Last year, 982 private jets set off to the Davos summit โ€” a nine percent increase from 2017, according to global aviation service company Air Partner. The company estimates the price for a private jet from London to Zurich to be around ยฃ8,000 for a six-seater lightย jet.ย 

But not everyone will be travelling to Davos in a private jet. Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg said she would make the journey to and from her home in Sweden on theย train.

Thunberg is expected to take part in the Arctic Basecamp, which include a series of eventsย with

scientists, policymakers and campaigners on the fringe of the summit. She will speak alongside Christiana Figueres, former executive secretary of the UNFCCC (now known as UN Climateย Change).

Fossil fuelย heavyweights

This yearโ€™s summit includes a host of events focused on accelerating the energy transition, avoiding stranded assets, elaborating market measures to ramp-up climate action, encouraging climate leadership and tackling the plastic and wasteย crisis.

But the fossil fuel industry remains a key player on the Davosย stage.

Patrick Pouyannรฉ, CEO of Total, and Iain Conn, CEO of the Centrica Group, are both listed as main speakers at the conference. In the UK, Centrica has invested millions into the burgeoning frackingย industry.

Meanwhile, a few of the worldโ€™s biggest oil, gas and mining companies are able to ย shape the conferenceโ€™s agenda as โ€œstrategic partnersโ€. This includes the Adani Group, BP, Centrica, Chevron, GE, LukOil, Reliance Industries, Saudi Aramco and SOCA (State Oil Company of the Azerbaijanย Republic).

A total of 100 global companies benefit from the โ€œstrategic partnerโ€ status at the WEF. According to the WEF website, these companies provide โ€œessential leadership to support the WEFโ€™s mission of improving the state of the worldโ€ and โ€œshape the future through extensive contribution to developing and implementing WEF projects and championing public-privateย dialogueโ€.

CEOs of companies which benefit from this status are โ€œpersonally involved in decision-making and shaping many WEF initiativesโ€ โ€” while the most senior executives are also able to participate on steering boards and in advisoryย groups.

Image credit: World Economic Forum/Flickr/CC BYNCSAย 2.0

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