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Davos Chief Welcomes Views of Trump, Greta Thunberg at Forum

Associated Press

   DAVOS, SWITZERLAND - The head of the World Economic Forum says it's
   "reassuring" that U.S. President Donald Trump and climate activist
   Greta Thunberg will both return to its annual meeting in Davos this
   year, noting that concerns about the environment will be a key topic.
   WEF founder Klaus Schwab sees vast changes in business, society and
   culture over the 50 years since he created the yearly gathering in the
   Swiss Alps, which initially was a forum for business leaders but now is
   a key stop for policymakers and activists as well.
   Following another year of extreme heat, out-of-control wildfires and
   melting ice sheets, environmental issues are considered to be the top
   five long-term risks confronting the global economy, WEF said last
   week, citing a survey of more than 750 decision-makers.
   It said catastrophic trends like global warming, climate change and the
   extinction of animal species would top the agenda at the meeting that
   begins Tuesday.
   The forum is shifting its focus of recent years from how technology is
   transforming lives to the environment and responsible business
   practices that promote jobs, fight climate change and work for social
   good along with profit-making.
   The focus on environment could make for an uncomfortable subject for
   Trump, whose administration has called for expanded use of
   carbon-spewing coal, stripped away environmental protections and played
   down concerns among scientists about man-made climate change. Trump has
   also moved to take the U.S. out of the landmark 2015 Paris accord to
   fight climate change.
   Schwab says Trump is welcome because of his role on the world stage
   while Thunberg will keep the focus on the environment. Both will speak
   Tuesday on the opening day.
   "I think both voices are necessary," Schwab said Sunday in an interview
   with The Associated Press. "The environment will play a particularly
   important role during this meeting."
   Schwab pointed to the forum's 160 "lighthouse" projects on inclusion
   and equality; economic development; technology governance; regional
   development; corporate leadership and ecology, including a project to
   plant a trillion trees.
   "So if Greta comes this year, she will see that we have made
   substantial progress,'' he said, alluding to her debut at the forum
   last year.
   Time magazine chose Thunberg as its ``Person of the Year'' for 2019.
   Schwab claimed the forum has helped air concerns about the environment
   since the 1970s, but said public awareness about climate issues has now
   exploded.
   "Now we have recognized the urgency, because we know the window to act
   [on climate change] is closing," he said, adding he hoped to inject
   "this sense of urgency into the meeting."
   He said many companies are increasingly seeing the benefits of "ESG"--
   environmental, social and governance-- concerns in their business
   models.
   "Companies recognize ... doing good ... it's a precondition for some
   long-term survival," Schwab said.
   On Friday, Schwab and the chairmen of Bank of America and Dutch
   nutrition company Royal DSM sent a joint open letter to corporate
   leaders on hand this year to set "a target to achieve net zero
   greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or sooner" if their companies haven't
   done so already.
   The forum chief said nearly all European Union leaders will be on hand
   this year, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He said the EU
   has a chance to lay out its vision for the future and turn the corner
   after three years of haggling over Britain's departure from the bloc,
   which comes at the end of this month.
   He also brushed aside critics who have faulted the forum as an overly
   exclusive vacation for the world's out-of-touch elites.
   "If I am particularly proud of something during the last 50 years, it
   is of having created many years ago the community of young leaders,"
   Schwab said, citing 10,000 young "Global Shapers" in over 400 cities
   who he said are engaged in issues on the ground. "We try-- and I think
   quite successfully-- to integrate the bottom-up, young generation very
   much."
   The Davos gathering has battled a reputation of being a haunt for the
   rich, powerful and famous over its five decades. Over the years, the
   forum has hosted celebrities like Hollywood stars Shirley Maclaine and
   George Clooney, Nobel Peace Prize laureates Shimon Peres and Yasser
   Arafat, and former South African presidents F.W. de Klerk and Nelson
   Mandela, and business gurus like Davos regular Bill Gates.