Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks from a video screen to participants of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023. The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum is taking place in Davos from Jan. 16 to Jan. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Marcus Schreiber) | photo credit: Markus Schreiber
Climate change came to the fore at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting, where UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres asked business leaders to adhere to principles outlined by an expert group to make credible net-zero pledges or risk greenwashing.
The United Nations and the International Organization for Standardization, which sets standards, released guidelines in November to become the reference text and help organizations come up with concrete plans to avoid slogans, hype and ambiguity.
Climate change is set to take center stage, with activist Greta Thunberg set to arrive in Davos on Thursday and meet Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Other attention Wednesday was on Ukraine, with President Volodymyr Zelensky telling WEF delegates by video link that Western supplies of tanks and air defense units should arrive more quickly and be delivered faster than Russia’s.
Zelensky was speaking before meeting Western allies at Ramstein airport in Germany on Friday, with talks focused on whether Berlin would allow its Leopard battle tanks to help Kyiv expel Russian forces.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He shake hands ahead of their meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 18, 2023. photo credit: AFP
China’s Vice Premier Liu on Tuesday welcomed foreign investment and declared his country open to the world after three years of pandemic isolation, a positive sign that International Monetary Fund (IMF) Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath called it a positive sign. .
Gopinath said China could see a sharp recovery in economic growth from the second quarter, based on current infection trends after most COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
“Given the infection trends, and if they persist, we could see a very rapid recovery from the first quarter of this year onwards,” he said, referring to what he sees as an “exit wave” associated with the economic reopening. said about the current surge in infections. ,
And the focus was also on the coronavirus for Moderna Chief Executive Officer Stephane Bancel, who said the US company was in active discussions to supply China with COVID-19 vaccines, including factories and cancer treatments in talks with Beijing. Topics from other products were also included.