World Economic Forum to address key climate issues

More than 2,500 businesses, governments, NGOs and influential global leaders are gathering for the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos Switzerland  and with 30 sessions in the program focusing on environmental resilience, food security and the management of natural resources there will be a focus on climate change.

This focus on the green economy and environmental challenges at Davos Forum is gaining much credence amid the current dialogue on fiscal cliffs, perhaps due to the increasing costs of weather damage and environmental pressure that businesses and investors around the world are experiencing.

There is also increasing recognition of the worrying trend that greenhouse gas emissions have not decreased due to the economic downturn and the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, Achim Steiner, is attending the meeting in Switzerland to explain UNEP estimates that nearly 50 billion tonnes of CO₂ were emitted in 2011, approximately 20 per cent more than the global emissions in 2000.

Even more disturbing is UNEP's prediction that under current targets the world is on course for 4°C warming; a level that  Jim Kim, the head of the World Bank, has described as a potentially devasting outcome.

The leaders of the world's preeminent environmental organisations including WWF International, World Resources Institute, Greenpeace International, The Nature Conservancy and Global Green Growth Institute are in Davos to engage with heads of business and political leaders on a plethora of key issues. Business sector organisations such as the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the International Trade Union Confederation will be highlighting concerns and solutions from the business perspective.

Food security is also forming one of the central topics for discussion this year as the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) tracked how the deterioration of crops in the US following extensive drought has pushed prices up 20 per cent.

FAO Director General, José Graziano da Silva, will be present at the Forum and will raise the issue of how climate change and severe weather disturbances are having a dangerous effect on the food market; contributing to food shortages and spiralling food prices.

In excess of 50 senior executives from clean energy companies will also attend with the world's most influential development financial institutions, including the heads of sovereign wealth funds and national development banks contributing at the Forum. They will discuss the key proposition that an increase of US$36 billion annually in clean energy, if used efficiently, has the potential to create US$570 billion a year in private capital; which woulod be enough investment to avoid devastating climate impacts on the global economy.