Davos Forum Day 3: Climate change has burst onto the scene and Ukraine remains in the crosshairs

First modification: 01/18/2023 – 23:44

The war in Ukraine and climate change shared the spotlight on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in the tiny Swiss Alpine town, with President Volodymyr Zelensky urging more Western military aid.

In a speech broadcast by videoconference to the more than 2,700 attendees at the event, the Ukrainian president said that Western supplies of tanks and air defense units should arrive before Russia intensifies its offensive.

Zelensky’s message comes before Western allies meet at Germany’s Ramstein airbase on Friday with the focus on whether Berlin will allow its Leopard main battle tanks to be supplied to kyiv to help drive out Russian forces.

In a long-awaited speech, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz did not confirm or rule out the request, but merely asserted that “the Ukrainians can count on our support, and we will try to prevent this from turning into a war between Russia and NATO.” ”.

“We are not going to act on our own initiative but always in consensus. Especially with the United States,” he added. Germany’s reluctance stems from the fear that the supply of these war tanks could lead to an attack by kyiv on Russia and even trigger a larger conflict between Moscow and NATO.

Precisely, the head of this body, Jens Stoltenberg, joined the calls to strengthen military support for kyiv, as part of a strategy to weaken Russia on the battlefield and force Vladimir Putin to seek a negotiated solution to the conflict. .

Climate change jumped on the scene

With activist Greta Thunberg set to arrive in Davos and meet International Energy Agency (IEA) executive director Fatih Birol on Thursday, climate change will continue to take center stage at the Davos leaders’ summit.

On Wednesday, UN Secretary General António Guterres called on leaders to follow principles outlined by a group of experts to make “credible” and responsible pledges of net zero emissions.

He urged participants to “submit credible and transparent transition plans on how to achieve net zero emissions, and submit those plans before the end of this year.”

“The transition to net zero emissions must be based on real emissions cuts, and not rely on carbon credits and shadow markets,” he said.

The green energy transition of world powers has been one of the central issues at the forum in Davos, where the European Union said it would mobilize state aid to prevent companies from moving to the United States as part of its Green Deal industrial plan.

Guterres said meaningful engagement on climate, trade and technology between the United States and China, at odds on issues ranging from trade to human rights, was essential to avoid confrontation.