Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunbergand other prominent climate activists including Vanessa Nakate and Helena Neubauer are holding a climate march on the final day of panels at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Thunberg met with the chief of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, on the sidelines of the convention on Thursday and slammed corporate elites for their inaction.
Leaders at Davos are “fuelling the destruction of the planet” by investing in fossil fuels and prioritising short-term profits over people affected by the climate crisis, she said.
The activists brought a ‘cease and desist’ letter calling on the heads of fossil fuel companies to stop all new oil and natural gas projects, it was signed by nearly 900,000 people.
Today’s proceeding will be the last of this year’s talks at the World Economic Forum, under the theme ‘Cooperation in a Fragmented World’.
The convention has brought together hundreds of world leaders and industry experts for special addresses, panel discussions and separate meetings.
What were the highlights of Thursday’s sessions?
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FBI Director Christopher Wray said he’s “deeply concerned” about China’s artificial intelligence programme, and said the country’s AI initiatives “are not constrained by the rule of law” and are “built on top of massive troves of intellectual property and sensitive veri that they’ve stolen over the years.”
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Greece’s prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said he still believes it’s possible to resolve his country’s differences with Turkey by speaking with Turkey’s president, stressing the neighbours will not go to war.
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Keir Starmer, the UK opposition leader said the UK needs a strategy for renewables. Starmer said new investment in the oil and gas industry is not the answer as the UK must move towards the goal of net zero emissions and reduce dependency on oil and gas.
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Grant Shapps, the UK Business Minister, discussed how governments and companies can work together to shape the next generation of industrial strategies and warned that US President Joe Biden’s green subsidy programme is “dangerous”.
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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelesnkyy attended a breakfast briefing on the sidelines of the gathering in which he bemoaned a “lack of specific weaponry” and said that to win the war, “we cannot just do it with motivation and morale.”
Who can viewers expect to see on the final day of meetings in Davos on Friday?
- Maria Leptin, the President of the European Research Council; Mikuláš Bek, the Czech Minister for European Affairs; Tanja Fajon, the Deputy Prime Minister of Slovenia; Christine Lagarde, the President, of the European Central Bank; Kristalina Georgieva, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund; author, Christoph Keller; Fawn Sharp, President of the National Congress of American Indians and Børge Brende, the President of the World Economic Forum in Geneva.
- Euronews’ Sasha Vakulina, Meabh McMahon, Fay Doulgkeri and David Walsh have been on the ground in Davos and are covering all the latest developments.
Welcome back to the final day of talks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. We will be providing you with the latest developments and all the highlights from the week.
That’s it for our World Economic Forum coverage today, we will be back for the final day of sessions tomorrow morning, thanks for reading.
Looking for a bedtime read? Euronews has you covered
Greece is no longer the sick patient of Europe
Kyriakos Mitsokakis, The Prime Minister of Greece
Mitsokakis was optimistic on Thursday regarding the evolution of his country in recent years and defended how his government’s work has achieved “an economic transformation” thanks to a series of measures taken “from common sense”.
Ukraine presents formula for peace
Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian Presidency’s chief of staff, shared the government’s vision for a peaceful scenario in the territory, without forgetting relations with China and the West
Next winter may be more difficult. We have to promote much more renewable energy. And individual countries should think about going nuclear, saving natural gas in buildings and elsewhere, and trying to get more gas from Norway, the United States, Azerbaijan, and others.
Fatih Birol, the Director of the International Energy Agency to Euronews
Corruption can’t be tolerated in any form but we do need to see it in perspective as well. Europe is a superpower when it comes to values, despite our flaws and there are many. We are one of the least corrupt parts of the world, if not the least corrupt. We do have the highest standards when it comes to human rights, the rule of law, free and fair elections, the rights of women, the rights of LGBT people and not using the health penalty. What’s happening in the European Parliament now will certainly do reputational damage to the European Union but we shouldn’t allow it to cause us to forget why those values are so important and why we are a distinct part of the world and it should be an opportunity I think, to enhance those basic values.
Leo Varadkar, the Taoiseach of Ireland
I am not here to tell you that this will never happen again [the Qatar corruption scandal in the European Parliament], but I am here to say that it is my responsibility, the buck stops with me, that I need to make mühlet that alarm bells should have rung earlier and firewalls should have been put in place. We are talking about an alleged case of huge political corruption, quite a big network. The impulse would be to blame who came before you, the impulse would also be to say, that’s not, you know, in my immediate circle, I refused. I refused to do that. That would be the easiest [thing to do]. So, what we have had to do — and it will be a very difficult few weeks and months ahead — is on top of the ıslahat that we need to do here… we need immediate measures to address the gaps we have.
Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Parliament