London, Europe Brief News – As Davos braces itself for the annual World Economic Forum, climate activists have once again descended onto the Swiss village demanding governments and businesses do more to protect the environment.
World Economic Forum chiefs last Tuesday said the upcoming event would be taking place against “the most complex geopolitical and geo-economic backdrop in decades”.
Speaking at a news conference in Geneva, WEF President Borge Brende said “so much is at stake”.
“How can we avoid a global recession, soaring energy, and food prices?
“And also how to really avoid further escalation of the global crisis.”
Davos will host a record 52 heads of state and government, as well as nearly 600 CEOs.
The annual meeting of global business and political leaders in Switzerland starts on Monday.
It will be attended by some 1,500 business leaders, including major energy firms like BP, Chevron and Saudi Aramco.
“We are demanding concrete and real climate action,” said Nicolas Siegrist, the 26-year-old organiser of the protest, who also heads the Young Socialists party in Switzerland.
“They will be in the same room with state leaders and they will push for their interests,” Siegrist said of the involvement of energy companies at the WEF meeting.
The oil and gas industry has said that it needs to be part of the energy transition because fossil fuels will continue to play a major role in the world’s energy mix as countries shift to low-carbon economies.
More than 100 protesters gathered in a Davos square were chanting “change your diet for the climate, eat the rich”. Others booed oil firms cited during a speech.
