28 January 2010: The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, which is being held in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, from 27-31 January 2010, under the theme “Improve the State of the World: Rethink, Redesign, Rebuild,” features several sessions devoted to exploring climate change and low-carbon economic growth issues.
To support these discussions, the World Economic Forum has released the report “Green Investing 2010: Policy Mechanisms to Bridge the Financing Gap.” According to the report, investment in clean energy has held up better than expected during the financial crisis, but a considerable gap still exists between current levels of investment and what is needed to begin reducing global carbon emissions.
Industry-focused discussions during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting will focus on scaling up green investment, energy efficiency, smart grids, and carbon capture and sequestration demonstrations. Business conversations with governments and expert organizations will concentrate on the policy environment needed for the private sector to contribute to green growth, following the outcome of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference. The design of a high-profile platform involving international organizations, multilateral financial institutions and investor networks will be also be discussed, with a view to launching innovative mechanisms for financing low-carbon energy infrastructure in developing countries in 2010.
In parallel to the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2010, an Open Forum is being held at the same venue from 28-30 January 2010. The Open Forum, which is open to the general public, features a high-level discussion with leaders from politics, business and civil society on “Climate Change: Financing Urgent Adaptation.” [World Economic Forum Press Release] [Green Investing 2010 Report] [Open Forum Press Release]