As the 2023 World Economic Forum begins in Davos, Switzerland, political activists express concerns regarding the expected outcomes of the meeting. From Euractiv.com:
Discussions on the programme are heavily linked to climate change, but activists fear greenwashing will take centre stage as CEOs of oil and gas companies rub shoulders with global leaders. “Davos is of course dominated by a wealthy group of people,” said Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate who spoke to journalists on Wednesday (11 January).
The term “greenwashing” refers to political or corporate claims about environmentally friendly policies or products that are not substantiated upon closer scrutiny.
According to Euractiv, Ugandan climate activist Nakate will be joined in Davos by Greta Thunberg, an activist from Sweden. Thunberg was recently apprehended by German police during a protest against a new coal mine.
Reporting on site in Davos, Yahoo.com provides more details on how “activists fear the presence of Big Oil corperations [sic] could turn the summit into a greenwashing exercise”:
More than one hundred protesters gathered in a snowy Davos square on Monday and chanted, “change your diet for the climate, eat the rich,” while some booed oil firms cited during a speech.
The leader of the activist group was Nicolas Siegrist, who according to Yahoo News is head of the Young Socialists in Switzerland.
Yahoo News also reports that another activist, Heather Smith, appeared to blame high interest rates for the lack of development of so-called renewable energy sources. Foxbusiness.com reports that Smith is “campaigning to stop the development of the Rosebank oil and gas field in the North Sea.”
The theme for the 2023 World Economic Forum is “cooperation in a fragmented world.” The meeting concludes on January 20th.
