Attendees emit more CO2 than solutions at World Economic Forum

Interdependence is the defining characteristic of the 21st century and there is a curious mix in today’s politics of moral cause and strategic interest…the challenge of climate change being the supreme expression of interdependence.

Of course, Davos is a place where corporate titans, international bankers, world leaders and a smattering of celebrity do-gooders gather annually for invigorating gabfests about the impact of world developments on their businesses, personal wealth and collective conscience. And, where politicians, celebrities and token guests from the Third World change from year to year, the other attendees are invariably the same rich investors and financial managers who represent the world’s super rich.

The forum is promoted as “impartial and not-for-profit [and] tied to no political, partisan or national interests.” But movers and shakers know that the reason an invitation to this retreat is so coveted is because it’s a rare (and rarified) opportunity to see and be seen amongst the people who really rule the world. And, the PR value of such images alone is priceless. However, the real pay-off comes from the contacts one makes and business tips that flow during unguarded chats in Swiss Chalets and on Davos ski slopes.

In fact, despite all their talk about spreading the wealth and sharing the sacrifices of globalization, the agenda for most attendees was to establish contacts that might help them exploit business opportunities – especially in lucrative but nearly impenetrable markets like China and India:

But all of this behind-closed-doors wheeling and dealing is supposed to remain as guarded from the press as the secret professional societies to which many of the Davos regulars belong (like The Bilderberg Group, Trilateral Commission, et al). After all, the uninitiated (i.e. 99% of us who just hear and read about it) are supposed to believe that this forum is all about addressing world economic problems that affect our lives. And that’s why the most talked about feature of this annual gathering is not the (main event) schmooze-fests for business opportunities; instead, it’s the (undercard) gabfests for charitable causes at which invited guests sit on panels where they emit self-flagellating hot air about world trade, climate change and, their pet peeve, Africa.

Indeed, to hear these rich folks lamenting about the depletion of the ozone, the increasing gap between haves and have nots and the almost criminal waste of non-renewable energy one would think they jet-pooled to Davos on ethanol-fueled airplanes; whereas they all flew in on gas-guzzling, air-polluting private jets. And no one exposed the farce inherent in this annual forum more than Achim Steiner, Executive Director UN Environment Program, when he said, even if unwittingly, that:

Prince Charles will give up his private jet and fossil fuel-powered cars in exchange for commercial airlines and biodiesel cars in an effort to reduce his carbon footprint and help fight global warming emission….Wherever possible, we will be making less use of helicopters and chartered planes and rely more on car journeys, scheduled flights and trains.