Davos Agenda Closes with Calls for New Models of Public-Private Cooperation

Geneva, Switzerland, January 25, 2022 / TRAVELINDEX / The Davos Agenda closed today following headline-making dialogues with heads of state and government, international organizations, business and civil society.

The week-long meeting convened leaders on “The State of the World”. It was the first global platform of the year and focused on driving concerted action among key global stakeholders.

“We are seeing challenges mounting from supply chain disruptions to tectonic shifts in labour markets, to inflation figures which are of concern to policy-makers and individuals alike. The year ahead is a crucial one to work together, rebuild trust and shape a better and more inclusive future for all,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

World leaders spoke on the global economic outlook, energy transition, social justice, healthy futures and resiliency in special address. In order of appearance this week:

“We need to embrace cooperation and jointly defeat the pandemic. Confronted by the once-in-a-century pandemic, which will affect the future of humanity, the international community has fought a tenacious battle,” said Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China. “Facts have shown once again that amidst the raging torrents of a global crisis, countries are not riding separately in some 190 small boats but are rather all in a giant ship on which our shared destiny hinges. Small boats may not survive a storm, but a giant ship is strong enough to brave a storm.”

“In the midst of new challenges, the world today needs new avenues, new resolutions. Today, every country in the world needs cooperation with each other more than ever before,” said Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India. “Our multilingual, multicultural environment is a great strength that teaches us not just to think of ourselves in times of crisis but to work in the best interests of the world.”

“Turning this ship around will take immense willpower and ingenuity from governments and businesses alike, in every major-emitting nation,” António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations said. “We see a clear role for businesses and investors in supporting our net-zero goal.”

“In order for the world to meet the 2050 net-zero emission goal, we need technologies that do not yet exist, we need inventions that do not exist yet,” said Naftali Bennett, Prime Minister of Israel.

“A key focus of my administration will be the revitalization of Japan through a new form a capitalism,” said Kishida Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan. He emphasized that the time has come for “historic economic and social transformations” and that Japan will pioneer a new form of public-private partnership, with leaders of government, industry and labour all working together to develop paradigm-shifting policies.

“Some will try to tell us dialogue and compromise are forms of weakness, said Olaf Scholz, Federal Chancellor of Germany. “Some will try and pitch climate action against prosperity. Some will argue that social progress hampers economic growth. Some will try to divide us. The truth is the progress we want will only occur if we overcome these divisions. Working together is the only way and restoring trust is our goal.”

Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia, spoke on the strengthening of global health resilience and the need for advanced economies and the G20 to support a renewed global architecture, “The costs will be much lower than the losses we sustained due to the vulnerability of the system during the pandemic,” he said.

“Europe’s global semiconductor market share is only 10%. And today, most of our supply comes from a handful of producers outside Europe. This is a dependency and uncertainty we simply cannot afford,” said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. “We have no time to lose. And this is why I announce here today that we will propose our European Chips Act in early February.”

“The lesson of these times is that supply chain resilience requires a new partnership between countries, governments and businesses,” said Scott Morrison, Prime Minister of Australia.

Access to COVID-19 vaccines continues to pose a serious problem for Africa, with fewer than 10% of populations fully vaccinated in most countries, said Yemi Osinbajo, Vice-President of Nigeria. He called for patent waivers to permit African countries to manufacture vaccines locally. “Now is a good time to test global will,” he said, in building international cooperation to prepare for new, possibly worse pandemics to come.

“We aren’t just focused on achieving a high top line growth number that is unsustainable,” said Janet L. Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury of the United States of America. “We’re instead aiming for growth that is inclusive and green. The economic moment is well suited to accommodate such a modern, supply side expansion.”

During the Davos Agenda, pioneering new research and project milestones were released to support stakeholders:

– Sustainable finance is increasing but the funds are not always reaching those most in need – see how public-private collaboration can facilitate sustainable investment for development.
– More than 100 million have been impacted by the work of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. The foundation includes over 400 of the world’s leading social innovators operating in over 190 countries.
– Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative is a leading global initiative to accelerate progress on the discovery, testing and delivery of precision interventions – it has created a new global system to reduce the time and cost of clinical trials.
– A new set of policy enablers to boost investment and innovation in digital economies was released to ensure digital transformation is inclusive and sustainable.
– Quantum science promises to disrupt the future of business, science and government – the first quantum computing guidelines launched to help leaders build an equitable framework.
– The global digital economy has surged off the back of the COVID-19 pandemic, but so has cybercrime – ransomware attacks rose 151% in 2021 – the new annual The Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2022 examined how leaders can close the cyber gap and build resilience.
– The Forum worked closely with the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation as a member of the Technical Readiness Working Group. In so doing, the Forum contributed to the running start of the International Sustainability Standards Board supporting the creation of the standards prototypes that will now go through a standard-setting process.
– Plastic waste was in the spotlight as world leaders this week highlighted how they are moving fast to fight the climate crisis. Forum-supported companies are rolling out innovative reuse models to protect the planet.
– Nature-positive practices, those that add value to nature, could contribute $1.9 trillion to the economy a year and 88 million jobs by 2030.
– Cities can create 60 million jobs and save 50% on new infrastructure projects by adopting nature-based solutions. Nearly half of city GDP, $31 trillion, is at risk of disruption from nature loss.
– More partners announced plans to adopt nature-based solutions as part of the Forum’s 1t.org platform bringing total global pledges to over 30 companies committing to conserve, restore and grow more than 3.6 billion trees in over 60 countries.
– Only 20% of companies both disclose their full value chain emissions and have emissions reduction targets in place. Winning the Race to Net-Zero outlines how businesses can close the emissions gap and stay competitive.
– A new accelerator dedicated to shaping the future of crypto-enabled environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts aims to bring key players and industry leaders together to shape a more inclusive future.
– The Belt and Road Initiative offers a new development paradigm through investment in green infrastructure – a new insight report highlights the role of the financial sector and how to capitalize on the growing global appetite for green investment

Featured quotes from Davos Agenda 2022 panels

Ivan Duque, President of Colombia, said: “Colombia closed 2021 with positive results”, noting his country’s positive economic growth and high percentage of vaccination rates. He said the goal for 2022 is to maintain growth while, at the same time, closing the social inequality gap.

Carlos Alvarado Quesada, President of Costa Rica, said 85% of his country’s population had received a second COVID shot and that the process of vaccinating children was under way. “The main thing for Costa Rica is our vaccination drive. This is the only way to exit the health crisis.”

Alejandro Giammattei, President of Guatemala, said: “The challenge we have now is not only to promote growth but to turn growth into something sustainable. We need to improve the labour market and create more jobs. This will lead to better prosperity, health and education.” Generating new opportunities and ensuring economic benefits would reach all parts of society which, he pointed out, would also curb migration. “The only thing that stops a person is a wall of prosperity.”

Guillermo Lasso, President of Ecuador, highlighted the need for governments to commit to ethics and principles. “We need economic and inclusive growth within the rule of law and programmes that promote new opportunities. It is not just about economic growth but about quality of life and social cohesion.”

José Pedro Castillo Terrones, President of Peru, said his priority was economic reforms, noting that his government has invested $10 billion in strategic areas such as education, health and transport, and recently signed an infrastructure bill that will lead to more jobs. “We also want to invest in energy and natural gas, especially in transportation, so the entire country is connected.”

Christine Lagarde, President, European Central Bank, said: “In Europe, we are not seeing inflation spiral out of control. We assume energy prices will stabilize from the middle of 2022, bottlenecks will also stabilize in 2022 and, gradually, inflation numbers will decline.”

Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, said, “The response to the pandemic crisis has been anything but orthodox. In a highly coordinated manner both central banks and finance authorities have prevented the world falling into yet another great depression.”

“We should have had a much more coordinated global response, as I’ve said so many times,” said Anthony S. Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). “A global pandemic requires a global response, and we have to keep in mind the issue of equity all the time because you can’t have a situation where you have virus circulating freely in one part of the world.”

“The private sector has to be engaged,” said John Kerry, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate. “It will be private sector investment and private sector discovery more than anything else, together with governments…that will get us out of this hole.”

About The Davos Agenda 2022
For over 50 years, the World Economic Forum has been the international organization for public-private cooperation. The Davos Agenda 2022 is the focal point at the start of the year for leaders to share their outlook, insights and plans relating to the most urgent global issues. The meeting will provide a platform to accelerate the partnerships needed to tackle shared challenges and shape a more sustainable and inclusive future.