This year for the first time on record, environmental risks occupy the WEF’s top five long-term concerns, while corporate executives say they’re increasingly concerned about environmental issues. That reality also places governments are the forefront of the response.
BlackRock Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink said the “biggest risk” on the path to a carbon-neutral economy is being too dependent on governments to take action, since they’re not equipped to handle the task on their own.
“Climate change is now becoming an investment risk,” Fink said in an interview with Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait. The transition to a carbon-free economy will take over 50 years, and “the key thing that we need to do is find ways to mitigate those risks while we are dependent on carbon,” he said.
Many at Davos are preparing for another four years of Trump, expecting him to win a second term in November’s presidential election, according to Eurasia’s Bremmer. That would likely mean a continued U.S. focus on coal and other fossil fuels from a president who withdrew from the Paris climate accord.
For Trump, the U.S. is an example to the world. “The American dream is back, bigger, better and stronger than before,” he said.
For Thunberg, addressing a panel on “averting a climate apocalypse,” the status quo is not an option. “Our house is still on fire,” she said.
--With assistance from Chris Reiter.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.