Davos Confronts a New World Order

The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, is putting the impacts of climate change on display for world and business leaders as the Alps are lacking snow. NBC’s Keir Simmons reports on why experts are sounding the alarm that Davos’ power players need to use their resources to act.

The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, finds itself navigating troubled waters. Long the affluent symbol of a globalizing world where the assumption was that more trade would bring more freedom, it now confronts international fracture, ascendant nationalism and growing protectionism under the shadow of war in Europe and sharp tensions between the United States and China. The Covid-19 pandemic, invasion of Ukraine, trend toward autocracy and economic inequalities challenge the World Economic Forum’s relevance.

“Only personal interaction creates the necessary level of trust, which we need so much in our fractured world,” WEF Chair Klaus Schwab, the founder of the event, said at a press conference last week. This year’s theme is “Cooperation in a Fragmented World.”Schwab’s vision for a progressively interconnected global economy that also spreads democracy around the world has been under threat at least since the 2008 financial crisis. Data from the World Bank shows that global trade of goods and services as a percentage of total economic output peaked that year. Outflows of cross-border investment hit a high in 2007.

More From NBCNews:

More From CNN:

More From The New York Times (subscription required):