DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) 鈥� Elites from politics, business, academia and the arts on Friday wrapped up the 's annual conclave in the Swiss town of Davos 鈥� where worries about the , a warming planet and a dominated discussions about the world's ills.
The 53rd edition of the weeklong gathering in the Alps drew notables like Ukraine's first lady, , and actor Idris Elba, plus hundreds of presidents, prime ministers, CEOs and other decision-makers who hashed out deals and voiced demands on everything from trade to tanks for Ukraine.
The meeting perennially draws criticism as a hub of power-mongers and money-grubbers seeking to rule the world, and this year was no exception. Longtime attendee and Kremlin critic about sitting out this year because the forum sought to triple the cost of his participation to $250,000.
Some deep-pocketed execs shell out upward of $1 million a year to be members of the WEF club.
It's anybody's guess whether an event that churns up pledges, promises and partnerships to help realize the forum's ambition of improving the world will bring any concrete progress.
Here's a look at some of the main Davos takeaways this year:
AID PUSH FROM UKRAINE
A Ukrainian delegation headed to the Swiss mountains to push for funding, weapons and other aid 鈥� capped with President 鈥� for the war-torn country as the anniversary of Russia鈥檚 invasion draws closer.
in Davos ramp up support, saying in a speech Tuesday that 鈥渢here is something that separates you, namely that not all of you use this influence, or sometimes use it in a way that separates you even more.鈥�
Zelenskyy urged his allies to speed up the delivery of more advanced weapons in a keynote speech and later gave a veiled critique of major supporters such as Germany and the U.S. that have .
鈥淭here are times where we shouldn鈥檛 hesitate or we shouldn鈥檛 compare when someone says, 鈥業 will give tanks if someone else will also share his tanks,鈥欌�� said Zelenskyy, who reiterated his plea Friday as .
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz 鈥� the only leader from the Group of Seven leading economies at Davos 鈥� has faced growing pressure to provide Ukraine with tanks but avoided directly answering the question Wednesday.
Germany will remain one of Ukraine鈥檚 top weapons suppliers, he said, and 鈥渨e are never doing something just by ourselves, but together with others 鈥� especially the United States.鈥�
CLIMATE CHANGE TAKES CENTER STAGE
While panel sessions spanned topics from , Thunberg, Vanessa Nakate and other young climate activists brought the fire to the corporate VIPs and political leaders tuning into the talks.
The activists slammed the heavy-hitters at Davos for over people affected by the climate crisis. Ugandan activist Nakate choked up during a roundtable with the head of the International Energy Agency, saying 鈥渓eaders are playing games鈥� with people鈥檚 futures.
She and Thunberg capped the week with a small climate protest Friday where activists hoisted signs saying, 鈥淭here is no planet B" and chanting that 鈥渇ossil fuels have got to go." It added a bookend: Dozens of climate activists 鈥� some with clown makeup 鈥� braved snowfall to demonstrate Sunday.
Even global financial leaders got heated about the climate.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, when asked for one thing she would change to accelerate the net zero transition, said she would lock the U.S., China, India and European Union in a room.
鈥淟et them out after they sign in blood a commitment to work together to save the planet,鈥� she said to applause.
GREEN INVESTMENT RACE
A such as electric vehicles got major airtime. Some worry about European companies getting shut out of the U.S. market and being denied green tech investment.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to ease the way for green industry subsidies and pool EU-wide projects that are boosted with major funding.
Some leaders called the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act a catalyst. U.K. opposition leader Keir Starmer says the law is 鈥渢he single biggest opportunity we鈥檝e been given for a very long time to transition, to take the jobs and opportunities of the future.鈥�
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in the same session Thursday that the world should be happy after years of telling the U.S. 鈥渢o step up on climate change.鈥� Now, they are doing it.鈥�
EU Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis says an EU-U.S. task force has a solution on EV tax credits but 鈥渕any other areas" must be addressed.
The law doesn鈥檛 intend to hurt U.S. allies but get clean technology to scale quickly, Sen. Joe Manchin said.
To calm geopolitical unrest and help the environment, 鈥測ou better be able to do it quicker, faster and better than any place in the world and then share it with your friends. That鈥檚 what we鈥檙e going to do,鈥� the West Virginia Democrat said.
GLOBAL ECONOMY AVOIDS DISASTER?
Many bigwigs said from the train wreck they feared amid high inflation and slowing growth.
The IMF's Georgieva said inflation is heading down and the outlook for the global economy is 鈥渓ess bad than we feared a couple of months ago.鈥� Likewise, President Christine Lagarde said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a brilliant year, but it is a lot better than what we had feared."
In a panel Friday, both pointed to an , which Lagarde said 鈥渕ost likely will be a positive for the rest of the world" but may boost inflation as the world鈥檚 second-largest economy consumes more energy.
After easing of COVID-19 restrictions, Chinese Vice Premier Liu said the country expects to see a major rise in imports, more investment by companies and return to regular consumption habits over the coming months.
鈥淚f we work hard enough, we are confident that in 2023, China鈥檚 growth will most likely return to its normal trend," he said Tuesday in an address in Davos.
Many economists had in major economies like the U.S. and Europe at the beginning of 2023 as painfully high inflation fueled by the war in Ukraine led central banks to jack up interest rates that slow the economy. That may not materialize, with some forecasts signaling 0.5% growth this year in the U.S. and Europe, but those facing high prices may not notice.
Speaking to The Associated Press at Davos, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon offered some advice: 鈥淭he important thing is what is going on in geopolitics around the world, not whether you have a mild recession or harder recession, etc.鈥�
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Bonnell reported from London. Associated Press journalists Masha Macpherson and David Keyton in Davos contributed.
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Jamey Keaten And Courtney Bonnell, The Associated Press
