The 56th World Economic Forum, also known as Davos 2026, was held in Switzerland in January, allowing world leaders and business representatives to meet with the aim of shaping global, regional, and industry agendas, with 60 heads of state, more than 400 political leaders, and 830 CEOs and Chairs in attendance this year. This year’s forum came at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions, particularly between the United States and its NATO allies, including Canada, Greenland, and Europe.
Addressing Global Risks and, to a Lesser Extent, Climate Change
Before the event, the World Economic Forum (WEF) published a list of global risks ranked by severity as part of its Global Risks Report 2026. In the short-term (2 years), extreme weather events were ranked forth and pollution came ninth. However, in the long-term, severe weather events came first, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse came second, critical change to earth systems third, natural resource shortages fifth, and pollution tenth. This demonstrates the importance of immediately addressing climate change and the future of global energy.
During the conference, several country leaders discussed the climate crisis and the need for investment in renewable energy. Mexico’s Environment Minister Alicia Bárcena called for an accelerated green energy transition and the expansion of the circular economy, saying that current efforts are not enough to tackle the global climate crisis. “We have an urgent need to move faster and on a larger scale,” said Bárcena. “The scale at which we are currently working is insufficient.”
However, compared to previous years, climate change took somewhat of a back seat, with geopolitical concerns overshadowing the issue. In previous years, world leaders have used Davos as a platform to make national pledges to tackle climate change. However, politicians at the conference this year seemed more concerned about cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, and geopolitics, leaving just activists and climate scientists to discuss progress on climate action.
The shift away from a focus on climate change reflects the broader shift by multinational corporations that have watered down their decarbonisation pledges in recent years. The leader of the World Economic Forum’s centre for nature and climate, Sebastian Buckup, stated, “The Davos programming is a reflection of what chief executives want to talk about, ultimately.” And what CEOs want to discuss has changed.
Boosting Energy Security
The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Executive Director, Fatih Birol, said at the conference that he had “never seen the energy security risks multiplying (like this)… energy security should be elevated to the level of national security.” Countries should generate their own energy, which will give a boost to renewables, according to Birol.
Birol also raised concerns over the need to expand energy capacity to meet the growing demand for power from data centres and electric vehicles. This could potentially lead countries to rely more heavily on fossil fuels in the coming years.
U.S. Oil Push
The United States has pursued a national energy policy of fossil fuel expansion over the last year, under the Trump administration, which was reflected in U.S. discourse in Davos. The U.S. Energy Secretary, Chris Wright, stressed that he thought Europe and the U.S. state of California were wasting too much money on green energy investments.
Wright also told a panel that global oil production needs to more than double to meet rising energy demand, contrary to IEA advice to reduce production in favour of renewable alternatives and industry predictions of a fossil fuel demand peak within the next two decades.
Meanwhile, President Trump said that oil and gas production and a nuclear renaissance were evidence of U.S. energy dominance. Trump criticised Biden-era climate policies as the “Green New Scam.” He also criticised wind energy for being “inefficient and expensive” and suggested that Europe’s reliance on renewables had led it to be less competitive.
By contrast, one of Trump’s former allies, Elon Musk, said that the U.S. could produce enough solar power to meet all of its electricity needs, including for the rising demand from data centres. This, he said, would depend on the U.S. reducing its trade tariffs.
A New Era of Nuclear Power
There was a consensus among several world leaders at Davos that nuclear power will play a major role in the future of global clean energy. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen highlighted nuclear energy’s role in lowering prices and cutting dependencies, while U.S. representatives discussed the major investment earmarked for the development of U.S. enriched uranium production, which is expected to reduce reliance on Russia.
There was emphasis by several leaders on the need to work together to strengthen countries’ energy independence through the deployment of nuclear power. Regional and bilateral alliances, such as the EU nuclear alliance, Nordic-Baltic cooperation, renewed Japanese investment, and civil nuclear cooperation between the U.S. and Canada, are expected to enhance cooperation.
By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com
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