Over 1,500 leaders from 90 countries convened in Tianjin, China June 27–29 for the World Economic Forum’s New Global Champions conference. The theme of this year’s event was “Entrepreneurship: The Driving Force of the Global Economy.”
Global GDP growth is expected to reach just 2.8% this year, said speakers in the session: Braving The Headwinds: Rewiring Growth Amid Fragility. Speakers talked about how green energy, innovative technologies and broad inclusiness could help secure an economic rebound but the global energy transition has plateaued amid the global energy crisis and geopolitical volatility and the energy equity gap is widening, according to a Forum report called Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2023 released during the meeting in Tianjin.
Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum and keynote speaker Li Qiang, Premier of China, talked about the need to join forces. “The world needs bold and visionary people who can harness the power of innovation and collaborate across sectors, regions, nations and cultures to create a more peaceful, inclusive and resilient future,” Schwab said in an address to attendees.
Speeding up the transition and delivering on the targets outlined in the Paris Agreement offers unprecedented opportunities. “We’ll have to invest more, we’ll have to mine more materials, we’ll have to produce more (public-private-partnership) projects, more power generation, more renewable energy,” said Benedikt Sobotka, Chief Executive Officer, Eurasian Resources Group. “This is the biggest economic opportunity — and opportunity for innovation — that this generation of humankind has ever seen.”
This article is part of The Innovator’s premium content. The key takeaways from the conference are available only to The Innovator’s Radar subscribers.
If you are already a Radar subscriber click here to sign into your account
