Rich Lesser, chairman of the Boston Consulting Group, speaks about investing in technology and innovation to ensure America’s energy security in Cavuto: Coast to Coast.
Climate activists are shouting badly at the presence of many of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies at this week’s World Economic Forum – as protests erupted ahead of the event.
Thousands of global business leaders and political elites will gather in Davos, Switzerland for the WEF, which runs Monday through Friday. Expected attendees include executives from major energy companies such as BP, Chevron and Saudi Aramco.
“We demand concrete and real climate protection measures,” said the 26-year-old organizer of the protests, Nicolas Siegrist, who also heads the Young Socialists in Switzerland.
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Climate change protesters, also known as Extinction Rebellion activists, gathered outside the New York Governor’s office in New York City on January 25, 2022. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“They will sit in the same room with the heads of state and assert their interests,” added Siegrist.
More than 100 protesters gathered in a snowy square in Davos and chanted, “Change your diet for the climate, eat the rich,” while some oil companies quoted during a speech.
| ticker | security | Last | To change | To change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bp | BP PLC | 35.56 | +0.25 | +0.71% |
| CVX | CHEVRON CORP. | 177.56 | +0.48 | +0.27% |
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German Klaus Schwab, founder and president of the World Economic Forum, gestures during a news conference in Cologny, Switzerland January 16, 2013. (AP Newsroom)
“I know some of the companies are involved in alternatives, but I think governments need to shift the field in favor of alternative energy with their subsidies,” said Heather Smith, a member of the 99% organization. Smith is campaigning to halt development of the Rosebank oil and gas field in the North Sea.
This year’s WEF is expected to feature more than a dozen panels on energy and climate change issues. Topics include clean energy infrastructure, climate disputes, supply chain decarbonization and rising electricity consumption.
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Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) exits the US Capitol after a vote August 03, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Among those attending the WEF is one of the most staunch defenders of energy policy in Congress, Democratic Senator Joe Machin of West Virginia.
Manchin – whose defense of fossil fuels like coal and oil has angered members of his party – is said to be part of the US delegation in Davos.
Manchin will take part in a panel entitled “Repowering the World” on Thursday alongside executives from a fuel cell company and an electricity and gas utility, as well as Britain’s Labor Party leader Keir Starmer.
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Panellists will “discuss the context of a global energy crisis in which leaders must grapple with a climate catastrophe, geopolitical conflicts and pricing pressures” and how leaders should balance near-term energy needs with long-term supply and sustainability issues.
Former Vice President Al Gore, a longtime advocate of action on climate change who has been criticized for his personal carbon footprint, will appear on a panel discussing Climate TRACE research that found gross underreporting of greenhouse gas emissions around the world .
Portal contributed to this report.