Davos: Forum Climate Council Delivers Adaptation Message

The task of creating more resilient societies will be front and center during the 2013 World Economic Forum (Forum) Annual Meeting taking place in Davos, Switzerland this week. From January 22 to 26, CEOs of the world’s largest corporations, preeminent scientists and leaders of governments and international NGOs will meet to address the world’s most pressing issues.

This years’ agenda covers three pillars: Leading through Adversity, Strengthening Societal Resilience and Restoring Economic Dynamism. Dr. Juan José Daboub, Founding CEO of the Global Adaptation Institute, is attending events throughout the week and will offer remarks at a private dinner, “Climate Change: The Way Forward?,” and host a roundtable during the World Food Programme’s “Envisaging Sustainable Development Goals.”

Daboub will also highlight the work of the Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Climate Change 2012, for which he is the Chair. The Council convened in November 2012 in Dubai to lay out a road map and mission for the next two years; this road map includes  measuring societal resilience to climate change and disasters, highlighting the urgent need to adapt and exploring effective climate financing.

The annual meeting comes after the release of the Forum’s eighth Global Risks report. GAIN was a contributor and reviewer to the report’s “Testing Economic and Environmental Resilience” chapter. Released in early 2013, the report finds that societies are less prepared to address environmental challenges due to ongoing economic challenges. The Forum devotes significant attention to the need to build resilience in the wake of extreme weather-related events in 2012.

To follow this week’s proceedings, view live streams and recordings of meetings and interviews here.