Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 8 • Number 2 • 8th February 2008

World Economic Forum Stresses Collaboration

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“Collaborative leadership” and “collaborative innovation” were two major themes at this year’s meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF). Held from 23-27 January 2008, in Davos, Switzerland, the WEF said these collaborative mechanisms could be used to address the challenges of globalisation. “If we are interconnected and the world is interconnected, the only way for the world to work is to have a set of common values,” said Tony Blair in his Forum address.

Within this framework, panels were convened on various topics, including climate change, water scarcity, agriculture and trade.

Panellists argued that collaborating on efforts to mitigate climate change was not only possible, but essential: “the world simply has no choice.” A carbon trading scheme is the salient policy choice for reducing global carbon emissions. However, the effectiveness of a carbon trading scheme would require such things as increased global recognition of a trading system, nations to “get over the circular blame game,” the creation of universal standards for measurement, and incentives for businesses to collaborate.

In addition to discussions on current fears regarding a global economic slowdown at the World Economic Forum, a set of trade ministers also met at the sidelines of the annual event to try and boost the faltering talks of the Doha Round (see Bridges Weekly, 30 January 2008, http://www.ictsd.org/weekly/08-01-30/story1.htm).

Additional information

For more on the Davos meeting, visit http://www.weforum.org/en/events/ArchivedEvents/AnnualMeeting2008/index.htm

ICTSD reporting.