nder the theme of “enhancing stewardship of our global commons,” day three of the 2021 Davos Agenda saw business and political leaders come together to further discuss the unique plans each country has to recover economically and socially from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as how both the public and private sector can work towards potential solutions to climate change.
In an opening address by Moon Jae-in, President of South Korea, he emphasizes that while South Korea was one of the countries hit earliest by the COVID-19 pandemic, “the Republic of Korea was able to quickly make and deliver diagnostic kits in the fight to control the pandemic thanks to the COVID-19 information that the WHO shared with its member nations,” emphasizing the success of global transparency. He also warns that as COVID-19 becomes more prolonged, “inequality is widening a gap that we are witnessing within countries and between countries.” Therefore, it is absolutely critical to “keep the spirit of inclusiveness,” something the Republic of Korea plans on doing by making their own homegrown vaccines and vowing to supply them to any country that requests them in the future.
Similarly, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu discusses in his address how Israel is pursuing one of the most hard-hitting vaccination plans around the world—having already vaccinated 82% of Israel’s population at the time of the 2021 Davos Agenda, in addition to having shut down commercial flights—because COVID-19 will ultimately create “an arms race between vaccination and mutation,” and he hopes that Israel can serve as a “world laboratory for herd immunity.” In terms of how Israel is fighting climate change, he also explains how Israel has solved their country’s water scarcity problem by “recycling about 90% of [their] waste water” as well as how they have one of the largest desalination plants in the Mediterranean powered by solar energy, enabling them to have “more water than [they] need,” also noting that this is technology they are willing to share with the world.
In a special address by Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, he mentions that while they have created the Sputnik V vaccine to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic’s effect on the economy and society has highlighted major issues in inequality, such as increasingly limiting access to healthcare and education for millions of people around the world, and how countries should shift their mindset towards building “an economy that doesn’t view people as a means, but places them at the center.” He also mentions how Russia has cautiously extended their nuclear arms agreement, and how in order for the international community to be able to move forward and tackle the global issues we are facing together, we all need to “approach in an honest manner our dialogue…then we’ll have created a positive stage in our relations.”
Finally, in a panel on mobilizing action on climate change in order to examine what industries and sectors can do to meet the Paris Climate Agreement goals, John F. Kerry, U.S. Special President Envoy for Climate, mentions how glad he is the U.S. has rejoined the international climate effort with humility and ambition, “knowing that all nations have to raise our sights together or we all fail together.” Ben van Beurden, Chief Executive Officer of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, poses that similar to how governments have pledged to the Paris Agreement, it is just as important for companies to make a pledge to net-zero-emissions—but warns that “that’s going to be an even bigger challenge than getting a country to net zero.” Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Amina Mohammed also states how our coming together as a global community to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic “can encourage that leapfrogging into a green transition, creating the jobs and making sure those energy transitions become a reality,” placing hope that nations around the globe can use the same global effort used to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic to also win against the climate crisis.
a global affairs media network
Davos Agenda Day Three: Enhancing Stewardship of Our Global Commons
January 27, 2021
U
nder the theme of “enhancing stewardship of our global commons,” day three of the 2021 Davos Agenda saw business and political leaders come together to further discuss the unique plans each country has to recover economically and socially from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as how both the public and private sector can work towards potential solutions to climate change.
In an opening address by Moon Jae-in, President of South Korea, he emphasizes that while South Korea was one of the countries hit earliest by the COVID-19 pandemic, “the Republic of Korea was able to quickly make and deliver diagnostic kits in the fight to control the pandemic thanks to the COVID-19 information that the WHO shared with its member nations,” emphasizing the success of global transparency. He also warns that as COVID-19 becomes more prolonged, “inequality is widening a gap that we are witnessing within countries and between countries.” Therefore, it is absolutely critical to “keep the spirit of inclusiveness,” something the Republic of Korea plans on doing by making their own homegrown vaccines and vowing to supply them to any country that requests them in the future.
Similarly, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu discusses in his address how Israel is pursuing one of the most hard-hitting vaccination plans around the world—having already vaccinated 82% of Israel’s population at the time of the 2021 Davos Agenda, in addition to having shut down commercial flights—because COVID-19 will ultimately create “an arms race between vaccination and mutation,” and he hopes that Israel can serve as a “world laboratory for herd immunity.” In terms of how Israel is fighting climate change, he also explains how Israel has solved their country’s water scarcity problem by “recycling about 90% of [their] waste water” as well as how they have one of the largest desalination plants in the Mediterranean powered by solar energy, enabling them to have “more water than [they] need,” also noting that this is technology they are willing to share with the world.
In a special address by Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, he mentions that while they have created the Sputnik V vaccine to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic’s effect on the economy and society has highlighted major issues in inequality, such as increasingly limiting access to healthcare and education for millions of people around the world, and how countries should shift their mindset towards building “an economy that doesn’t view people as a means, but places them at the center.” He also mentions how Russia has cautiously extended their nuclear arms agreement, and how in order for the international community to be able to move forward and tackle the global issues we are facing together, we all need to “approach in an honest manner our dialogue…then we’ll have created a positive stage in our relations.”
Finally, in a panel on mobilizing action on climate change in order to examine what industries and sectors can do to meet the Paris Climate Agreement goals, John F. Kerry, U.S. Special President Envoy for Climate, mentions how glad he is the U.S. has rejoined the international climate effort with humility and ambition, “knowing that all nations have to raise our sights together or we all fail together.” Ben van Beurden, Chief Executive Officer of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, poses that similar to how governments have pledged to the Paris Agreement, it is just as important for companies to make a pledge to net-zero-emissions—but warns that “that’s going to be an even bigger challenge than getting a country to net zero.” Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Amina Mohammed also states how our coming together as a global community to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic “can encourage that leapfrogging into a green transition, creating the jobs and making sure those energy transitions become a reality,” placing hope that nations around the globe can use the same global effort used to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic to also win against the climate crisis.
