Thomas Kerr makes a case for green investment How can we deliver sustainable, resilient and low-carbon infrastructure while meeting energy needs and supporting economic growth – and, crucially, how can we find the money to pay for it? Those are the questions we will be exploring in Davos on Friday afternoon in a high-level dialogue… more

Whether we like them or not, megacities will increasingly become the future of our planet, writes the World Economic Forum’s Carl Björkman. For the first time in history, more people live in cities than in rural areas. By 2050, the world’s cities will absorb 3 billion people, at which point 70% of the planet will live… more

Brian A. Dames on an ambitious but achievable plan to bring modern energy services to the world. An international initiative is underway to connect 500 million people in developing countries to modern energy services by 2025. That is a hugely ambitious – but entirely achievable – goal. It is also essential to realizing the United… more

Graham Mackay, CEO of SABMiller, on the water, food and energy challenges that need to be addressed to ensure Africa’s future. He is participating in the Annual Meeting session, De-risking Africa. There are currently 2 billion middle-class consumers in the world and the number is projected to reach 5 billion by 2030. Much of the increase… more

Stephan Mergenthaler and Andrew D. Bishop on the hurdles Russia faces. The Russian economy has had a great run over the past decade, as evidenced by its sevenfold increase in GDP per capita between 2000 and 2011. Yet despite this impressive growth story, the factors that underpinned Russia’s economic development over the past ten years… more

Nariman Behravesh, Chief Economist at IHS Global Insight, on the causes for optimism – and caution – in the economic outlook. The causes of the ongoing global malaise are well known: an addiction to debt (in developed economies) and to exports (in emerging markets), followed by a painful period of deleveraging that has been made far… more

As humans, we’ve always innovated our way out of problems, from steam engines to city farms, argues Frans van Houten. What if just 20 buildings dedicated to urban farming could provide the entire city of New York with fruit and vegetables year round? It sounds like a fantasy of the future dreamed up on a Hollywood… more

The Global Agenda Outlook 2013 brought together Robert Madelin, Director-Gen­eral for Communications Networks at the European Commission and Marc Davis, Partner Architect of Microsoft Online Services Division. Rod Beckstrom, President of the Rod Beckstrom Group, moderated the discussion. Q: What does it mean to be living in a hyperconnected world? Marc Davis: We are in… more

Growing Asian demand presents a golden opportunity for Russia to diversify away from its primarily European export market, writes Nobuo Tanaka. Read the World Economic Forum’s report: Scenarios for the Russian Federation. Russia and Asia could be an energy partnership made in heaven. Two thirds of future energy demand growth will come from Asia, while Russia is now… more

Michael Bradshaw asks whether Russia, for all its economic growth, is too dependent on natural resources. Read the World Economic Forum’s report: Scenarios for the Russian Federation. What would Russia do in the case of sharply declining energy prices? That is the question most often asked about Russia’s energy dependence. Yet an even more pressing… more

We need to move beyond seeing technology as either a miracle or a disaster and focus on building resilience, says the World Economic Forum’s Derek O’Halloran. Digital technologies are changing our world. We tell ourselves two stories about this process – we could call them “techtopia” and “cybergeddon”. In the first, the future is bright and… more

The Global Agenda Outlook 2013 brought together Javier Solana, President of the Center for Global Economy and Geopolitics of ESADE and Ian Bremmer, President of Eurasia Group. Wadah Khanfar, Co-Founder, Al Sharq Forum, moderated the discussion. Present Models of Conflict Resolution Javier Solana: I think that we continue to look at the problems of the… more