Davos 2019: Far-right Brazilian leader Bolsonaro and US secretary of state Pompeo spoke on first day of WEF summit

The World Economic Forum's annual summit has begun in Switzerland

What is the World Economic Forum in Davos?

Political leaders and business chiefs have arrived in Switzerland for this year’s World Economic Forum summit.

The action kicks off in the ski town of Davos on Tuesday, with German chancellor Angela Merkel, Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and Bill Gates all set to attend. Also making an appearance will be Black-Eyed Pea Will.I.Am and magician David Blaine.

The WEF has followed a green theme for this year’s agenda, and on the eve of the summit, Sir David Attenborough told attendees in Davos that business and political leaders need to find practical solutions to prevent further environmental damage.

Goldman Sachs boss David Solomon and Centrica chief executive Iain Conn are scheduled to speak on day one of this year's forum.

For all the latest news from Davos, follow our liveblog

Key Points

• World leaders including Angela Merkel, Shinzo Abe and Benjamin Netanyahu expected to attend
• Sir David Attenborough gave a speech on the eve of this year's summit, warning that urgent action is needed to tackle climate change
• Goldman Sachs boss David Solomon and Centrica chief executive Iain Conn set to appear on Tuesday

[22 January 2019 08:37 · Caitlin.Morrison]

Hello and welcome to The Independent's coverage of Davos 2019.

Ahead of this year's summit, Sir David Attenborough told attendees that the worlds of business and politics should "get on with the practical solutions" needed to prevent environmental damage.

"As a species we are expert problem solvers. But we've not yet applied ourselves to this problem with the focus it requires," he said.

"We can create a world with clean air and water, unlimited energy, and fish stocks that will sustain us well into the future. But to do that, we need a plan."

The renowned naturalist was speaking after receiving a Crystal Award from the World Economic Forum, a prize which recognises "exceptional cultural leaders". Film director Haifaa Al-Mansour and conductor Marin Alsop will also receive the award this year. 

[22 January 2019 09:17 · Caitlin.Morrison]

Davos is well-known for its high-powered guest list - this year, attendees will include German chancellor Angela Merkel, Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, Brazil’s new president Jair Bolsonaro, Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu and New Zealand’s PM Jacinda Ardern.

Bill Gates and Sir Tim Berners-Lee, will also appear, alongside Prince William, Al Gore, popstar Will.I.Am and magician David Blaine. ​

[22 January 2019 09:46 · Caitlin.Morrison]

Sir Martin Sorrell, former WPP boss, is at the summit, representing his new venture, S4Capital. He told CNBC that companies need to start simplifying and warned against “management by spreadsheet”.

“Management sitting behind a desk in one geographical location, making bureaucratic decisions, I think that’s dangerous,” he said.

“Companies are complex organisations, in the case of WPP, and indeed S4Capital, they’re based on organisations around clients, around country, and around function, and they depend on large numbers of people for their success, and it’s bringing those people together, in a unified way, that’s absolutely critical.”

Sir Martin left WPP after allegations of personal misconduct were made against him. The advertising tycoon denied all accusations. 

[22 January 2019 10:02 · Caitlin.Morrison]

Davos 2019 will follow a green agenda, similar to previous years, with panels examining global consumption, sustainability and pollution.

Campaign group Circle Economy published its latest report on how businesses can achieve climate change targets to coincide with the beginning of this year’s summit.

Just 9 per cent of the billions of tonnes of materials which enter the world economy are recycled, a figure that must drastically increase to avoid dangerous climate change, the group warned in its report.

It advocated for a ‘circular economy’ that maximises the use of existing assets, while reducing dependence on new raw materials and minimising waste.

Adopting this approach will help the world to stay within the 1.5C maximum rise in temperature agreed under the Paris Climate Agreement.

“A 1.5 degree world can only be a circular world,” said Circle Economy’s chief executive, Harald Friedl.

“[Governments] should re-engineer supply chains all the way back to the wells, fields, mines and quarries where our resources originate so that we consume fewer raw materials.

“This will not only reduce emissions but also boost growth by making economies more efficient.”

[22 January 2019 10:30 · Caitlin.Morrison]

The summit is not without its detractors. Professor Philip Booth, senior academic fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said Davos is “the perfect environment for “crony capitalism” to flourish”.

He added: “Industry is shaped by the dispersed decisions of seven billion consumers and tens of millions of businesses. It is not - or should not - be shaped by politicians. Yet Davos remains a huge magnet for politicians to work alongside leaders of the largest businesses and other vested interests to devise yet more regulations, interventions and barriers to entry that will undermine competition, by making it even harder for small businesses to operate in their markets.

"The gathering perpetuates the myth that economic welfare is promoted by "experts". Next year, our government officials should sit the conference out, and leave Davos to the skiers."

[22 January 2019 15:46 · Caitlin.Morrison]

The Independent’s economics editor Ben Chu says we shouldn’t “look to the World Economic Forum for a diagnosis of the dysfunction in our economies – and certainly don’t look to it for any substantive action to reduce inequality”.

While Davos might not be a cause of global inequality, it is a symptom, he writes.

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[22 January 2019 16:05 · Caitlin.Morrison]

A slew of research has been released to coincide with the beginning of the WEF summit in Davos, with a report from CDP showing that the companies that are leading the way and taking action on climate change are also benefiting financially and outperforming the stock market.

CDP, previously known as Carbon Disclosure Project,graded almost 7,000 firms according to their actions on climate change, water security and forests - only 120 achieved an A in any of the categories, while just two made the A list across all three. ​

[22 January 2019 16:49 · Caitlin.Morrison]

The green theme is strongly in evidence at this year’s summit - David Attenborough is now speaking to former US vice president Al Gore and New Zealand’s leader, Jacinda Ardern, about safeguarding the planet.

Sir David says he can’t imagine “anything more serious” than climate change, which is “accelerating, things are getting worse faster”.

“The maddening thing is we know how to deal with it, we just need to do so,” he adds.

Mr Gore adds that climate change provides an opportunity for job creation - says “solar installer” is the fastest growing job in the US currently, followed by wind turbine technician.

Meanwhile, Ms Ardern says evidence of the growing climate change crisis is easy to find.

“You don't have to know the science to understand impact of climate change. You just have to visit one of thePacific Islands and see it for yourself,” she tells delegates. ​

[22 January 2019 17:28 · Caitlin.Morrison]

The WEF has announced a new partnership aimed at accelerating inclusion for LGBTI people in the workplace. The initiative is backed by the UN, as well as companies including Deutsche Bank, Mastercard and Microsoft.

Here’s the announcement at Davos:

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That’s it from us today - we’ll be following the action live again tomorrow, when the

agenda includes appearances by Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe and  UK trade secretary Liam Fox, and panel discussions on mental health and Russia.