Dr Iqbal Surve’s preview of the 2026 Davos meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) reflects a degree of caution and pragmatism in the light of what he calls “the convergence of threats” (Business Report, January 19). Ironically, much of what threatens Europe, in particular, is a result of WEF policies.
For Europe, the phrase “sustainable future,” to which the WEF aspires, has become a nightmare. As a result of ESG (Environmental Social Governance) Europe has stopped being the continent from which the world buys. Now it is the continent that buys what the rest of the world produces, having embraced de-industrialisation in pursuit of green energy.
Steel production is down 30%. European know-how and factories have moved to China, India, Mexico and Vietnam, where there is cheap energy, less bureaucracy and cheaper labour. While the EU prioritises clean energy and climate change, China is buying European cars: Volvo now belongs to Geely of China; Britain’s MG is another Chinese acquisition. Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen have Chinese shareholders. Italy’s Pirelli tyres have majority Chinese capital.
EU bureaucratic regulations and carbon targets regarding bovine emissions have resulted in the closure of more than three million farms. In the name of “sustainability,” Europe now imports a range of agricultural products from overseas. Warehouses and trucks now distribute imports instead of housing and moving European products for export.
Reliance on green energy sources has massively increased the cost of electricity while simultaneously making its supply inconsistent or intermittent. Nonetheless, that is touted by the promoters of ESG as “progress” in “saving the planet” while making heating unaffordable and increasing unemployment.
The other “threat” facing the WEF is President Trump’s reshaping of alliances and the geopolitical order. Unlike the WEF globalists, Trump does not allow falsehoods about decarbonisation and climate change to chart his course. Moreover, he recognises that such frippery has no place in meeting the challenge China poses.
By removing the Maduro regime from Venezuela, from which China obtains 90% of its oil, Trump has secured leverage over China. It is also the reason he intends to bring Greenland under the aegis of the US because of Chinese and Russian interests in the Arctic region.
Trump is playing the long game, outthinking rivals, securing US energy independence, restoring and reinvesting in US industry and manufacturing. WEF’s hopes of investability and sustainability based on the flawed and failed policies of ESG, DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), and decarbonisation are doomed in the new order of geopolitics Trump is driving.
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