Davos has been trying to get its billionaire clique out of their private jets and on to more climate-friendly trains but with limited success.
As part of a “travel smart” campaign this year, World Economic Forum (WEF) organisers offered a 100 per cent discount on rail fares for participants coming from Europe. In other words, they were free.
The move is designed to lessen the four-day event’s climate footprint. Transport is the main source of emissions and a big share comes from private jets.
According to one estimate, 1,040 private jets flew in and out of airports serving the Swiss Alpine town during the 2022 event. That’s not a great look for an organisation with a self-proclaimed goal of tackling the climate emergency.
Private jets are the most polluting mode of transport per passenger kilometre, up to 14-times more polluting than commercial jets and 50-times more than high-speed trains. And Switzerland has some of the best train services in Europe.
Emissions from private jets are going up instead of down. They rose by 46 per cent between 2019 and 2023, according to data from European campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E).
Despite the offer of a refund, Davos bigwigs don’t seem inclined to surrender their luxury mode of transport. Only two multinationals – building materials giant Saint-Gobain and consultancy KPMG – confirmed to organisers that they intended to travel by commercial airline or train to reach Davos.
“Any private jet going to Davos sends the message that large global companies, with all their means and power to lead by example, lack the real will and responsibility to make simple changes to help keep warming below 1.5 degrees,” several climate groups said in an open letter published on the eve of this year’s event.
They commended the forum’s efforts to try to curb its emissions footprint.
“This offers an opportunity for WEF 2025 to serve as a turning point in the transition to energy-efficient and green travel. And to once and for all shake its reputation as an annual private jet destination, being perceived by many as a symbol of the ‘hypocrisy’ of those claiming to be world leaders,” they said.
This week’s Davos agenda will contain multiple discussions about how to adapt to a warming world while confronting two new realities: first that the world is the hottest it has ever been; second that Donald Trump, a known climate sceptic, is once again US president.
Trump has called for a rapid expansion of fossil fuel exploration while promising to roll back some of the investments in clean energy prioritised under the previous Biden administration.
Last week the WEF’s annual global risks report pinpointed extreme weather linked to climate change such as the recent California wildfires as one of the chief short-term risks facing the planet.
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