*{Business leaders say climate change is our greatest challenge [http://www.weforum.org/site/knowledgenavigator.nsf/Content/Business%20leaders%20say%20climate%20change%20is%20our%20greatest%20challenge?open&topic_id=300250000&theme_id=300]

            27.01.2000

            Annual Meeting 2000}

            The greatest challenge facing the world at the beginning of the century, according to hundreds of business and government leaders at the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, is climate change. This surprise verdict was reached after five of the world's leading thinkers presented their visions for the future and the participants present voted electronically to support or reject their scenarios. An end to traditional ethics and an ineffective international system came in second and third positions.

            In addition to sounding the alarm about climate change, Molly Harriss Olson, Director of Eco Futures, Australia, warned participants of the dangers posed by genetically modified organisms. Paul Krugman, Professor of Economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was concerned about future financial instability and a potential political backlash to globalization, arguing there is a real danger the developing world will once again be denied access to the club of the economically prosperous.

            Other panellists offered more philosophical ponderings on the future. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Professor of Islamic Studies at George Washington University, underlined the increasing importance of civilizations and the decline of nation states. Italian author and historian Umberto Eco warned of the end of the notion of fraternity as the number of children per family is controlled to fight overpopulation. He also cautioned against the potential end of ethics when immorality reigns and "the pursuit of good is overtaken by the struggle to be watched".

            Finally, Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry, George Yong-Boon Yeo, suggested that the notions of democracy and socialism will find themselves in crisis as populations reject the tyranny of the majority over the minority and re-examine traditional societal concepts of sharing.

            Not only did the audience choose climate change as the world's most pressing problem, they also voted it as the issue where business could most effectively adopt a leadership role. On this question, climate change was followed by financial instability and ineffective international systems. The results of the rapid electronic survey prompted the question: "Why then haven't businesses done more to revert the devastating course of climate change?"

            Harriss Olson expressed astonishment at the choice of climate change and said the vote meant that while businesses accepted it as a pressing challenge, the impediment to change came from a lack of leadership. Nasr blamed the impotency of international institutions whose members often place national considerations above global concerns. He suggested the development of a neutral, intellectual space to tackle climate change. Krugman struck an optimistic note, saying that he was convinced workable solutions will eventually be found on climate change and business will readily adopt these solutions.

            Participants were also asked to rate the challenges where government should take a leadership role. Their response was ineffective international systems, followed by climate change, and democracy/division. For Yeo, however, it was clear that political and economic structures in this century must be most clearly focused on promoting a deep respect for all traditions. "We should rejoice in diversity in the next century," he said. This view was seconded by Eco, who told participants that the world must start now to find ways to teach children the acceptability of diversity. This acceptance of the richness of diverse civilizations, combined with a greater respect for the earth's environment, may constitute the top priorities of the new century.        

                  *{Contributors:       Eco Umberto
                  Krugman Paul
                  Nasr Seyyed Hossein
                  Olson Molly Harriss
                  Saffo Paul L.
                  Yeo George Yong-Boon}