Good Morning Davos 2020. #WEF20

" The theme of this year’s jamboree is “Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World.”

DAY-1

WHAT TO WATCH FOR TODAY

Greta Thunberg versus Donald Trump. The 17-year-old climate activist and 73-year-old US president got top billing at this year’s conference, and they kick things off straight away. Thunberg appears at sessions in the Congress Center at 8:30 am and 1:00 pm, bookending Trump’s address in the Congress Hall at 11:30 am. Thunberg is expected to tell captains of industry to quit fossil fuel sentirely and immediately. Trump, meanwhile, will shrug off the start of his impeachment trial today in the US Senate and bring his “America First” message to the Congress Hall, warning the crowd about the dangers of socialism, in a preview of a key campaign theme.

First look at Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam. After weeks of laying low during pro-democracy protests, the city’s leader is now on a PR offensive trying to repair Hong Kong’s battered image—and bringing a large business delegation in tow. Her first public appearance is at a panel on “Expanding Asia’s technology leadership” at the Waldhuus hotel at 12:30 pm, and comes amid heightened fears in Hong Kong about the surveillance powers of the state through facial recognition and “smart” technology such as lampposts. The session, which is closed to media, is moderated by a host from Chinese state broadcaster CGTN.

China’s economy comes under scrutiny. The country’s vice premier Han Zheng, who is in charge of economic policy, speaks at 2:15 pm in the Congress Hall in a session moderated by WEF founder Klaus Schwab. Han’s appearance comes as China recorded its slowest rate of growth in 29 years, thanks in part to the trade war with the US. Han is also the state leader in charge of Hong Kong affairs, and will have to answer—or not, depending on the moderator’s line of questioning—for the months-long protests that have rocked the city.

Best of the rest. Other sessions that caught our eye (all livestreamed) include: Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei speaking with Sapiens author Yuval Noah Harari about the “technology arms race” at 9:45 am; Goldman Sachs boss David Solomon (aka DJ D-Sol) on a panel about “valuing unicorns” at 2:30 pm; the presidents of Senegal and Botswana on a “High-Level Panel on Africa” at 3:45 pm; and “world’s scariest economist” Mariana Mazzucato moderating a session about “debunking the limits to growth” at 6:15 pm.

Let’s predict the future. Quartz is offering food for thought with a series of “Farsighted Lunches” at the Hard Rock Chapel, featuring a different expert panel at noon each day. Today we’ll debate which technology will bring about the most change by 2025; Wednesday will be about how we’ll earn a living in 2030; and on Thursday we’ll take predictions about the most valuable resource in 2070. The guest lists are full but if you ask very nicely, and say that you heard about it in this excellent email that you forwarded to all your friends and family, we’ll see what we can do.

The world will need 18 million more health workers by 2030. That’s based on new data from the World Health Org. And Johnson & Johnson is stepping up and doubling down on health worker education and wellbeing. Learn more about J&J’s new Center for Health Worker Innovation and its top five priorities.

The best site to bookmark is the World Economic Forum’s own, which runs a liveblog and will host more than 100 publicly streamed sessions during the week.

WHAT EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT

The purpose of companies. By modern standards, the WEF’s first manifesto, published in 1973, was pretty “woke.” Of course, the need to “harmonize the different interests of the stakeholders,” as the WEF put it back then, hasn’t necessarily been backed by much action in the decades since. This year, the WEF updated its manifesto by downplaying the primacy of profits and promoting an agenda the skews stakeholder-y. Of the six thematic tracks that guide the official forum program, the most sessions are devoted to “Society” (89) and the least to “Economy” (27).

It’s getting hot in here. The environment will be a ubiquitous feature of Davos programming this year. Thunberg, other outspoken young activists, plus the likes of Jane Goodall and Prince Charles will urge companies to do better. In response, a cavalcade of CEOs will make pledges to shrink their corporate carbon footprints (and yes, take stick for flying in on private jets to deliver that message). We have already heard bigwigs mention “Larry’s letter,” a reference to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s letter to CEOs published last week, arguing that climate change has become “a defining factor in companies’ long-term prospects.” For his part, UBS chairman Axel Weber told journalists yesterday that a carbon credit price will eventually become as important to financial markets as LIBOR is today. But when they’re not on stage, executives may not necessarily be buying into all this green talk: In its latest global survey of CEOs, PwC found that climate change did not even make it into the top 10 threats the executives see to growth prospects.

What the forum may lack in geopolitical power—there are only three leaders of G7 countries, and none from the BRICS—it makes up for in plutocratic might. If there was a Pokémon Go-style app for seeking out billionaires, this would be a great place to test it—at least 119 are jetting in for the forum this week, according to Bloomberg. (Editor’s note: SoftBank called and they want to fund that app.)

If you need some alone time, the wood-paneled bathroom stalls at Hub Culture’s TechLodge each feature their own Bose speakers and multiple mounted touchscreens. “They were BEAUTIFUL,” reports a breathless tipster.

“Do you get to go skiing at this thing you’re all in? No? So, it’s all work? Boring.”—between-song banter from Sheryl Crow at the Philip Morris lounge.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

China confirmed human-to-human transmission of the Wuhan coronavirus. Chinese authorities also said a fourth person had diedfrom the virus, which has infected more than 200 people in four countries. The WHO will hold an emergency meeting tomorrow.

Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump called a truce in their digital tax dispute. The French and American leaders said they would keep negotiating this year over Paris’s plan to apply a 3% levy on revenue from digital services earned in France by tech giants.

South Korea will dispatch troops to the Strait of Hormuz. The US ally’s defense ministry announced that its anti-piracy unit, currently deployed off the coast of Africa, will expand operations in order to protect its citizens and vessels.