Davos Blog (01)

Well, I’ve finally made it through the snow and heavy traffic to Davos for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum.

I travelled up to Davos from a meeting in our Zurich office, which, with others, had been attacked over the weekend by anti-globalisation protestors. Paint was thrown over the walls – at least it was in KPMG blue! I wonder if my Swiss colleagues will invite me back in a hurry…

In the car I wondered about the size of the carbon footprint that delegates will leave getting to and from Davos. Then I found out that if I paid some organization $150 I could offset my own CO2 emissions. I’m not sure exactly how that works but I’m sure I‘ll ind out in the next few days.

Of course, climate change is one of the main themes of this year’s WEF and there are 17 such sessions planned over the next few days, bringing together politicians, business leaders, top academics and  non-governmental (NGO) representatives.

My first stop is the Congress Centre where Sir Nicholas Stern, author of a recent ground-breaking report on the subject for the UK government, is leading a session on the economics of climate change.

It’s the first time I’ve heard him speak and he gave some fascinating insights into the issue – but I came away still confused about carbon trading.

Like Stern, I’m a great believer in taking the long term view – and of the imperative to take action now on climate change. While there is no silver bullet, it’s clear to me that the environment is an issue for everyone - governments, businesses and individuals must take their own responsibility.

Indeed, even if the growing scientific consensus on global warming is wrong, we will all benefit from taking action now. In this sense, we can’t lose. But by doing nothing we risk catastrophe.

For  now, though, a packed schedule beckons. This evening KPMG is hosting a reception for clients at the Belvedere Hotel and I’ll also attend several other cocktail parties before ending up at a private dinner hosted by WEF founder Klaus Schwab.

German chancellor Angela Merkel is also due to attend. I remember last year she was crowned ‘Queen of Davos’ , such was the impact she made on delegates. Given that Germany is currently president of  both the European Union and the G8 group of leading industrialized nations, I think she’ll have no problem retaining her title this year!

Sir Michael Rake, Chairman, KPMG International