Invest in nature and reap cash benefits, World Economic Forum urges cities
Barcelona, SpainThomson Reuters Foundation After a landslide in 2017 killed 1,141 people and left more than 3,000 homeless in Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown, the recovery plan included training residents to plant 21,000 native trees to reduce the risk of future disasters on bare hillsides. Amid erratic and unusually heavy rains, as well as urban expansion, […]
Super-rich thrive as COVID-19 pushes millions into poverty
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation The world’s 10 wealthiest people more than doubled their fortunes to $US1.5 trillion during the pandemic as poverty rates soared, according to a study released by a charity on Monday ahead of a high-profile World Economic Forum event. Heads of state will join chief executives and other prominent figures this week […]
Climate inaction – and ‘dramatic’ consequences – top global threat list
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Governments are struggling to adopt climate-smart policies as COVID-19 hits economic activity and forces them to focus instead on tackling surging social inequality, the World Economic Forum said on Tuesday. Failure to implement emissions-cutting pledges and the “dramatic consequences” in terms of devastating floods, storms and wildfires are now the world’s […]
India tests drones to take COVID-19 vaccines to rural areas
Thomson Reuters Foundation Villagers in remote corners of rural India could start seeing curious flying objects in the skies as health experts test out drones to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to isolated communities amid a deadly surge in coronavirus cases. The southern state of Telangana, which is part of the World Economic Forum’s Medicine from the Sky project […]
Pandemic pushes gender equality back a generation – WEF
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters Women will not reach parity with men until the middle of the next century as the COVID-19 pandemic hits them hardest, according to a World Economic Forum report released on Wednesday. “The pandemic has fundamentally impacted gender equality in both the workplace and the home, rolling back years of progress,” said WEF’s managing […]
Fewer desks, more coffee: How the office could change after COVID-19
Tbilisi, GeorgiaThomson Reuters Foundation Employees returning to the office after the coronavirus pandemic ends might find fewer desks and more room to chat over coffee, real estate experts say, as companies look to “seduce” remote workers back by offering more space for interaction. Lockdowns that have taken hold since March last year have forced millions […]
More nature, more jobs? Green investment seen as driver of coronavirus recovery
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation In recent decades, Costa Rica has doubled its forest cover while tripling the size of its economy – an example of how better protecting nature can create jobs rather than curb them, the Central American country’s environment minister said Wednesday. “Restoring nature is not a burden to economic development,” said Carlos […]
Tree planting extends an olive branch across the climate divide
New York CityThomson Reuters Foundation The world’s business and government leaders may have found a way to fight climate change without having to call global warming by its name or agree on what is causing it. Last week, the World Economic Forum – which dedicated its 2020 gathering in Davos, Switzerland, to climate change and […]
Equality won’t happen by itself, says Finnish PM
Davos, SwitzerlandThomson Reuters Foundation Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin called on Thursday for governments and companies to do more to ensure women were treated fairly, saying equality would not happen by itself. Gender parity is a big theme at the 50th annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, with a host of reports highlighting continued […]
Updated: Leaders fear for planet as they pack for “green” Davos
Last updated 3.45pmLondon, UKReuters Climate change and environmental destruction top the risks highlighted by world decision-makers in a survey ahead of the 2020 gathering of the global elite in the Swiss ski resort of Davos. For the first time the annual risk report, compiled by the World Economic Forum, found the top five concerns were […]