| Forum Stories | | Your weekly curated analysis of the top global issues |
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Welcome to Forum Stories!
Building on the format of the daily newsletter you received during the Annual Meeting in Davos, we’re introducing an improved Forum Stories experience. Enjoy!- We’ll focus on one aspect of the Forum’s work each week for the Spotlight section – this week it’s climate action.
- We’re also looking at what 2025 has in store, according to the experts, and taking a deeper dive into trade and tariffs.
- Throughout the newsletter, you’ll find the best of the rest of the week’s content across blogs, podcasts and video, from the Forum.
This week’s newsletter is 960 words, a 3-minute read. |
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| Feel free to forward the Forum Stories newsletter to a friend or colleague. Our editorial team hand-picks the most relevant stories for you every week. You can also read today’s edition in your browser. |
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| Spotlight: Climate action – rolling on not rolling back |  | Collective action is essential to keep the world on track to meet the Paris Agreement targets by 2030 – and there’s still hope and possibility. - Read why Gim Huay Neo is optimistic about climate action – from new Forum initiatives on climate and nature to a groundswell of support from business.
- The creation of the Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor was one of the big announcements at Davos. It aims to restore and protect 540,000km² of land across the entire Congo basin, creating jobs, sustainable tourism, agriculture and clean energy.
- A marine biologist and master storyteller explains how mass action can reverse the ocean’s declining prospects.
Why it matters: 2024 was the hottest on record, while January saw California’s worst natural disaster as wildfires ripped through Los Angeles. The risk of collapse of natural ecosystems threatens lives and livelihoods, but climate action is continuing in the face of adversity.
Zoom in: - Indigenous leaders from across the planet came together in Davos to share their knowledge on climate change and address the solutions. Watch here.
- COP30 in November 2025 will mark a decade since the Paris Agreement was adopted. Listen to this Agenda Dialogue podcast of the Davos session ‘Road to COP30’.
- Can we balance energy security and sustainability? At this year’s Annual Meeting, global leaders explored how the energy transition could deliver both. Find out more here.
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| 2. The biggest issues in 2025 | | What’s on the horizon for the global economy, democracy, technology and the US? - Two Forum experts on financial and monetary systems and private market initiatives explain why the evolving geopolitical landscape highlights the necessity of defining “red lines” in global finance.
- 12 Chief Economists surveyed for the Forum’s latest Chief Economists Outlook offered their takes on a ‘particularly complex’ year of tariffs and tensions ahead here.
Why it matters: Global growth is projected to remain steady at 3.3%, according to the IMF, but there is divergence between countries, with the burden of debt for example, heavier on developing economies.
Zoom in:- The Forum has been tracking shifts in the global risks landscape for 20 years. At Davos, two experts drew on data from the Global Risks Report archive to explore the evolution of risk perceptions – and how they might change again in the years ahead. Read about the session here.
- Conflict is the top short-term risk in 2025, but many of the world’s conflicts are overlooked. Here are some of the quotes from discussions at Davos on the state of conflict in 2025.
- Listen to the takeaways from Davos by the people who lead the Forum’s work throughout the year, in this special episode of Radio Davos.
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3. Trade, tariffs and the prospects for global cooperation | | Tariffs are trending across the globe – but what does it mean for the future of trade and global cooperation?- President Donald Trump imposed import tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico on 1 February and then agreed to a 30-day pause for the two US neighbours. China has responded with limited tariffs on the US.
- Just what are tariffs, how do they work – and do they work? Find out here.
- Trade between China and the US accounts for less than 3% of world trade, “but generates 80% of the news” the World Trade Organization’s Chief Economist told Radio Davos. Listen here for Ralph Ossa’s take on the potential impact of tariffs on trade.
Why it matters: The rise of protectionism, increased trade disputes, and tariffs and trade barriers are making global trade much more uncertain for businesses. This will ultimately have implications not only for global cooperation and growth – at the macro level – but also for individual livelihoods.
Zoom in:- Marsh McLennan’s Carolina Klint, Chief Commercial Officer for Europe, offers 5 ways businesses can navigate global trade in today’s fragmented geoeconomic landscape here.
- Is there a hope for better global collaboration? 4 experts at Davos gave us their views, watch the full video here.
- Sceptical economists scrutinized Trump’s comeback at Davos 2025. They found some reasons for optimism here.
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