WEF chairman urges quick move on climate change
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World government and business leaders should act urgently on climate change and resources efficiency to achieve sustainable growth, said Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
In an exclusive interview with Xinhua ahead of the WEF's Annual Meeting of the New Champions in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin, Schwab said:"We have to prepare ourselves now not to be so much surprised if someday we don't have enough energy and enough food."
The WEF's role is "to alert the world and prepare the world's public opinion, government and businesses decision makers to address the issue of scarcity by improving efficiency," he said.
Climate change is a complicated issue as it is also related to other issues like food and poverty, Schwab said, adding the world should move fast to address the issue.
Schwab said he was impressed with China's improving awareness in protecting environment and increasing resources efficiency during the past five to 10 years.
But China needs to reduce excessive reliance on polluting coal and other fossil fuels and use more green energy like nuclear power to power its economy, he said.
China has a huge room in improving the welfare of its citizens because its per capita gross domestic product is only about one eighth of Japan even after it has overtaken Japan as the world's second-largest economy, said Schwab.
Therefore China has a sufficient domestic demand to underpin future growth even after decades of fast growth, he said.
He also urged more international coordination and management to better tackle financial crisis as there might be rising protectionism in crisis-hit nations where leaders could easily choose protectionist measures to regain public trust.
More than 1,400 government officials and business executives from 88 countries will participate in the forum, dubbed "Summer Davos", in Tianjin from Sept. 13 to 15.
The Geneva-based WEF, established in 1971, is an independent international organization "committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas."
It is best known for its annual meeting at the Swiss winter resort of Davos, while the Annual Meeting of the New Champions in China is focused on newly emerging businesses and nations.
China has held three Summer Davos meetings as the world is showing an increasing interest in the developing country's economic development.
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