Davos 2025: Trade, Tariffs, AI and UN Chief Guterres Dominate World Economic Forum Agenda

DAVOS, Switzlerand (AP) — The U.N. chief ratcheted up his warning about climate change and said the world’s thirst for fossil fuels is a “Frankenstein monster” that spares no one, while calling for greater attention to risks posed by artificial intelligence if its ascent goes ungoverned.

António Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general, headlined a flurry of activities and talk sessions on Wednesday as the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos.

World leaders like the prime ministers of Spain and Malaysia, academics and business executives were among elites tackling topics like economic growth potential in places like China and Russia, the promise and perils of AI, and the new line out of Washington as President Donald Trump’s second term got underway on Monday.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy combed the corridors in Davos, meeting with leaders like Israeli President Isaac Herzog, German opposition leader and would-be chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Vietnam President Luong Cuong — part of his bid to stir up support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia.

Here’s a look at what’s was happening Wednesday at Davos 2025:

UN Chief Warns About Big Oil …

With energy and tech industry executives on hand, Guterres returned to one of his most frequent appeals: for the world to do more to fight global warming.

That effort has been rattled by Trump’s promises to “ drill, baby, drill ” and an array of worries about economic growth in some big but moribund economies in Europe and beyond.

Guterres bemoaned how the year 2024 was the hottest on record, and warned of rising sea levels that could overwhelm ports that ship oil in and out.

“And rising temperatures, which are, overwhelmingly, caused by burning fossil fuels,” he said. “Our fossil fuel addiction is a Frankenstein monster, sparing nothing and no one. All around us, we see clear signs that the monster has become master.”

Companies that have recently backtracked on their climate commitments are “on the wrong side of history,” he added.

… And “Ungoverned” AI

The U.N. chief lauded the promise of artificial intelligence, saying it could revolutionize learning, help improve health care and support farmers with tools that boost productivity.

“But with this promise comes profound risk, especially if AI is left ungoverned,” he said. warning that it could be used “as a tool of deception” and erode trust in institutions, disrupt labor markets and even affect the conduct of war.

“And AI could deepen inequalities by excluding those without the resources or tools to benefit from its promise,” Guterres added.

A day earlier, Trump highlighted a joint venture that plans to invest up to $500 billion for infrastructure linked to AI though a new partnership formed by Oracle, SoftBank and OpenAI, whose ChatGPT chatbot has led to fascination with its ability to perform basic business tasks and answer complex questions, albeit with varying degrees of accuracy.

The Stargate project plans to build out data centers and the electricity generation needed by voracious power needs of fast-evolving AI in Texas, the White House said.

Speaking to The Associated Press, CEO Julie Sweet of multinational information technology and consulting firm Accenture, hailed the Stargate investment as an “absolute validation that AI is important for companies and countries” and for “accelerating innovation.”

She said the United States appeared set to maintain its approach toward AI of innovation first, then applying “appropriate guardrails” — unlike other places that put the guardrails first.

“AI will not be successful if people don’t trust it,” Sweet said. “So I’m not worried about it (being) too deregulated because the interests of making sure AI is trusted are aligned across all groups.”

The CEO of AI startup Groq and others take up the idea of artificial general intelligence, a futuristic vision of machines that are as broadly smart as humans or at least can do many things as well as people can.

AGI has prompted concern for world governments and some top scientists have warned that unchecked AI agents with “long-term planning” skills could pose an existential risk to humanity.

Prime Ministers of Spain and Malaysia

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said his country will have to “navigate” AI but will push it “on a faster pace, partly because of my age: we don’t have time to wait.”

Anwar took the podium after the Southeast Asian nation and its neighbor Singapore struck a deal to create a special economic zone that would ramp up job creation and lure investment.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will deliver an address as leaders of the European Union, a key U.S. trading partner, continues to assess the return to power of Trump, who has promised tariffs on goods from friend and foe alike in the coming months.

Trump appeared to mistakenly lump in Spain, one of the stronger economic performers in the EU last year, with the BRICS bloc of developing economies — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — on Tuesday. The U.S. leader has put pressure on Europe to spend more on defense.