Davos Forum Flying into Trouble over Private Jets

That's just one of the headlines that has drawn the ire of critics of the 2015 World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland, where 40 heads of state and 2,500 business executives are meeting to discuss ways to improve a range of worldwide issues like gender equality, global poverty, and you guessed it — environmental sustainability.

On top of the agenda, the WEF's website stated that decarbonising the global economy over the next few decades was "the number one priority."

And although it would be cynical to question the merit and the intention of such an event, the decision to hold it in the idyllic, albeit isolated town of Davos, in eastern Switzerland, might go against those commitments to reduce carbon emissions.

The influx of private jets — estimated to be about 1,700 — has reportedly forced the Swiss armed forces to open up a military airbase for the first time, just to accommodate the exponential increase in aircraft arrivals.

On top of more than double the normal amount of flights arriving at Swiss airports, estimates have suggested that traffic around the town is expected to rise by 5 percent compared to last year's event alone.

Not all will be flying into military bases and airports around Davos though, with a number of representatives arriving at main airports in Zurich.

However, instead of piling into a bus, catching a train, or even hiring a car on the way up to Davos, many are tipped to travel direct by helicopter into the event, with CNN reporting that last year helicopter flights between Zurich and Davos increased from about 5 flights a day to up to 54 a day at its peak.

Kevin Smith, of London-based activist group, Global Justice Now has been highly critical of the event, saying the stated goals and the actions of those attending draw plenty of contradictions.

"Using a fleet of carbon-spewing private jets to discuss saving the climate is just the tip of the hypocrisy iceberg at Davos," he said.

"In the same vein, they claim to be addressing inequality, but the policies they are pushing, like free trade deals and privatization, are actually making it much worse. If we want to address these urgent global problems we should be challenging the power of these business elites, not looking to them for answers."

Global Justice Now has released a report titled ‘The Poor are Getting Richer and Other Dangerous Delusions' which attacks the approach world leaders and corporate executives are taking to address these global problems.

The report calls for a reexamination of what it calls "elite myths" like the belief that "the poor are getting richer" and that "everyone wins under free trade."

Despite the criticism, the World Economic Forum has kicked off in Davos, with the first day consisting of discussions on a wide range of different topics, from global oil prices to the European recovery.

Fabian Zuleeg, chief executive and chief economist at the European Policy Centre, told Sputnik that the situation in Ukraine "has also been at the forefront of discussions and concerns" during day one talks, showcasing the wide range of issues up for discussion.

As the Davos forum continues for another couple of days, the talks are set to focus on what the world can do to reduce carbon emissions and reduce our carbon footprint.

Perhaps next year's event could be turned green to match the environmental concerns, with those attending to be encouraged to take the bus or cycle through the Swiss forest to the forum. Or better still — it could be done via Skype, just to set an example.