Top business leaders issue expletive-laden message on climate
The US House is preparing ahead of the World Economic Forum to be held in Davos, Switzerland, on January 18, 2026. The annual WEF meeting brings together government, business and civil society leaders to discuss important global issues. This year’s event will take place between January 19-23.
Elena Romanova | Getty Images News | Getty Images
This week senior business leaders launched an expletive-laden plea for climate action, describing the backlash against Europe’s green transition as an “aberration”.
In an interview with CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, he said: Allianz Chief executive Oliver Bäte disagreed with the suggestion that it could only be a matter of time before net zero is rejected in Europe and said short-term thinking on the issue was “bullish”.
Questions were asked about political leaders’ much-vaunted European Green New Deal and Norway’s backtracking on its oil fund reportedly Defending pressure from companies to dilute climate targets, Bäte said anyone with children “will have to worry” about the future of the planet.
“It’s a perversion for short-term people to say that,” Bäte told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Tuesday. “I think it’s about doing it smartly. The role model here, by the way, is China; they’re going to be leaders in terms of both renewable energy and the cost of energy.”
The CEO of Allianz, one of the world’s largest insurance companies, said it is indispensable for business and political leaders to move towards the necessary energy transition targets.
“That’s what we’ve done at Allianz, we’ve said 2050 is net zero. Let’s not try to say ‘Oh, I’ve got to do that by 2035 anyway’ – bulls. Sorry for talking on TV,” Bäte said.
“We have reduced energy consumption in our company by more than 40%. It can be done, but let’s not make it a religion. Make it a goal and then stay focused on it,” he added.
His comments come amid concerns that businesses are increasingly avoiding climate action, turning instead to issues such as competitiveness and political support for net zero looks like it’s fading.
Indeed, the focus of the event in Davos has changed; Instead of focusing on how to rapidly reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, as in previous years, the focus is now on how to deal with the worst elements of the climate crisis.
‘Renewable energy is eating fossil fuels for lunch’
Andrew Forrest, founder and executive chairman of Australian mining giant FortescueHe said on Monday that the term net zero itself was “a bit of a problem here.” He has previously called on the world to move away from the “proven fantasy” of net zero, saying it is time to embrace “real zero” by 2040 instead.
Net zero refers to the goal of reaching a state of balance between carbon emitted into the atmosphere and carbon removed from the atmosphere. More than 140 countries, including major polluters such as the United States, India and the European Union, have adopted plans to achieve net zero.
“Even if we use excuses like carbon credits and offsets and all that nonsense, I think the President of the United States has a good angle to make a case against those advocating net-zero carbon emissions. [but] I have to say this: We don’t need the internet anymore,” Forrest told CNBC’s Karen Tso in Davos.
Andrew Forrest, chairman of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd., during the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, January 20, 2026.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
“True zero is simply stopping burning fossil fuel. It’s a very simple equation. When will you stop burning fossil fuel? Name the date. Then you’ll deliver lower costs and more competitive energy costs to your shareholders.”
Fortescue, the world fourth largest iron ore miner, summarized It plans to stop burning fossil fuels in its Australian iron ore operations by the end of the decade and is calling on other hard-to-reduce companies to follow suit.
Forrest said China is wisely supporting “every horse in the race” by investing in both hydrocarbon and renewable energy technologies; This was a policy decision that clearly differed from the Trump administration’s approach.
“Now, the United States… has taken a drastic step [for] It’s made everyone who’s diving into fossil fuels and renewables feel like they’re woke and don’t care about shareholders. “I’m here to tell all of Davos, quite frankly, that this is not true,” Forrest said.
“It’s cheaper to step into a renewable energy future. If you have a technology pipeline that’s basically flat or declining in oil and gas, which means your operating cost is flat or increasing with oil and gas. But if you have a bloody renewable energy technology curve that’s almost vertical upwards and its costs are bloody downward near vertical, then you’re looking at trends,” he continued.
“The trend with renewable energy is to consume fossil fuels for lunch. So I say to all my friends in America, back every horse. Your president is more businessman than anti-climate change.”
Trump targets Europe’s energy policy
US President Donald Trump has dismissed the scientific consensus on human-caused climate change as a “hoax”. reportedly He agreed to attend Davos this year after organizers assured him that “arousing” issues would not come to the fore at the meeting.
In his speech in Davos on Wednesday, the US President targeted the EU’s energy policy, claiming that wind turbines destroy land and cause a loss of money.
“This is unfortunately not entirely new and we really have a fundamentally different perspective here,” EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra told CNBC on Wednesday.
“We feel that climate change will have huge economic consequences. At the same time, there is a clear opportunity in batteries, solar energy and, by the way, nuclear energy, which I agree with.” [with Trump]” he added.
US President Donald Trump delivers a special speech at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on January 21, 2026. The World Economic Forum will take place in Davos from January 19 to January 23, 2026.
Fabrice Coffrini | Afp | Getty Images
Asked about the eroding of political support for net zero policies, the EU’s Hoekstra acknowledged that there were “some sections” that were more skeptical than before.
“The hard truth is that the physics of the whole thing and the planet doesn’t care whether we talk about it or not,” Hoekstra said.
“All that matters is how much CO2 we are pumping into the air, how much the planet is warming, and how much economic damage that will do to us as a society,” he added.
Where do we go from here?
Not everyone is concerned about Europe’s commitment to climate action. Joe Kaeser, president of Germany Siemens Energy said that it is more focused on what measures can be taken.
“We need to talk with our customers about what we can do together and chart a path for how we can eventually get to net zero,” Kaeser told CNBC on Tuesday. he said.
“There’s nothing we can’t do about it, but it’s about technology and innovation, it’s not about regulations saying ‘you’ve got to do this, you’ve got to do that, you’ve got to do hydrogen’, but everyone knows it’s never going to be economically possible,” he added.
