World's On Fire, Can't be Left to Firemen Alone to Tackle It, Says Swiss President

Davos: Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga on Tuesday said the world is on fire and everyone needs to work together to tackle the dangers before our environment as it cannot be seen as a job of the firemen alone.

"I look at the state of the world with a concern today. There is intolerance, hatred and revenge... We need to find the right balance for a common future," she said during a special address at the WEF annual meeting here.

The President of the Swiss Confederation said, "The world is on fire. We are seeing rainforests burning in Amazon and bushfires in Australia.

"The ecological balance of this world is in danger and we need to understand what all would be the consequences for all of us."

When economic benefits are placed above nature, then the consequences for humans and the economy are immense, she said.

Drawing an analogy, she said biodiversity is like the Eiffel Tower of Paris and if you remove one screw from the tower each day, nothing will happen in the beginning, but if you keep removing the screws, the tower will fall apart.

"We need politicians to take action in their own country and internationally on global warming and climate change," she emphasised.

She also showed a short video to delegates, underlining the importance of insects and biodiversity for the future of mankind.

She called on the private sector to tackle the threat to our biodiversity and urged politicians and all of civil society to take action.

Sommaruga also expressed concern over politically motivated hate, intolerance and revenge.

Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), outlined his vision for stakeholder capitalism, and launched a new open source platform for people to share ideas to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), starting with the oceans.

The world is in a state of emergency and the window to act is closing, he warned.

He also emphasised the need to take everyone's point of view into account, especially the youth.

He said the lack of trust and profound cynicism that prevails in many parts of society should spur us on to engage and work towards creating a better world.