Marie-Laure Salles took part in “COP 30: Shaping a Planet-Centric Agenda”, a key panel on how to align climate negotiations and finance with planetary interests.
COP30 in Belem, Brazil, is an opportunity that cannot be missed. As the world convenes in the Amazon, the living lungs of our planet, we need to project a bold and integrated sustainability agenda. The current violent headwinds make this in fact even more necessary and urgent. Using the words of Jean Monnet, “in exceptional moments anything becomes possible, provided that we are ready and that we have a clear plan”. Those who believe in humanity and in a sustainable and peaceful future should mobilise and work with courage and integrity to develop such a plan.
Marie-Laure Salles
The Hoffmann Centre for Global Sustainability, represented by Co-Director Beatrice Weder di Mauro and Managing Director Ioana Popp, actively participated in six key events at Davos 2025.
Ioana Popp attended the InTent opening dinner on "Why We Need a New Nature of Business: Charting a Path to Sustainable Prosperity". Discussions focused on why businesses must evolve beyond a purely financial focus and start measuring impacts on the three capitals: social, human and natural. She also contributed to the interactive workshop From Campus to Boardroom: Aligning Academia and Industry in Building a Workforce for a Sustainable Future, designed to drive actionable solutions for integrating sustainability into the corporate world. The workshop, moderated by Financial Times’s Andrew Jack, explored the role recruiters and academia play in shaping a workforce equipped to tackle sustainability challenges. The Hoffmann Centre for Global Sustainability is a natural partner in educating the political and business leaders of tomorrow, and providing the research they need to shape action.
Beatrice Weder di Mauro attended the "Accelerating Business Action for Nature" event on Tuesday. She also took part in the " Innovative Impact Financing Matters: Become a strong and credible leader in future market development " session organized by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation with the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs and the State Secretariat for International Finance. Prof Weder di Mauro also attended the InTent event on "Mobilising Financial Markets to Value What Matters Most" session. This solutions-focused discussion on how capitals valuation can mobilise financial markets towards a nature positive, net zero, and prosperous economic future brings together leaders from across the financial system, from insurance, banking and asset-management, alongside financial regulators and policymakers.
Prof Weder di Mauro also attended the Closing Dinner on "Accelerating Momentum to a Nature Positive Future" at the SDG tent, joining leading companies, financial institutions and governments who are adopting strategies to help implement the Global Biodiversity Framework to secure a Nature Positive world. In these events, Prof. Weder di Mauro emphasised that achieving effective conservation requires recognising the value of nature and advancing practical evidence-based solutions, that a paradigm shift is needed to ensure sustainable funding models for nature conservation. Sustainability research demands a systemic perspective, integrating environmental, natural, political, and social dimensions.
Managing Director of the Tech Hub, Jérôme Duberry participated first in a roundtable on the operational phase of the International Computation and AI Network (ICAIN), which aims to democratise AI computing, data and talent to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Then, together with Prof. Menna El-Assady, he presented a poster on pilot projects in AI education. These included past projects that they had done at the Albert Hirschman Center on Democracy with Christine Lutringer and Laura Bullon-Cassis, as well as the upcoming AI Negotiation Challenge that will take place at the Institute on 23-24 May. Jérôme Duberry also participated in a roundtable organised by The Economist and G42 on government and business readiness for AI in emerging markets. In all these discussions, he advocated for the responsible, inclusive and sustainable development, deployment and governance of AI, and for the bridging of AI, social science and policy.
Read more on Jérôme Duberry’s takeaway from Davos 2025.
In 2024, the Institute, through its Tech Hub, hosted a conference on “AI Geopolitical Implications for Business, Government, and Society” at AI House Davos, featuring Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft and alumnus of the Institute; Amandeep Gill, Under-Secretary-General, UN Tech Envoy; Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union; and Marie-Laure Salles.