The Editor's Post: Carbon footprints in the snow
As the rich and powerful talk about saving the planet in Davos, President Trump is threatening to undo any progress made in the past few years. The impact community has many reasons to despair – but it still has the power to change the world for good. This week’s view from the Pioneers Post newsroom.
“In so many ways this week might become the week we remember for a long time, to reshape the foundations of our global economy and our society. And for many people – including me – that is somewhat scary.”
This is what Daniel Nowack, head of social innovation at the World Economic Forum, said at the opening of a conversation about the social economy in Davos this week. I’m sure many of the Pioneers Post community will have had similar feelings as we watched Donald Trump being inaugurated on Monday for his second US presidential term.
It has been a week of many uncomfortable juxtapositions. As earnest conversations about the future of the world took place at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in the luxury Swiss ski resort – including many focusing on how to combat the climate crisis – Donald Trump’s barrage of announcements that immediately followed him taking office included pulling out of the Paris Agreement on climate change, pledging to “drill, baby drill” for oil and gas, and massive expansion of investment in AI, requiring a huge step up in power generation – and these were just the attacks on the climate.
On Thursday, the new president himself was beamed into the World Economic Forum’s main hall where he was given nearly an hour to highlight his vision for America’s new “golden age”, alongside answering some softly batted questions from “friends” on the panel.
While President Trump’s appearance at Davos was at least done remotely, the 3,000 delegates will have made a not insignificant carbon footprint among the ski resort’s snowy peaks. The conference does have a sustainability strategy: participants are encouraged to travel by train and are provided with free shoe grips to enable them to walk around the icy streets. However, it’s well recognised that private jet traffic around the area increases during World Economic Forum week, with private jet operators actively pitching for customers (including this one, which emphasises its discretion for customers who are aware of the debates around the impact of high end jetsetting.)
Over the past two weeks, we at Pioneers Post have been taking part in carbon literacy training, provided by SE100 climate pioneer award winner, the Carbon Literacy Project. While it’s vital to recognise what individuals and small social enterprises like ours can do to reduce our production of greenhouse gases, it has been difficult not to feel discouraged in the face of recent global events. However, we managed to remind ourselves of what we and the impact community can and are doing to make positive change.
As a media organisation committed to solutions journalism, we aim to bring our audience insights, inspiration and knowledge to help you take your own actions. For example, our Earth Fixers series with Hogan Lovells celebrates climate action being taken around the world by ambitious entrepreneurs who have the vision and skills to make an impact. Our webinars offer vital information, as well as networking opportunities – check out our recent SE100 Social Business Coffee Break on how to reduce your carbon footprint. And we’ve got some articles offering practical advice too, such as this one about how to reduce the environmental impact of tech.
During 2025, the environment will continue to be a key theme for Pioneers Post. It has been a daunting week, but we hope that you can see a way forward – and we aim to help you get there.
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‘Blended finance has fallen short’ – UN briefing
Top image: Davos during the World Economic Forum annual meeting 2025. Copyright: World Economic Forum/Boris Baldinger
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