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Over 1,500 leaders from 90 countries convened in Tianjin, China June 27-29 for the World Economic Forum’s New Global Champions conference. The theme of this year’s event was “Entrepreneurship: The Driving Force of the Global Economy.” The Innovator's Editor-in-Chief moderated two panels at the conference.

Global GDP growth is expected to reach just 2.8% this year, said speakers in a session entitled Braving The Headwinds: Rewiring Growth Amid Fragility. Experts talked about how green energy, innovative technologies and broad inclusiveness could help secure an economic rebound. However, the global energy transition has plateaued due to the global energy crisis and geopolitical volatility and the energy equity gap is widening, according to a Forum report called Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2023 released during the meeting in Tianjin.
Speeding up the transition and delivering on the targets outlined in the Paris Agreement offers unprecedented opportunities. “We’ll have to invest more, we’ll have to mine more materials, we’ll have to produce more (public-private-partnership) projects, more power generation, more renewable energy,” said Benedikt Sobotka, Chief Executive Officer, Eurasian Resources Group. “This is the biggest economic opportunity – and opportunity for innovation – that this generation of humankind has ever seen.”

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Earthly, a member of the World Economic Forum’s UpLink community, helps companies screen and de-risk investments in nature-based solutions to achieve carbon removal or carbon avoidance goals. The UK-based startup’s clients include Caixa Bank, S&P Global, Activision and MetLife.

Earthly, which operates worldwide, helps companies buy carbon credits, earn Net Zero certifications, or design bespoke approaches. “If corporates invest in low quality projects it can cause reputational issues,” says founder and CEO Oliver Bolton, one of some 100 entrepreneurs invited to attend the Forum’s Annual Meeting of The New Champions in Tianjin, China June 27-29.

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Percentage of employees globally that expect to see some positive impact of AI on their career over the next five years, with nearly a third (31%) saying it’ll increase their productivity/efficiency at work, according to PwC's just released 2023 Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey which details the attitudes and behaviors of nearly 54,000 workers in 46 countries and territories. Many workers also view AI as an opportunity to learn new skills (27%).
Workers who said their job requires specialized skills are more likely to anticipate change ahead. More than half (51%) say the skills their job requires will change significantly in the next five years, compared to just 15% for employees who don’t have specialized training. Around two thirds are confident their employer will help them develop the digital, analytical and collaboration skills they will need. These numbers fall to below half for those who do not currently work in jobs that require specialist training.
Importantly, more than one-third (35%) of workers say they have skills that are not apparent from their CV or job histories, indicating companies may be overlooking talent within the ranks. Recent research published by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with PwC found that creating skills-first labor markets could help more than 100 million people worldwide get better jobs.