Government and business leaders once again stand accused of telling the rest of the world to ‘do as I say, not as I do,’ after it emerged that many of them took short private jets to discuss the global climate crisis last year. As some of the world’s richest and most powerful people once again head to Switzerland for the World Economic Forum, new research has shown that more than half of all flights to the 2022 edition came from within a 750 kilometre radius.

Founded in 1971, the World Economic Forum is an international non-governmental lobbying organisation, based in Cologny, Switzerland. Each year, the organisation hosts its flagship event, commonly known as Davos, in January, with business and world leaders gathering to discuss solutions to an annual theme.

It is backed by some of the world’s largest businesses – and a number of the consulting industry’s heavyweights help shape its agenda each year – while government officials often converge on Davos in their thousands. As a result, it is seen by some as one of the most important economic and political conferences on the calendar. However, there are also many critics who argue that it is simply a talking shop, where people who have played leading roles in creating the crises they pledge to help address, feign concern at key issues such as global poverty, or rising sea levels.

This debate has already resurfaced ahead of the 2023 edition of Davos, thanks to a new analysis by CE Delft on behalf of…