Background:

The World Economic Forum (WEF)’s Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, (January 23 – 27) provides an unrivalled platform for leaders to shape the global agenda at the start of each year. At its core this is the world’s largest gathering of business leaders, along with government, media and civil society. Following the UN’s Bali Summit in December, global warming and the search for alternatives to fossil fuels will be at the top of the Davos agenda. IUCN’s Director General, Julia Marton-Lefèvre, will be taking part in the Annual Meeting’s Energy Summit and is available for interview and comment in Davos.

Key Issues:

• Business cannot avoid the costs of climate change. It has a huge role to play in creating a climate-safer future. “Set against a backdrop of melting Alpine glaciers the message to the world’s business community is clear,” says IUCN’s Director General, Julia Marton-Lefèvre. “Climate change is the number one priority here in Davos and energy is obviously a key part of the puzzle we need to resolve.”
  
• Biofuels can only be expected to make only a relatively modest contribution to the energy needs of modern society. “Biofuels are not a catchall bandage that will stem global warming all on their own,” says IUCN’s Director General, Julia Marton-Lefèvre. “Conservation, fuel efficiency, new technologies, must be part of a serious and concerted effort by governments, academia, and the private sector to devise a post-petroleum future that’ll enable human civilisation to continue prospering.”
  
• Business cannot wait for governments to lead; action on emissions reductions are needed now. “Some companies have said they’re waiting for government leadership; others recognize the commercial benefits of being innovators and leaders,” says IUCN’s Director General, Julia Marton-Lefèvre. “Business needs to understand how dramatically different operations need to be in order to save the climate.”

Notes to editors

Media Events/Activities:

• Energy Summit - Beyond Kyoto: Is Collaboration possible? IUCN’s Director General, Julia Marton-Lefèvre -Hotel Seehof, Seehorn – 20h00-22h00, Wednesday, 23 January.
• Energy Summit - Managing our Future Water Needs: Water for Health, Industry, Agriculture and the Environment - Hotel Seehof, Palais Mitte – 08h00-10h15, Thursday, 24 January.
• Energy Summit - Sustainable Biofuels - Need for Cross-Industry Action? IUCN’s Director General, Julia Marton-Lefévre -Congress Centre, Parsenn Work Space – 15h00-17h30, Friday, 25 January. .

Spokesperson:

Julia Marton-Lefèvre, IUCN’s Director General, email jml@iucn.org

Media team:

Sarah Halls, IUCN Global Communications, mobile +41792472926, e-mail sarah.halls@iucn.org.

Brian Thomson, IUCN Global Communications, mobile +417972182326, e-mail brian.thomson@iucn.org.

Materials for the Media:

Audio Interview: IUCN’s Director-General Julia Marton-Lefèvre

IUCN’s Director-General Julia Marton-Lefèvre explains why it’s important for the IUCN to take part in the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos?

English [mp3] 

How is conservation changing the way it interacts with business?

English [mp3] 

What are the hot topics for Davos this year?

English [mp3] 

Biofuels are a big issue, are they the answer to the world’s energy problems?

English [mp3] 

About the World Conservation Union (IUCN)

Created in 1948, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) brings together 83 States, 111 government agencies, 800 plus NGOs, and some 10,000 scientists and experts from 148 countries in a unique worldwide partnership. The Union’s mission is to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable.

The Union is the world's largest environmental knowledge network and has helped over 75 countries to prepare and implement national conservation and biodiversity strategies. The Union is a multicultural, multilingual organization with 1,000 staff located in 62 countries. Its headquarters are in Gland, Switzerland.

More information can be found at  www.iucn.org