Seven topics that will dominate World Economic Forum 2015 this week

This week world leaders, top businessmen and campaigners will be discussing issues from climate change to political instability at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Political instability is the number-one problem for the political and business elite this year. The rise of Islamic State has driven fears over failures of national governance and the collapse of nation states. Several Middle Eastern leaders are in attendance, including Egypt’s president Abdel Fatah al-Sisi; King Abdullah of Jordan; Haidar al-Abadi, prime minister of Iraq; and Massoud Barzani, president of the autonomous Kurdistan region.

The Ukraine crisis is a reminder that “long-forgotten” disputes can flare back into life, with widespread consequences for a whole region. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko will be looking for support as his country risks defaulting on its debts. He is expected to receive support from George Soros, the billionaire investor and philanthropist, who is pushing European governments to offer Kiev more help. He will be lobbying the likes of Germany’s Angela Merkel, France’s François Hollande and Italy’s Matteo Renzi.

The terror attacks in France this month will also be debated, just days after many heads of government marched in Paris. On Wednesday, the former UK prime minister Tony Blair will take part in a session examining whether religion is a pretext for conflict.

Another major topic will be central banks, as monetary policy in Europe and the US continues to diverge and inflation falls across the global economy.

The shock abolition of Switzerland’s currency gap last week has left many financial firms nursing losses, and reminded us all that 2015 could be a turbulent year in the markets. Thomas Jordan, the Swiss central bank chief who sparked the turmoil, can expect a lively reception. At least seven other central bank chiefs are also attending, including the Bank of England governor, Mark Carney.

Mario Draghi, the European Central Bank (ECB) president will not be present this year, as he will visit Frankfurt to handle the ECB’s meeting on Thursday, where a big quantitative easing (QE) programme could be announced. Earlier that day a debate will take place on the prospect of higher interest rates in the US. Delegates from emerging markets will be pushing American officials to handle the ending of the QE programme responsibly, after seeing “hot money” pour into their economies. They don’t want a repeat of the currency crisis that struck Argentina during last year’s meeting.

The plunge in the oil price to five-year lows is a multi-dimensional question for Davos attendees. It is a blow to exporters, raising political risk in the Middle East and hitting growth in emerging markets. Abdalla Salem El-Badri, Opec’s secretary general, will face criticism from producers over the cartel’s refusal to cut supplies.

Western leaders seem more optimistic, welcoming the boost to consumers’ spending power. However, environmental groups will be urging oil producers not to drag their feet over green technologies.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the world wide web, is among those speaking on the topic of “In Tech We Trust”. Chief of Google, Eric Schmidt is one of this year’s co-chairs while Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook and Satya Nadella of Microsoft will also be involved in a debate on the future of the digital economy. One of key speakers will be Jack Ma, founder of China’s search engine Alibaba.

Cyber-security should be high on the agenda too, following David Cameron’s controversial suggestion that governments should be given access to encrypted data.

Although income inequality has featured highly on Davos’s agenda for several years, progress remains disappointingly slow.

The World Economic Foundation reminded delegates that the average income of the richest 10% of nations in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is now nine times larger than that of the poorest 10%. The global unemployment rate is expected to remain at current levels until 2018, showing the failure to handle the challenges thrown up by the financial crisis.

Bill and Marissa Gates, and the Oxfam International executive director Winnie Byanyima will be putting the case for more support for developing nations; Byanyima is a co-chair of this year’s meeting.

The OECD chief Angel Gurría and Guy Ryder of the International Labour Organisation will be lobbying for workers to get a better deal.

Ebola outbreak received a slow respond from the global authorities, at least initially. They were slow to provide resources to the countries affected, according to the organisers at Davos. What lessons can be learnt?

Panellists discussing the subject include Kofi Annan, former secretary general of the UN, as well as Margaret Chan, director general of the World Health Organisation. Alpha Condé, the president of Guinea, who has faced accusations of being initially slow to respond to Ebola, is also speaking.

At last, one of the most important topics is occupied by climate change. Last year was the warmest on record, and climate change will be high on the agenda during the first full day of events in Davos.

Al Gore, the former vice-president of the US, who has described climate change as “the biggest challenge our civilisation faces”, is taking centre stage. Gore is participating in other events looking at how business should respond to climate change, alongside Lord Stern, president of the British Academy, and speakers from the insurance company Axa.

Other events covering this topic include “Building for the Storm”, asking how governments should respond to climate change. Another session will look at how a comprehensive global climate deal can be achieved.