Davos day two: World ‘in trouble’ as food crisis intensifies – live updates

Worries over a worsening food crisis and an economic downturn are looming over the second day of the World Economic Forum.

The supply disruption caused by the war in Ukraine, with Black Sea ports blockaded, is driving up prices, creating shortages and the risk of famine.

Achim Steiner, the administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), tells us that the world is not prepared for what’s ahead:

“We are in trouble. The war in Ukraine is dramatic in so many ways. There is an acute crisis in food, fuel and finance. As of today there is no reason to believe this is a short term challenge. We are in the middle of a series of unfolding crises and the world is not prepared for it.

Hunger, Steiner said, was probably the one thing that got people on the streets because once people found they couldn’t afford to feed their families they lost faith in government.

Steiner said 200 million people were facing acute hunger, double the figure of five years ago. “This is very serious”, he said.

Higher energy prices - another consequence of the Ukraine war - were causing balance of payments problems for many developing countries.

Yesterday, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva warned that anxiety around access to food at reasonable prices is “hitting the roof” around the world.

David Beasley, head of the UN World Food Programme, warns there is a ‘devastating hunger crisis’ looming, with millions on the brink of famine.



Ursula Von Der Leyen, president of the European Commission, and Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary-General of NATO, are both giving keynote speeches today, in another busy day.

The programme’s here, and here’s a selection:
• 8.45am Davos (7.45am BST): Reimagining the global tax system, with Gabriela Bucher of Oxfam, Stefanie Stantcheva, Professor of Economics at Harvard University, Mathias Cormann of the OECD
• 10.45am Davos (9.45am BST): The geopolitical outlook, with Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Andrzej Duda, President of Poland, Gregory W. Meeks, Congressman from New York, José Manuel Albares Bueno, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Spain, H.H. Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs ofSaudi Arabia, Pekka Haavisto, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland
• 11am Davos (10am BST): Special address by Ursula Von Der Leyen, president of the European Commission
• 11.15am Davos (10.15am BST): Panel on Hybrid working, what happens next?
• 11.45am Davos (10.45am BST): Speeding up road to net zero with Fatih Birol of IEA, John Kerry, Catherine MacGregor, Frans Timmermans.
• 2.30pm: How to tackle the cost of living crisis
• 3pm: Energy Security and the European Green Deal, including Pedro Sánchez, Anna Borg, CEO Vattenfall, Frans Timmermans, executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, European Commission, Ester Baiget, CEO Novozymes, Gitanas Nausėda, President of Lithuania
• 4.30pm Davos (3.30pm BST): Securing Europe, with Andriy Yermak, Head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine, Belgium’s prime minister Alexander De Croo, Prime Minister of Belgium, Stevo Pendarovski, President of North Macedonia, Kajsa Ollongren, Minister of Defence of the Netherlands, Jens Stoltenberg Secretary-General of NATO
• 5.30pm Davos (4.30pm BST): Preparing for next pandemic, including Bill Gates, Peter Sands, executive director of The Global Fund To Fight Aids, Tuberculosis & Malaria, Francis deSouza, CEO of Illumina, Helen E. Clark of WHO, Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda