Live from Davos 2026: What to know on Day 3

A decade ago, climate action was driven by a rare moment of global alignment. Since then, national and regional agendas have pulled in different directions, shaped by political shifts, economic pressures, and growing geopolitical tension. Yet across governments, businesses, and civil society, many actors are still pushing climate ambition forward — often through new partnerships, innovative policies, and unexpected alliances.

So what does meaningful climate leadership look like in a more fragmented world? How can progress continue when consensus is harder to reach and resources are under strain?

This session brings together voices from government, business, finance, and academia to explore how climate ambition can be sustained and scaled today, featuring Ester Baiget, President and Chief Executive Officer, Novonesis; Carsten Schneider, Federal Minister for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Federal Ministry for Environment, Climate, Nature and Nuclear Safety of Germany; Zhang Lei, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Envision; Jai Shroff, Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer, UPL; Al Gore, Vice-President of the United States (1993–2001) and Chairman and Co-Founder, Generation Investment Management LLP; and Elizabeth Thurbon, Professor of International Political Economy and Director, Green Energy Statecraft Project, University of New South Wales.

Watch the session live here at 09:00 CET.

Technological revolutions, global trade resets and soaring stock markets are nothing new.

The 1920s famously ended with a market crash and financial depression. Moderator Andrew Sorkin clarified that there may be parallels – but no crisis is now preordained.

Director of the European Institute at Columbia University Adam Tooze noted another unsettling lesson possibly not learned: the decade a century ago saw a global order undermined by “hubris and the failure of imagination.”

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde noted a key difference between eras in terms of the scale and potential network effects of the global economy – it now relies on access to massive amounts of data, which could be limited by “protectionist barriers.”

Watch the session live here.

Want a quick take on the day ahead? Here's Katty Kay, BBC correspondent and co-host of The Rest Is Politics US, on the Radio Davos podcast with her pick of Day 3's highlights.

Welcome to the third day of the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos.

We're bringing you a rundown of what's happening on the ground, the key sessions to watch, live snapshots, essential reading, and an inside track on the conversations that matter.

Here's a recap of what you may have missed yesterday.

We'll be covering special addresses from heads of state, and all the top issues from jobless growth to European defence, tokenization to global aid, and healthcare for all to global debt.

Here are some of the key session and notable speakers: