Tech Forces Defining the Global Agenda at Davos 2026 Summits

The World Economic Forum (WEF) will hold its 56th annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, starting on 19 January 2026.

Bringing together heads of state, business leaders and civil society, the event provides a platform to address global challenges.

With an official theme of A Spirit of Dialogue, the 2026 meeting will likely focus on how collaboration across industries and geographies, underpinned by technology, can foster resilience in an uncertain era.

The 2025 meeting, themed Collaboration for the Intelligent Age, placed technology at its heart, with conversations on AI, digitalisation and the energy transition.

Contrary to some fears, sustainability remained a core focus. Reflecting on the event, Angela Hultberg, Global Sustainability Director at Kearney, said: “I fully expected sustainability topics to be set aside, but this was not the case.”

AI and digitalisation in the intelligent age

The focus on action and collaboration was a recurring theme in 2025, especially for those grappling with the effects of global disruption on technology-enabled supply chains.

Vincent Clerc, CEO of A.P. Moller – Maersk, explained that building resilience in global supply chains is critical.

He said: “Solving challenges at scale demands meaningful action, collaboration and solutions that deliver real impact.”

Discussions also highlighted the dual nature of technological advancement.

In a virtual address, former US President Donald Trump said: "We need double the energy we currently have in the United States for AI to be as big as we want to have it.

This points to the immense infrastructure and energy challenges posed by the rapid expansion of AI.

Navigating technological and economic disruption

The link between economic activity and sustainability is a core topic for the WEF.

Sebastian Buckup, a Lead at the WEF, explains: “Green markets have quadrupled in size over the last few years. It's clearly a growth opportunity for many companies.”

Executing green strategies, however, is fraught with difficulty. Political instability, financing hurdles, skills shortages and regulatory complexity all present significant barriers to long-term investment.

Topics on the table for Davos 2026

While the official topics for Davos are usually released close to the January event, discussions at WEF events throughout 2025 have started to set the stage for which themes may take the spotlight.

The official theme of Davos 2026 is A Spirit of Dialogue, which may call on leaders to come together across boundaries like industry, geography and generation. 

Sylvia Earle, Co-Chair of the Annual Meetings of the Global Future Councils and Cybersecurity 2025, says: “This is the best time ever to be a human because of what we know, but we should always keep front and centre the magnitude of what we don’t know.”

The meetings covered topics including:

• Carbon capture and utilisation
• The AI trust crisis
• The global energy transition 
• Sustainable finance
• Drug resistance
• Workforce resilience
• The costs of climate health
• COP30

“The conversations this week were consequential in shaping priorities for the months ahead,” said Børge Brende, President and CEO at World Economic Forum, reflecting on the meetings. 

“As we now look toward the Annual Meeting 2026, many of these discussions will continue to guide the agenda leading up to Davos.

“With strong collaboration and commitment, I am confident we can turn shared challenges into shared solutions.”

“The contours of a new economic environment are already taking shape, defined by disruption across trade, technology, resources and institutions,” said Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director of the WEF.

“Leaders must adapt with urgency and collaboration to turn today’s turbulence into tomorrow’s resilience.”