WEF Urges Tech-Driven Change in Sustainability and Finance

The World Economic Forum's (WEF) Annual Report 2024–2025 states that sustainability has shifted from being a parallel objective to becoming a core pillar of global resilience.

It frames sustainability as integral to economic stability, social prosperity and technological progress.

The report urges rapid transformation across energy, food, finance and governance, stressing that meaningful advances depend on cross-sector collaboration and measurable results.

Linking sustainability with global objectives

A central theme of the report is the deep interconnection between sustainability and wider global objectives.

The WEF emphasises that tackling climate change and safeguarding nature are inseparable from economic growth and societal wellbeing.

This holistic perspective shapes WEF’s initiatives spanning energy, food systems, digital innovation and social inclusion.

“Over the course of the year, our work has centred on delivering insight into and advancing critical technology, economic, societal and sustainability objectives – areas that are inextricably linked and mutually reinforcing,” says Børge Brende, President and CEO of WEF, in the report.

Responding to urgent global change

The report underscores that the pace of global change calls for urgent system-wide transformation.

In sectors including energy transition, food security, plastic pollution and biodiversity, the WEF has brought together governments, businesses and civil society to drive large-scale action.

Through efforts ranging from expanding renewable energy infrastructure to advancing regenerative agriculture, the WEF’s initiatives aim to address the root drivers of emissions and environmental decline.

“The world is changing rapidly and the need for transformation is urgent,” says Laurence D. Fink and André Hoffmann, Ad Interim Co-Chairs of the WEF Board of Trustees, in the report.

“The Forum is aiming higher: focusing on impact rather than words and demanding sharper attention to what truly matters, with a renewed commitment to rebuilding trust.”

The WEF highlights in the report partnerships aimed at reducing deforestation within supply chains, initiatives to align corporate practices with global nature targets, and frameworks for just transition strategies designed to support vulnerable communities and workers throughout industry decarbonisation.

The WEF report identifies plastic pollution as a critical global challenge, with 19 million tonnes entering the environment annually and plastic production projected to triple by 2060.

In response, the Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP), launched in 2018, unites governments, businesses and civil society to convert commitments into tangible actions and foster a circular plastics economy worldwide.

By January 2025, GPAP marked a significant milestone by establishing 25 National Plastic Action Partnerships (NPAPs), making it the largest plastic pollution initiative globally.

Today, GPAP collaborates with more than 2,000 stakeholders to co-create inclusive, locally driven solutions that are already impacting outcomes for 1.5 billion people.

Tech, AI and cybersecurity

The WEF is advancing global efforts at the intersection of technology, AI and cybersecurity through a range of initiatives that focus on innovation, resilience and inclusion. 

The AI & Cyber initiative convenes senior leaders to steer the secure adoption of AI by identifying critical cyber risk scenarios and creating practical tools to help organisations mitigate threats as AI becomes integral to operations.

Complementing this, the AI Governance Alliance engages more than 600 experts globally to develop frameworks for responsible AI adoption, establishing guardrails for Gen AI, enhancing global competitiveness and preparing industries and societies for the Intelligent Era.

The WEF’s Global Lighthouse Network showcases the impact of advanced digital technologies in manufacturing and supply chains, with 189 recognised sites achieving double-digit gains in productivity, resilience and sustainability.

Simultaneously, the EDISON Alliance addresses digital inequality, connecting more than a billion people to essential services such as health, education and finance, while ensuring marginalised communities benefit from AI and digital innovation.

Together, these programmes embody a comprehensive approach: enabling secure AI utilisation, promoting equitable access to digital technology and driving sustainable transformation across industries and economies.

Financing climate and nature-positive growth

The Annual Report stresses that sustainability progress is impossible without innovative finance, highlighting the crucial role of funding mechanisms in delivering climate and nature-positive results.

Platforms like Giving to Amplify Earth Action (GAEA) and blended finance models are enabling private capital to flow into projects that often face investment challenges.

The report highlights the particular importance of these mechanisms for the Global South, where climate impacts are most acute and funding gaps remain largest.

It also reveals that only 6% of the annual funding needed to keep global warming under 1.5°C by 2030 has been mobilised so far.

By directing investments into renewable energy, climate adaptation and ecosystem restoration, the WEF is working to shift capital flows toward high-impact areas.

The report also highlights the promotion of digital tools and AI-powered data platforms to enhance accountability and boost investor confidence, ensuring that funding translates into measurable results rather than mere aspirational goals.

Rebuilding trust through impact

A key theme of the Annual Report is the rebuilding of trust, acknowledging that global cooperation faces strains and stakeholders now demand not just ambition but concrete outcomes.

The WEF recognises that global cooperation is increasingly fragile and that stakeholders demand not just ambition but concrete, tangible results.

The report highlights a renewed emphasis on measurable outcomes, transparency and accountability as essential to advancing sustainability efforts.