Jan. 24, 2008 -- The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum kicked off in Davos, Switzerland yesterday with calls for "collaborative innovation to meet the top challenges of climate change, water scarcity, economic instability, and equitable growth.

,I know thereƒ†â€™ƒâ€š‚¢ƒ‚¢ƒÂ¢¢â‚¬Å¡‚¬ƒâ€¦‚¡ƒ¢â‚¬Å¡ƒâ€š‚¬ƒ†â€™ƒâ€š‚¢ƒ‚¢ƒÂ¢¢â‚¬Å¡‚¬ƒâ€¦‚¾ƒ¢â‚¬Å¡ƒâ€š‚¢s a lot of concern about the economic situation, but looking at the long term, Iƒ†â€™ƒâ€š‚¢ƒ‚¢ƒÂ¢¢â‚¬Å¡‚¬ƒâ€¦‚¡ƒ¢â‚¬Å¡ƒâ€š‚¬ƒ†â€™ƒâ€š‚¢ƒ‚¢ƒÂ¢¢â‚¬Å¡‚¬ƒâ€¦‚¾ƒ¢â‚¬Å¡ƒâ€š‚¢m here to talk about energy, Chevron CEO David J. Oƒ†â€™ƒâ€š‚¢ƒ‚¢ƒÂ¢¢â‚¬Å¡‚¬ƒâ€¦‚¡ƒ¢â‚¬Å¡ƒâ€š‚¬ƒ†â€™ƒâ€š‚¢ƒ‚¢ƒÂ¢¢â‚¬Å¡‚¬ƒâ€¦‚¾ƒ¢â‚¬Å¡ƒâ€š‚¢Reilly, a meeting co-chair, said at the opening session. "As more people are lifted out of poverty, demands on energy are only going to increase."

On the climate front, leading business figures in Davos expressed the need for clear policy frameworks, including clear emissions targets and legislation tailored to specific sectors, to effectively reduce emissions, guide investment decisions, and avoid market distortions. "Collaboration between governments and the business sector is essential to craft a policy framework that makes economic sense," the group said in a statement. "Active engagement by the business sector will be indispensable in the negotiations leading to a post-2012 international climate change agreement to be reached by the end of 2009."

But despite the high profile of climate change on the meeting agenda, water scarcity is being called "as critical" an issue. "The solution to water is more complex than the solution to climate change," said Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, chairman and CEO of Nestlƒ†â€™ƒâ€ ¢â‚¬â„¢ƒ¢â‚¬Â ƒÂ¢¢â€šÂ¬¢â€žÂ¢ƒ†â€™ƒÂ¢¢â€šÂ¬…¡ƒ¢â‚¬Å¡ƒâ€š‚©, at a star-studded panel discussion that included U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Water stress poses a risk to economic growth, human rights, health, safety, and national security, according to the panel, but the challenge could be solved using collaborative approaches, political will, market mechanisms, and innovative technology like those which arose in response to global warming.

Brabeck-Letmathe called for a global water market to avoid overuse in agricultural and industrial applications. "There is a need for there to be a price associated with water," he said. "It takes 9,000 liters of water to produce one liter of biodiesel. This strategy, which is not the right one, is backed by all major governments." Fellow panelist Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense, suggested that market forces could work well under a cap-and-trade approach similar to those applied to carbon dioxide.

More than 240 sessions are taking place over the course of the five-day meeting, which wraps up Sunday.