US-Investor George Soros sees serious consequences if other crises such as climate change take a back seat because of the war in Ukraine. Issues that affect all of humanity have receded into the background in the face of the Russian war. “That’s why I say that our civilization may not survive,” said the 91-year-old on Tuesday evening on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Society has fallen behind in the fight against climate change. Climate change may already be irreversible, said the US investor of Hungarian origin. Soros criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin and stressed that Ukraine had put up unexpectedly strong resistance to the attack. Europe responded to the invasion faster, more united and more forcefully than at any time in its history.
At the same time, the dependence of the European states on Russian energy remains high – “mainly because of the mercantilist policy” of the then German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “That made Germany the best-performing economy in Europe, but now there’s a heavy price to pay,” Soros said. “Germany’s economy has to be realigned. And that will take a long time.” Chancellor Olaf Scholz ultimately seems to be making the right decisions for European unity: he gave up Nord Stream 2, pledged 100 billion euros for defense and delivered weapons to Ukraine.