World Bank chief's Davos snub dashes hopes of climate consensus
David Malpass spurning event hits efforts to tackle issues of poverty and climate crisis
Hopes of using Davos to forge a new international consensus to tackle poverty and the climate crisis have been thwarted by the decision of the World Bank president, David Malpass, to boycott the event.
To the surprise of the other multilateral institutions, Malpass turned down his invitation to attend despite being in Europe this week for the UK government's Africa investment summit in London.
Related: Davos 2020: US treasury secretary says Greta Thunberg should go and study economics - live
Davos is a Swiss ski resort now more famous for hosting the annual four-day conference for the World Economic Forum. For participants it is a festival of networking. Getting an invitation is a sign you have made it - and the elaborate system of badges reveals your place in the Davos hierarchy. The meeting is sponsored by a huge number of international banks and corporations.