2020 New Economy Forum – Agenda

Opening Address of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum 2020

Epidemics show the world as it really is. Covid-19 has exposed a deep sickness in global society: inequality. Will the recovery entrench divisions, or can humanity build back together, regardless of race, ethnicity or income level?

Low-income essential workers suffered disproportionately in Covid-19 lockdowns. Their livelihoods are now threatened by a wave of digitization, and reduced spending on travel and leisure by the wealthy, which will exacerbate inequality. As governments and companies begin the task of economic rebuilding, what would a new social contract look like?

The global pandemic has exacerbated U.S.-China tensions and created new barriers to cross-border movement of goods, services, money and people. Does globalization thrust into reverse, or continue advancing at a regional and local level?

Central banks have flooded the capital markets with liquidity to prop up prices, begging the question: Do they exist to serve Wall Street or Main Street? If central banks had a new mandate to build a more equal society, what would they have in their toolkit?

Opening and Welcome

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair reflect on a world breaking apart — wealth disparities, U.S.-China “decoupling,” the rise of Western populism, vaccine nationalism, authoritarianism versus democracy — and how to reestablish global collaboration to fight the next pandemic and address the existential challenge of climate change.

The world’s two largest economies risk decoupling, even though businesses in both countries see opportunities in closer ties in areas from finance to technology — and policymakers in both Beijing and Washington have a mutual interest to collaborate on pressing global problems like climate change. How can the U.S. and China balance legitimate security concerns with the imperative to keep trading and investing? Where is the new U.S.-China equilibrium?

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the trend of global digitization. China offers digital connectivity through its Belt & Road Initiative and other infrastructure investments. Yet geopolitics has also gone digital, threatening to split the world into competing technology blocs and disrupt data flows. Without global dialogue, regional initiatives around trusted vendors, clean networks and global data security could splinter the world’s digital ecosystem with consequences for future security and prosperity.

As the global economy fragments, multinationals are building resilience by diversifying production around the world, while portfolio investors look for safety in new countries and companies. Where are the opportunities in the Middle East, Latin America and other emerging economies? Who will be the new regional champions?

Welcome Remarks

Cholera and yellow fever spurred 19th century New York to create Central Park; London installed sewerage and drainage systems; overcrowded Paris transformed itself into the “City of Light.” How can cities use this moment to imagine a better urban environment?

From Seattle to Shanghai, urban lockdowns have propelled the rise of digital enterprises, while hastening the demise of countless restaurants, bars, and corner stores. Can technology save cities? Or will the urban economies that emerge from Covid-19 replicate the bubble of the Roaring Twenties?

A good way to build urban prosperity: invest in communities. Lifting the most neglected populations through better housing and infrastructure will boost consumption, while improving health and the environment. Cities are the engines of growth and are the place where connections are made. How will it work if people choose to work outside of cities? What does the future look like for office culture and urban life?

Regime change was underway even before the coronavirus pandemic struck. Now it’s happening even faster. The technological advances that were transforming business have been accelerated, leaving many business models at risk. So have shifts in balance of power as the West wrestles with soaring fiscal deficits and the threat of social upheaval. This panel will explore the choices corporate and financial leaders face navigating this new economic landscape, the response they anticipate from policy makers and the impact they foresee on investment priorities and global capital flows.

Welcome Remarks

Too little of the world’s savings is channeled into investment and growth. Will the pandemic force a fundamental rethink of the goals of finance? How can banks and other financial institutions shore up small and medium-sized enterprises buried under the Covid-19 economic collapse?

When the world starts traveling again, where will we go, how will we get there — and will we be welcome once we arrive? The travel question goes beyond just tourism dollars: a disrupted global travel system has huge implications for labor markets, cross-border investment, supply chains and ultimately the entire structure of the global economy. How will the global travel industry reinvent itself?

Welcome Remarks

Covid-19 is a warning. Climate change is a looming disaster of vastly greater proportions. A green — G-shaped — recovery will create jobs, improve competitiveness and accelerate growth. How can governments, companies and investors align on how to build back better and stronger?

Consumers increasingly demand green products and services. How is the power of the consumer changing, especially in a social media-driven world where reputations can be built and lost in days? How can retail brands move beyond green marketing and toward new business models to build consumer loyalty around sustainability?  

The history of oil has been framed as an epic struggle for wealth and power. More importantly, though, it has been about economics and modernization. What do the economics of supply and demand tell us about the future energy requirements of high, middle and low income countries? How will new fuels help some countries modernize, cleaning the air and improving health? How can 21st Century corporations be clean, green and mean?

Whether equities, corporate debt, gilts or indexes, investors are demanding green investments. But what is green? How should investors benchmark performance? Is it better to divest or push for change from the inside?

Welcome Remarks

Covid-19 shows that humankind’s relationship with nature is broken. Many of the root causes of climate change, including deforestation, also make societies more vulnerable to pandemics. Scores of countries, including China, have pledged to become carbon neutral. What are the pathways to net-zero? How can industries from power generation, to finance, to the auto sector work with governments to lead the transformation without leaving anyone behind? The fate of our planet is at stake.

Energy demand in Asia is growing faster than anywhere else, and Asia is already the world’s largest source of carbon emissions. The future composition of the global energy mix – and, to a significant extent, the future of the planet — will largely be shaped by the continent, and by China and India especially. What energy sources will fuel Asia’s future growth? Can China and India turn away from coal as they restart their economies? Will the battle against climate bring the world together, or create new sources of geopolitical tension?

Welcome Remarks

Wild animals are hosts to thousands of deadly viruses, some with the potential to infect humans. We speak to some of the scientists studying zoonotic pathogens about the lessons learned from Covid-19 — and how to head off the next pandemic.

Covid-19 cost hundreds of thousands of lives and trillions in economic damage. Entire populations have been thrown back into poverty. How can the world ensure that such a catastrophe never reoccurs?

The pandemic has accelerated what might have been a 10-year adoption curve for digital medicine into a few months. How can the world scale up the digital migration of every aspect of healthcare, from wellness, to medical records, to deployment of AI to training, consumer and provider behavior?

Africa is grappling with a health crisis and a sharp economic contraction as a result of pandemic lockdowns. How can the global community come together to ensure that Covid-19 vaccines and treatments reach every country on the continent so that nobody is left behind? Where are the new drivers of growth and prosperity?

Rebuilding a shattered global economy begins by acknowledging a reality: public health is the foundation of global prosperity and security. We are all in this together: no country can be safe until every country is safe. How can we restore trust in multilateral institutions? Where is the new resilience?