Demonstrators demand 'tax on the rich for the climate' ahead of WEF meeting

About 200 protestors denounce the opening of the Word Economy Forum in Davos, a day before the world leaders gather in this small swiss city.

Under the slogan “Tax the Rich, save the Climate '', some 300 demonstrators from the Swiss Socialist Youth (JUSO) and the association Strike WEF gathered in Davos to demand a climate tax on the super-rich attending the WEF annual meeting.

They were joined by activists from Greenpeace and the German town of Lützerath, which has become a climate flashpoint amid plans to expand a coal mine in the area.

Nicola Siegrist, president of JUSO, said that the revenues from the climate tax should be used to support a social climate policy.

“The rich must pay, because they are the ones who benefit most from the system that caused the climate crisis,” said Siegrist. The demonstrators also demanded cancelling the debt of countries in the global South.

"We are demonstrating against the World Economic Forum, against the world economy elite, because we are in an environmental crisis and the economy is causing a lot of social problems," they said.

The demonstration in Davos is the end of a two-day winter walk for climate justice organised by Strike WEF that started in the village of Küblis, about 23 kilometres by foot from Davos.

“WEF participants represent a system that cannot work.

More than 370 public figures, including 52 heads of state are expected at the WEF annual meeting in Davos. Some 60 CEOs from across sectors and the globe are also on the attendee list.