Hungarian-born American investor and philanthropist George Soros.
Fabrice Coffrini AFP | Getty Images
Liberal billionaire George Soros warned of a global depression on Tuesday, saying Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could be seen as a starting point for World War III.
At his annual dinner against the backdrop of the World Economic Forum, Soros said the course of history has changed dramatically since the latest Davos event.
“Russia has invaded Ukraine. It has shaken Europe to the core,” he told the audience.
“The European Union was created to prevent this. Even when the fighting stops, as it should in the end, the situation will never return to the previous status quo. Indeed, the Russian invasion may be the beginning of World War III, and our civilization may not survive it. “
He explained that other issues that concern humanity, such as pandemics, climate change and the avoidance of nuclear war, must remain in the background. “That is why I say that our civilization may not survive,” he added later.
Soros, born in Hungary to a Jewish family that survived the Nazi occupation, emigrated to Britain and later to the United States. The financier funds liberal charities and NGOs around the world through his Open Society Foundations and pledged against the British pound in 1992.
Speaking on Tuesday, Soros said the fight against climate change should take second place amid the war in Ukraine.
“Yet experts tell us that we are already far behind and climate change is on the verge of becoming irreversible. This could be the end of our civilization,” he said.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is widely seen as placing a planned energy transition at a crossroads. Gas and oil prices have risen and global energy markets have been severely destabilized. Coal use has increased as Westerners desperately seek alternatives to Russian hydrocarbons.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said the Kremlin’s attack on Ukraine is likely to have serious consequences for global heating targets. Guterres described this short-sighted rush to fossil fuels as “madness” before warning that “humanity’s addiction to fossil fuels is a mutually guaranteed destruction.”
Soros said he found the prospect of irreversible climate change “particularly frightening”. “Most of us accept the idea that we have to die in the end, but we take it for granted that our civilization will survive,” he said.
“Therefore, we must mobilize all our resources to bring the war to an early end. The best and perhaps only way to preserve our civilization is to defeat Putin. That is the conclusion, “he added.
China Covid Policy
Soros also targeted Beijing, which is experiencing its worst Covid-19 outbreak since early 2020. Earlier in May, Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired a summit of leaders, stressing that the country must stick to its “dynamic zero Covid” policy, and warned that economic consequences would follow if this did not happen.
Officials called on the country to unite behind the decisions of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and “resolutely fight” against any doubts about virus control policies, state media reported.
“The ongoing blockades have had catastrophic consequences, pushing the Chinese economy to fall freely since March,” Soros said in a speech Tuesday.
Citing the Caixin Composite PMI index, Soros said China’s “sharply declining economic activity” would inevitably have global consequences.
“These negative results will continue to gain momentum until it turns around … The damage to the real estate crisis will be so great that it will affect the world economy. By disrupting supply chains, global inflation could turn into a global depression, “he said.
Last week, Goldman Sachs became the last bank to cut its forecast for China’s GDP to 4% from 4.5% after data for April showed a decline in growth as Covid-19 controlled the curtailment of business activity.
– Sam Meredith and Evelyn Cheng of CNBC contributed to this article.
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