Der Große Neustart

In this special episode of Der Große Neustart, Sibylle Barden speaks with Professor Klaus Schwab, founder and architect of the World Economic Forum, about a new chapter in his life’s work. After more than 55 years of building and shaping global institutions, Klaus Schwab has entered a new phase of service. This conversation is not about Davos. It's about being a compass for the Intelligent Age - in a world of growing complexity. It explores what leadership requires today. What happens when truth and trust erode. What remains human when intelligence is no longer our monopoly. And why institutions must once again give direction, not just convene. With the launch of his Intelligent Age series and the Schwab Academy, Klaus Schwab is doing what has defined his life’s work: naming a transformation, shaping a framework, and inviting the world to think ahead — together. More information: Schwab Academy - Sibylle Barden

“We’re not in an energy transition. We’re in an energy addition.” In this wide-ranging conversation, Andy Brown OBE, ⁠President of the Energy Institute ⁠and ⁠Vice Chairman of Ørsted⁠, breaks down the real state of the global energy system with rare clarity. Drawing on the Statistical Review of World Energy, Andy reveals what the data actually shows: – Global energy demand rose 2% – CO₂ emissions rose 1% – Every energy source — fossil and renewable — grew simultaneously The transition, he argues, is not yet a transition at all. It is an addition. We explore: 1. The global energy picture – Why decarbonising electricity is the world’s most urgent task – Why electrification — still only 20% of final energy use — must accelerate dramatically – How China has become both the problem and the solution: • 57% of all new renewables • Two-thirds of global EV sales • Electricity growth equal to adding an entire Germany in a single year 2. Ørsted — leadership through turbulence Andy discusses Ørsted’s rise to the world’s offshore wind leader — and the hard lessons from recent U.S. setbacks, supply-chain pressures, and a $9bn equity raise. He explains how risk management, staged commitments, and culture helped stabilise the organisation during crisis. 3. Carbon capture — from theory to reality A deep dive into one of the world’s most advanced CCS chains: Ørsted’s biogenic CO₂ capture, liquefaction, transport via Northern Lights, and permanent storage 2.6 km beneath the Norwegian seabed. Andy explains why CCS may be essential — and why without a global CO₂ price, it cannot scale to the levels required by the IPCC. 4. Leadership at scale Reflecting on leading Pearl GTL in Qatar — one of the largest industrial projects ever built — Andy shows how a culture of care delivered world-record safety performance. He shares what leadership requires when systems are in flux, and how incumbents can be moved from fossil to future. 5. Talent, purpose, resilience From developing the next generation of leaders to surviving a five-artery heart bypass, Andy speaks openly about purpose, vulnerability, and creating environments where people dare to step beyond what they were asked to do. 6. The long view Andy closes with a profound shift in perspective: “Everyone thinks in decades. We should think in centuries.” This episode is a masterclass in systems thinking — energy, economics, geopolitics, leadership — and what it truly takes to transform the foundations of modern society. A conversation for anyone shaping, or trying to understand, the next era of global energy. For more information: Ørsted, Energy Institute

The age of watching is over. For more than 70 years, David Attenborough showed us the beauty of the natural world. But beauty doesn’t cut it anymore. Action does. Wildlife populations have declined by 73% in the past 50 years — and by 95% in Latin America. We are losing up to 150 species every day. There are more tigers in captivity than in the wild. Aldo Kane, former Royal Marine Sniper turned conservation filmmaker, ventures where few dare to follow in the new Apple TV+ documentary series The Wild Ones. Together with Declan Burley and Vianet Djenguet, he searches for the world’s most endangered species in remote jungles, scorching deserts, and high mountains — often in war zones and minefields. From tracking the rarest Gobi bear in Mongolia to capturing the elusive leopard in Armenia’s minefields, their work is not just about filming — it’s about changing the fate of species. The Wild Ones gather irrefutable evidence and deliver it directly to policymakers, the UN, conservation leaders, and governments who can create protected zones, deploy military patrols, and enforce anti-poaching laws. In this 60-minute conversation, Aldo shares how wildlife storytelling is evolving into direct conservation action — where everyone can make a difference — and why the future of our planet depends on it.

What happens when a city once defined by conflict becomes a global hub for responsible innovation? In this episode of Der Große Neustart speaks with Catalina Restrepo Carvajal, Executive Director of the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) Medellín — the only C4IR in Latin America and part of a global network created in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. From AI education and digital health to ethical GovTech and climate-smart urban design, Catalina shares how Medellín is leading Latin America’s tech revolution — and what it means to build trust, inclusion, and public value through emerging technologies. A powerful conversation about dignity, systems change, and the future we choose to create.

This might be the moment you first hear about one of the most important — and least understood — places on Earth. Virunga National Park, nestled in the heart of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is Africa’s oldest national park and home to a third of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas. It’s also a frontline of armed conflict, poverty, and ecological destruction — and yet, a bold transformation is underway. Emmanuel de Merode is building real-world systems change from the ground up, using hydroelectricity, microfinance, sustainable agriculture, and conservation to rebuild a war-torn economy. As Director of Virunga, he has spent 20 years turning a war zone into a blueprint for peace and prosperity through nature. In this episode, he speaks about: • Translating theory into electricity, jobs, cocoa, and peace • Why peace in eastern Congo requires economic dignity • How illegal charcoal and cocoa trades fund violence • Creating 21,000 green jobs and Congo’s first chocolate factory • Building the Kivu–Kinshasa Green Corridor — the world’s largest protected tropical forest reserve • How quiet, principled leadership can move mountains — literally “They weren’t killing the gorillas for the meat... They were killing them because the forest had become too valuable.” This is not just a story of conservation — it’s a masterclass in quiet leadership, moral clarity, and systemic change in one of the most fragile yet vital places on Earth.