Some want philanthropy to fill the gap, and others have shamed governments for stepping back. The former is unrealistic, while the latter ineffective. But even with constrained budgets, governments can provide assistance to scale up proven solutions.
For companies, the challenge is not choosing between idealism and abandonment but forging a pragmatic path that balances resilience, local adaptation, and long-term business priorities.
With the sustainability agenda facing crosswinds, companies might conclude that sustainable business should take a backseat. But that is misguided. Firms that thrive will stay true to core values while showing how critical sustainability is to the bottom line.
China's DeepSeek demonstrates that AI can be trained in a more efficient way and has enormous implications for Big Tech, which will be pressured to justify efforts to reduce climate impact.