The four-day gathering of the world's top political and business leaders in the Swiss Alps gets underway seeking to meet head-on the dangers to both the environment and economy from the heating of the planet.
Greta Thunberg was nominated for this year's Nobel Peace Prize, after spearheading the global movement, which also led to co-ordinated school strikes across the globe.
Licypriya Kangujam had to drop out of school in February as she could not attend most of her classes. Activism, including participating in a weekly protest outside the Parliament house, took up most of her time.
The sobering assessment came a day after President Donald Trump formally notified that the United Nations of the US withdrawal from the 2015 Paris climate pact, triggering concerns of how other nations might react.
The members of United Nations negotiated and adopted the Paris Agreement in which India made four commitments, including reducing greenhouse gas emission intensity of its GDP by 33-35 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, under its NDC.
Greta will arrive in the US ahead of her participation in the United Nations climate summit next month.
The University of California has committed to a system-wide goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2025.
