WEF hasn't announced a 'digital carbon tracker' to monitor people’s activities

What's the claim?

A video showing Alibaba Group president Michael Evans speaking at a World Economic Forum (WEF) event has been shared with claims that the WEF has confirmed it is working on a global digital tracker to monitor what people can eat and where they can travel.

In the video, Evans is heard saying, "We are developing through technology an ability for consumers to measure their own carbon footprint. What does that mean? Where are they traveling, how are they traveling, what are they eating, what are they consuming on the platform, so individual carbon footprint tracker? Stay tuned. We don't have it operational, but this is something that we're working on."

The video has been shared with overlaid text that reads: "WEF CONFIRMS A 'DIGITAL CARBON TRACKER' TO MONITOR 'WHAT YOU CAN EAT' AND 'WHERE YOU CAN TRAVEL.'"

On Instagram, the video was shared with a caption suggesting it is a "recipe for tyranny and control," predicting 24/7 tracking of consumption and travel. It speculates a potential future social credit scoring system based on carbon emissions. An archive of the post can be found here.

The same narrative has been shared on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). An archived X post, available here, has garnered approximately 25,800 views.

Screenshot of the viral video shared online. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the video shows Evans discussing technology being developed by Alibaba for consumers to track their own carbon emissions, not a global digital tracker or a WEF initiative.

What are the facts?

Upon conducting a reverse image search on keyframes from the viral video, we found that the original footage was from a session titled "Strategic Outlook: Responsible Consumption | Davos | #WEF22." The extended version of this video was uploaded to the World Economic Forum's official YouTube channel (archived here) on July 6, 2022. 

The viral segment appears between the 29:40 and 30:30 timestamp.

The "Strategic Outlook: Responsible Consumption" session took place on May 24, 2022, during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, which was held in Davos, Switzerland, from May 22 to 26, 2022. The session featured speakers including Nicolas Hieronimus, Chief Executive Officer of L'Oréal; Evans, President of Alibaba Group Holding Limited; Vivianne Heijnen; and Gilberto Tomazoni, Global Chief Executive Officer of JBS.

According to the official release, the session focused on the critical question: "What new business models, policies and incentives are needed to responsibly and inclusively advance consumption for a healthier planet and people?"

During this live-streamed session, at the 28:27 mark, the moderator, Nelson, asked Evans about business model innovations, particularly regarding scope 3. Scope 3 emissions are indirect greenhouse gas emissions that occur throughout an organization's value chain.

Evans responded by detailing Alibaba's initiatives: "We're doing some interesting things for consumers, for businesses, and then in our cloud business, there's a big energy user cloud."

For consumers, he mentioned that at their investor day in December 2021, they set a goal under a scope 3 plus initiative to achieve 1.5 gigatons of decarbonization by 2035. Evans explained that to reach this target, they were developing technology to enable consumers to measure their own carbon footprints, including tracking their travel, diet, and consumption on the platform. Although the individual carbon footprint tracker was not yet operational, Evans added that they were actively working on it, as seen in the viral clip. Evans further stated that they have set up a way for consumers to see the carbon emissions of products they wish to buy. He also discussed their plan to launch a green channel to showcase only green products.

Evans stated that Alibaba is creating a software application for businesses to help them track their carbon footprints. This initiative aims to make it affordable for small businesses and brands, supporting their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitments.

He also highlighted the introduction of "green travel" on their mapping platform, which will calculate efficient routes and transportation methods. Users who follow these recommendations will earn redeemable bonus points, incentivizing eco-friendly choices. 

Not a World Economic Forum initiative

Evans emphasized that these initiatives are integral to Alibaba's goal of achieving decarbonization by 2035. He did not claim that this initiative is associated with the WEF. This tracker is part of Alibaba's broader sustainability goals, not a WEF initiative.

In June 2022, Alibaba Cloud introduced a sustainability platform called Energy Expert. This platform helps customers worldwide measure, analyze, and manage the carbon emissions related to their business activities and products.

In August 2022, Alibaba launched its carbon ledger, which allows consumers to earn shopping discount points on Alibaba's e-commerce platforms for making "low-carbon choices," such as purchasing energy-efficient appliances.

Logically Facts has contacted the WEF for a comment. This fact-check will be updated if and when we receive a response.

The verdict

This video has been shared to falsely claim that the WEF announced the launch of a global digital "tracker" to monitor what people eat and where they travel. The clip actually features Alibaba Group president Michael Evans discussing Alibaba's 2022 technology for tracking personal carbon emissions, part of their commitment to carbon neutrality by 2035, not an initiative being imposed by the WEF.