"While there is increasing political recognition of the challenges, this was being countered by increasing energy and climate nationalism, " Barry warned in his presentation.

Infrastructure conglomerate NTR owns wind-power company Airtricity and biofuels unit Bioverda, both of which are seeking to become world leaders in renewable energy. Last year NTR announced it would invest Euro3bn in the two units, along with waste-management firm Greenstar, over the next three years.

Discussions all over Davos reflect a worldwide recognition of the urgent need to move away from fossil fuels for generating electricity and powering vehicles, which should provide a boost for NTR.

Even George W Bush has come around to the need to accelerate moves towards alternative fuels, making a pledge during his State of the Union address last week.

Happily for NTR, the renewed US commitment comes weeks after Bioverda announced a joint venture with Virgin Group to develop ethanol plants in the US.

Here at home, after years of asking for more support for renewable energy from government, the firm gave a muted welcome to the National Development Plan announced last week. "NTR welcomes the inclusion in the NDP of the commitment in relation to the use of renewable energy, " said company chief financial officer Michael Walsh. "NTR looks forward to engaging with relevant departments and agencies in the development of detailed policies and proposals in support of the greater use of energy from renewable sources." Other observers believe that the government should go much further in committing to renewables targets.

The company has had some recent setbacks, however. Its half-year results released earlier this month disappointed analysts, posting Euro3m profit on Euro206m in revenues for the period. Profits had been expected to be more than double that.

Part of the shortfall was due to increased expenses for Irish Broadband, which NTR is looking to sell. But it was also down to greater than expected development costs in Airtricity, which has faced local opposition to onshore windfarm developments in places as far apart as the Scottish Highlands and central New York state.