VIENNA - The newly established International Vienna Energy and Climate Forum will take place on 2 and 3 November 2023 at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna. It will bring together high-level representatives from member states, international organizations, business and science, including youth representatives as well as more than 1,000 international experts. They will discuss best practices and present solutions to tackle climate change and achieve green energy transition.

The event is organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) together with the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs of Austria, the Austrian Development Agency and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA).  

UNIDO Director Gerd Müller said, "This new Forum will present solutions to today’s energy and climate question under UNIDO’s new motto: Progress by Innovation.  We have technologies to address these questions on a global level. What we need is ambition. I invite all stakeholders to present their contributions."

The International Vienna Energy and Climate Forum welcomes opinion leaders and decision-makers and supports the development of new partnerships and impact-focused solutions to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically goals SDG7 (affordable and clean energy), 9 (industrialization, innovation and infrastructure), and SDG13 (climate action). The event will take place only a few weeks before the United Nations Climate Conference COP 28, providing insightful impulses and practical solutions to support the global climate and energy summit.

Austria's Federal Minister for European and International Affairs, Alexander Schallenberg, said, “Climate and energy policy are two sides of the same coin - this forum helps to tackle both issues together.  And there is no time to lose – the multiple and interlocking crises have shown that we need to step up our ambition to accelerate the expansion of renewable energies and innovative solutions in the energy sector – not only for the sake of the climate and secure energy supplies for all, but also to secure peace. Therefore, this event fits perfectly with the new claim, ‘International Vienna - Centre for Dialogue, Sustainability and Security.”

The two-day forum in Vienna will showcase innovative technologies and transformative solutions to accelerate low-emission, climate-resilient development that allows synergies with other priority areas such as energy generation, green industrialization, sustainable agriculture, the built environment and nature-based solutions. It will not only feature powerful content and prominent speakers, but will also present to its audience a new, hands-on experience. Planned activities include curated networking sessions designed to build the most valuable connections, a “solutions lab” to innovate and fast-track from idea to solution and an exclusive side-programme to experience the City of Vienna as a pioneer of green innovation.

IIASA Director General Albert van Jaarsveld commented, “The new International Vienna Energy and Climate Forum will act as a springboard to the upcoming UN Climate Conference of the Parties (COP 28) in Dubai. A focus must and should be on climate action and making progress on the urgent matter of climate finance. The importance of right-scaling the financial commitments for real impact is imperative. Together with the urgent need to rapidly scale back on fossil fuels, these are key hurdles holding us back from immediate climate progress. The forum will serve to catalyze the key ingredient of political commitment to this common cause for humanity.”   

Be part of this new solution-oriented approach. We look forward to your registration at https://www.ivecf.org/forum-2023/. You can also follow the International Vienna Energy and Climate Forum on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

For information, including on partnership opportunities, please contact: B.Poyner(at)unido.org and IVECF(at)unido.org