Vienna Energy Forum 2013

05/28/2013

ECREEE and a high-level ECOWAS delegation, led by the ECOWAS President, will participate in the forthcoming Vienna Energy Forum, which will take place from the 28 to 30 May 2013. The President will announce the voluntary contribution of ECOWAS to the Sustainable Energy For All Initiative (SE4ALL). The voluntary commitment reflects the outcomes of the ECOWAS High Level Energy Forum, which took place from 29 to 31 October 2012, in Accra, Ghana. During the meeting the ECOWAS Ministers of Energy adopted regional renewable energy and energy efficiency policies and targets which will boost the green energy revolution in West Africa by 2030.

The President will also participate in the side event "Sustainable Energy Centres in Africa at the Dawn of the Decade for Sustainable Energy for All" which is organized by UNIDO in cooperation with ECREEE and the Global Forum on Sustainable Energy. The side event will discuss the establishment of a south-south network of sustainable energy centres in Africa under the SE4ALL umbrella. ECREEE will also organize a learning event on the ECOWAS Observatory for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECOWREX) which was established under the GEF Strategic Programme for West Africa (SPWA). The Centre in cooperation with Casa Africa will also present a new publication on renewable energy and energy efficiency markets in West Africa.

The Vienna Energy Forum is taking place at the background of the follow-up process of the Rio+20 Summit. At Rio+20 the world leaders agreed on the outcome document “The Future We Want”, which created the global development agenda for the next twenty years. At the heart of this agenda is the most challenging energy transformation the world has ever seen. Organized one year after the Rio+20 Summit, the third Vienna Energy Forum (VEF 2013) will focus on the energy dimension captured in the Rio+20 outcome document. It will provide a high level forum for leaders, policy makers and energy practitioners to engage in an interactive dialogue on key specific sustainable energy issues, such as policies, markets, finance and technologies. At the same time the Forum will enable the participants to understand how sustainable energy fits into the broader picture of the post-2015 development framework.

The VEF2013 will draw on content and thought leadership of key partnerships, such as the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) and on the findings of the United Nations Development Group’s thematic consultations on energy, as well as on the intergovernmental process on the post-2015 development agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

The following fundamental questions will be addressed:

  1. Are we on the right track to implement the vision of Sustainable Energy for All by 2030?
  2. How do we move from commitments to kilowatt hours of clean and affordable energy in countries where it matters most?
  3. Do we have the policies and partnerships in place to guarantee a future powered by sustainable energy?
  4.  What energy future do we want?

Visit the UNIDO website at: http://www.unido.org/media-centre/upcoming-events/vienna-energy-forum-2013.html  for more information including registration for the event.