Peter Olajos, Deputy State Secretary, Ministry of National Development at the Vienna Energy Forum, 21-23 June 2011
This year’s Vienna Energy Forum in the Hofburg Palace was organized between 21-23 June 2011 by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). It brought together 1200 participants from 120 countries, including heads of State, ministers, energy experts, representatives of international and non-governmental organizations, academia, civil society and the private sector.
The Director-General of UNIDO, Kandeh K. Yumkella, who also chairs UN-Energy, a United Nations system-wide coordinating mechanism on energy issues, said that the lack of access to affordable, reliable energy services was a fundamental hindrance to human, social, and economic development, adding that “without access to modern forms of energy it is highly unlikely that any of the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals will be achieved”. He highlighted the importance of the „30-30-30” energy goals: (1) achieving universal energy access by 2030; (2) increasing energy efficiency by 40% by 2030; and (3) achieving 30% renewable energy by 2030.
Held in parallel with the Vienna Energy Forum, the Ministerial Meeting on Energy and Green Industry was attended by one hundred participants, including ministers and high-level officials. The aim of the Ministerial Meeting was to contribute to preparations for the upcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD or Rio+20) in 2012. Peter Olajos, Deputy State Secretary from the Ministry of National Development participated in the „Green Industry: a key pillar of Green Economy” panel discussion. He stressed the importance of promoting green industry, energy and resource efficiency to tackle the urgent issue of energy poverty. The Deputy State of Secretary further highlighted the commitment of the newly, in May 2010, formed Ministry of National Development to a sustainable climate and energy policy and called on other member states to strengthen the cooperation in the energy sector. The ministers welcomed the UN’s global campaign 2012 of the International Year for Sustainable Energy for All and marked the Vienna Energy Forum 2011 as important milestone towards Rio+20.