For information only - not an official document
UNIS/OUS/082
23 May 2011
Media Advisory
Re-issued as received
Universal energy access to top agenda of Vienna Energy Forum
VIENNA, 23 May (UN Information Service) - Energy poverty in developing countries and a strategy for prioritizing the energy access agenda will be the focus of the Vienna Energy Forum (VEF) that will take place at the Hofburg Palace from 21 to 23 June.
The event, organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs and the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), will bring together over 1000 participants, including heads of State, ministers, energy experts, representatives of international and non-governmental organizations, academia, civil society and the private sector.
The Forum will discuss how energy poverty, recognized as a major development obstacle, can be overcome while the decarbonization of energy systems is accelerated. Participants will work towards promoting global initiatives to achieve universal access to sustainable energy for all, as called for by the UN General Assembly.
The Forum will see the official launch of the Global Energy Assessment (GEA), an initiative to define a new global energy agenda for a rapidly changing world involving more than 500 scientists and experts around the world.
The UNIDO Director-General, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Austria, has also invited members of Círculo de Montevideo to hold their annual session in Vienna during the week of VEF. The Círculo de Montevideo, among other sessions, will hold a roundtable discussion on how to better foster and link green industry and energy for sustainable development in Latin America.
Journalists are invited to attend the Forum, which opens at 9:00, on Tuesday, 21 June, and a news conference at 10:45.
For accreditation, and to see the full programme of VEF 2011, please go here:
http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=1001185
For more information on the Círculo de Montevideo, please go here:
http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=1001610
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For further information about UNIDO please contact:
Mikhail
Evstafyev
UNIDO Advocacy and Communication Coordinator
Telephone: (+43-1) 26026-5021
Mobile: (+43-699) 1459-7329
Email: M.Evstafyev[at]unido.org
