Austrian World Summit

The AUSTRIAN WORLD SUMMIT is an international climate conference which takes places annually in Vienna since 2017. It aims to bring together stakeholders from politics, civil society and business to create a broad alliance for climate protection as well as showcasing concrete solutions to the climate crisis.

Monika Langthaler and Arnold Schwarzenegger at the Austrian World Summit in 2019

It is organised by THE SCHWARZENEGGER CLIMATE INITIATIVE[1] and the conference was held for the first three times at the Vienna Hofburg palace before taking place for the first time in the Spanish Ridding School in 2020. Arnold Schwarzenegger was the initiator of the conference and he organises it together with Monika Langthaler under the patronage of Austrian federal president Alexander Van der Bellen

Concept

The conference wants to contribute to achieving a full implementation of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals as well as networking politics, business and finances with the United Nations, NGOs, regions and cities.

The AUSTRIAN WORLD SUMMIT has become one of the largest environmental gatherings in the world and provides a platform for highlighting concrete solutions and measures from global decision-makers committed to preserving a healthy planet and decarbonizing the economy by 2050.

The last conference of the AUSTRIAN WORLD SUMMIT took place on the 17th September 2020 and the focus was put on the opportunities of a green economy and the necessity of a green recovery. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the conference was held via hybrid format, which enabled an international program of 27 speakers from 12 countries including Prince Charles of Wales, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez, Jane Goodall, James Cameron and John Kerry.

It was the biggest climate conference to take place in 2020 because of the cancellation of all major climate conferences due to the COVID-19 pandemic[2]  Through the international media coverage, the Austrian World Summit 2020 had a potential reach of 1.3 billion people.[3]

Previous participants of the conference were among others climat activist Greta Thunberg, Patricia Espinosa Cantellano (Executive Director of the UNFCC), Li Yong (Director General of UNIDO), Maria Neira (WHO Director), Kristalina Georgieva (Managing Director of the IMF) and Scott Joseph Kelly (US Astronaut).

Arnold Schwarzenegger on stage at the Climate Kirtag 2019

Since 2019, the summit is accompanied by a festival for the public, a Climate Kirtag, which is supposed to raise awareness for climate issues among the public in Vienna. The first edition featured concerts by Hubert von Goisern and Conchita Wurst [4]where more than 10.000 spectators were attending.

In 2020 the Climate Kirtag could be organised under strict Covid-19 regulation rules. A strict health and safety concept allowed bands like Lemo & Folkshilfe to perform in front of a live audience.

Legacy

In 2019, the conference won the European Culture Award Taurus for extraordinary contributions to European culture.[5]

In 2020, the Austrian World Summit took place in September with 340 participants. It was the biggest climate conference to take place that year because of the cancellation of all major climate conferences due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]

References
  1. "Home - Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative". www.schwarzeneggerclimateinitiative.com. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
  2. Andreas Puschautz (2020-09-08). "Arnies Austrian World Summit wird zur weltgrößten Klimakonferenz". Kurier (in German). Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  3. "Austrian World Summit - Austrian World Summit". www.austrianworldsummit.com. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
  4. "Schwarzenegger lädt zum "Klima-Kirtag"". Die Presse (in German). 2019-05-22. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  5. Archived 2019-08-27 at the Wayback Machine
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.