Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Guests,

I am incredibly glad to welcome you to the International Vienna Energy and Climate Forum. My thanks go to the organizers and all participants who have gathered here from around the world.

Energy is the basis for all development and progress. Our atmosphere, and the climate on Earth, makes our very lives possible. For hundreds of thousands of years, mankind lived in harmony with nature, with our planet. But now, the human carbon footprint - the emissions that we cause - have reached a dramatic level. Not only the atmosphere, but our climate and our global public goods like the seas, are endangered.

The triggers for this are two developments: First, the population explosion over the past century. Humanity has quickly gone from two billion to eight billion people. At this point, every day over 200 thousand people, 80 million people yearly, come to the planet. The second most important aspect is of course the ever quickening industrialization since 250 years. That means provision of energy and the growing use of fossil fuels in all of that time. The consequences of this for the climate and environment are dramatic.

But we know what to do! The solution lies in the decisive implementation of the SDG Agenda, the Paris Climate Agreement and the Biodiversity Convention. Industrialized countries - the G20 - they have the most responsibility. They are indeed responsible for nearly 80% of global CO2 emissions. Meanwhile, developing countries and LDCs are hit the hardest by the consequences of climate change, even as they themselves historically have contributed very little to it.

Developing countries - the countries of the Global South -  they need a development perspective. That means industrialization, infrastructure. Jobs for hundreds of millions of young people.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The fact is that the global CO2 emissions are still rising. And global primary energy demand is projected to increase by 50 to 70 percent by 2050. Today, roughly 80 percent of energy production globally is fossil fuel based.

Thus, the central questions are such:

First, how can economic development be decoupled from rising energy use and growing emissions?

Second: what contribution can renewable energies and hydrogen realistically make to the global energy demand and what is necessary?

Third: what can advanced technology solutions contribute to reducing emissions? Here I think of CCS and CCU, and indeed small nuclear reactors and hydrogen.

Overall, we must rethink!

The answer lays in a new, sustainable, fair global model of growth.That means: produce more, with less energy, fewer emissions, fewer resources. That is only possible with a new approach. With new thinking, innovation, and new technologies.

We know how to do it:

First, a multi-billion dollar investment offensive is needed. We need this for a global green transformation in industry, energy, construction, agriculture, traffic, decarbonization and a circular economy.

We do have the technology and the knowledge: For example with green hydrogen and carbon capture in steel and cement production. I see enormous potential to create huge win-win situations between private companies and emerging and developing countries.

So we need investments in a new „Green Deal“, namely in the Global South, especially in the African countries. A climate finance agreement with a technological and development partnership; the implementation of the climate loss and damage funds; the fulfillment of climate commitments on the part of the industrialized countries; and investments in adaption and nature based solutions.

To all of these questions, experts are discussing and calling attention to real solutions here in Vienna at this Forum. And we are thinking outside the box. I welcome all of you - over 1,000 participants from all corners of the world, here to Vienna.

We will discuss, showcase, and see concrete solutions for a green transformation to protect our climate.

Thank you so much!