Sustainable Developments |
Second Meeting
of the Global Forum on Sustainable Energy (GFSE-2) |
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The Second Meeting of the Global Forum on Sustainable Energy (GFSE-2) was held from 28-30 November 2001 at the Headquarters of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Laxenburg, Austria. The meeting, which addressed the topic of Energy Technologies: Cooperation for Rural Development, was convened by Ambassador Irene Freudenschuss-Reichl, Special Representative and Assistant Director-General for UN Affairs, the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). Eighty-five participants attended, representing government agencies, United Nations bodies, business and industry, non-governmental organizations and academia. The meeting was co-sponsored by the Austrian Government (Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management and Ministry of Economics and Labor), the City of Vienna, IIASA, The Know-How Transfer Center of the Austrian Association of Towns, UNIDO, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Participants at GFSE-2 convened in plenary sessions to hear presentations and engage in discussions on: stocktaking of the international energy discourse; facilitating the transfer of energy technologies suitable for rural development; case studies on successful modalities for transfer of energy technologies; and enabling policy environments and creating conditions for private sector involvement in the transfer of energy technologies for rural needs. Participants also met in two parallel regional breakout sessions on rural electrification and clean fuels for rural needs in Africa and in Asia and Latin America. In the final Plenary session, which included a panel discussion, participants considered desired outcomes of and proposals for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) to be held in Johannesburg in September 2002, as well as the way forward for the GFSE. |
