The Austrian World Summit is an annual climate conference which has taken place in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

since 2017. It aims to connect stakeholders from politics, civil society and business to create a broad alliance for

climate protection Climate change mitigation (or decarbonisation) is action to limit the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that cause climate change. Climate change mitigation actions include conserving energy and replacing fossil fuels with clean energy sour ...

. It is organised by the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative and has been held at the

Hofburg The Hofburg () is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty in Austria. Located in the Innere Stadt, center of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century by Ottokar II of Bohemia and expanded several times afterwards. It also ser ...

Palace and the

Spanish Riding School The Spanish Riding School () is an Austrian institution based in Vienna, dedicated to the preservation of classical dressage and the training of Lipizzaner horses, whose performances in the Hofburg are also a tourist attraction. The leading hor ...

in the past.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...

founded the conference, which he organises together with Monika Langthaler. The summit takes place under the patronage of Austrian president

Alexander Van der Bellen Alexander "Sascha" Van der Bellen (; born 18 January 1944), also referred to by the abbreviation VdB, is an Austrian politician serving as the president of Austria since 2017. He previously served as a professor of economics at the University ...

Concept

The conference seeks to contribute to achieving a full implementation of the

Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement (also called the Paris Accords or Paris Climate Accords) is an international treaty on climate change that was signed in 2016. The treaty covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance. The Paris Agreement was ...

and the

Sustainable Development Goals The ''2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development'', adopted by all United Nations (UN) members in 2015, created 17 world Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The aim of these global goals is "peace and prosperity for people and the planet" – wh ...

as well as networking of politics, business and finances with the United Nations, NGOs, regions and cities. In comparison to other climate conferences, the Austrian World Summit is not mainly a diplomatic conference but seeks to showcase concrete examples and possible actions for a sustainable future. Since its inception in 2017, the Austrian World Summit has become one of the most prominent climate conferences worldwide. In fact, it was the largest climate conference in 2020 since similar events had to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Conference speakers and participants have included

António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth and current secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), ...

Greta Thunberg Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg (; born 3January 2003) is a Swedish climate activist, climate and political activist initially known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action to climate change mitigation, mitigate the effec ...

Patricia Espinosa Cantellano Patricia Espinosa Cantellano (born October 21, 1958) is a Mexican diplomat who served as the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change from 2016 to 2022. She was Secretary of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet ...

, Li Yong, Maria Neira,

Kristalina Georgieva Kristalina Ivanova Georgieva-Kinova (; ; born 13 August 1953) is a Bulgarian economist who has served as the 12th managing director of the International Monetary Fund since 2019. She is the first person from an emerging market economy to lead ...

and Scott Joseph Kelly. The most recent summit took place on 1 July, 2021 under the motto “Healthy Planet – Healthy People” with well-known speakers like Lisa Jackson (Sustainability Manager at Apple), Greta Thunberg (Climate activist) and

Jane Goodall Dame Jane Morris Goodall (; born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall; 3 April 1934), formerly Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall, is an English zoologist, Primatology, primatologist and Anthropology, anthropologist. She is considered the world's foremo ...

(Scientist). Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the AWS has taken place in hybrid mode. Each year, more than 1,000 people participate physically and millions of viewers watch the livestream online or on TV. A speech by Austrian chancellor

Sebastian Kurz Sebastian Kurz (; born 27 August 1986) is an Austrian former politician who served twice as Chancellor of Austria, first from 2017 to 2019 and then again from 2020 to 2021. Kurz was born and raised in Meidling, Vienna. He entered politics by ...

in 2018 was criticized by the activist group ''System Change, not Climate Change'' due to the Austrian government's lack of climate policies. The group staged a protest at the summit and took over the microphone during Kurz's speech. In 2019 and 2020, the summit was accompanied by a public festival, a Climate Kirtag, which was aimed at raising awareness for climate issues in Vienna. The first event featured concerts by

Hubert von Goisern Hubert von Goisern (born Hubert Achleitner, 17 November 1952) is an Austrian singer-songwriter and world musician. With his mix of rock music and elements of traditional Volksmusik he has become a prominent exponent of the so-called New Volksmusi ...

and

Conchita Wurst Thomas Neuwirth (born 6 November 1988) is an Austrian singer, fashion designer, human rights activist and drag queen who is known for his stage persona Conchita Wurst (or simply Conchita). He came to international attention after winning the Euro ...

. The next Austrian World Summit will take place on 14 June, 2022 – exactly 30 years after the “Earth Summit” in Rio de Janeiro. The environmental activist

Severn Cullis-Suzuki Severn Cullis-Suzuki (born 30 November 1979) is a Canadian environmental activist and writer. She has spoken around the world about environmental issues, urging listeners to define their values, act with the future in mind and take individual re ...

who gave an inflammatory speech in Rio de Janeiro is expected. Other well-known speakers and guests include

Joko Winterscheidt Joachim "Joko" Winterscheidt (born 13 January 1979) is a German television host, producer and actor. He became known as part of the duo ''Joko & Klaas'' alongside Klaas Heufer-Umlauf in TV programs like ''Circus HalliGalli''. Winterscheidt grew ...

(German entertainer),

Luisa Neubauer Luisa-Marie Neubauer (born 21 April 1996) is a German climate activist, politician, and author. She is one of the main organizers of the school strike for climate movement in Germany, where it is commonly referred to under its alternativ ...

(Climate activist), and

Matt Iseman Matt Iseman (born January 22, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, and television host, who began his career as a physician. He is best known for his role as the play-by-play announcer and the moderator of ''American Ninja Warrior''. He was the ...

(US moderator).

Legacy

In 2019, the conference won the European Culture Award Taurus for extraordinary contributions to European culture. 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 The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
Political conferences Organised events in Vienna Climate change policy Climate change in Austria