Brussels, September 5th, 2024
On September 5th, 2024, a high-level delegation from the Europe-Asia Center, led by Vice-Chair H.E. Violeta Bulc, former European Commissioner for Transport and Mobility, took part in the third Green Peak Festival held in Vienna, Austria.
The Green Peak Festival, hosted at Erste Campus, focused on a wide range of topics related to sustainability and climate protection. The event provided a platform for dialogue, knowledge exchange, and networking among key stakeholders. This year's edition once again attracted a diverse group of political, business, academic, and thought leaders to discuss the pressing issues of environmental sustainability and climate action.
Among the notable attendees were world record-holding swimmer Markus Rogan, journalist Danielle Spera, U.S. Ambassador to Austria H.E. Victoria Reggie Kennedy, and Uganda's Minister of State for Environment, Hon. Beatrice Atim Anywar.
Vice-Chair Violeta Bulc participated in two panel discussions during the event.
In the panel titled "Forging Alliances: Creating an Integrated Hydrogen Value Chain for the Future," Madame Bulc engaged with an esteemed panel that included Jürgen Schneider, Director General for Climate Action and Energy at the Austrian Climate Ministry; Susanna Zapreva, COO of Verbund; and journalist Corinna Milborn.
Madame Bulc highlighted hydrogen's potential role in advancing the green transition but emphasized that "not every energy source is suitable for every application." She encouraged leaders to use the current "phase zero" of hydrogen development as an opportunity to "address potential negative externalities," and stressed the importance of an ecosystem-based approach that considers diverse environmental conditions, advocating for flexible and universally effective solutions.
In the panel discussion titled "Harnessing Innovation: Tech, Big Data, and AI in Driving the Green Revolution," Madame Violeta Bulc was joined by Shani Zanescu, Co-Founder and Chair of PLANETech - Climate Change Technologies; Mirco Rohr, Director of Solutions Consulting EMEA at RiskRecon, a Mastercard company; Hans-Peter Schmid, Managing Director at Accenture; and Markus Müller, Partner for Digital Advisory & Transformation at TPA Group.
In a compelling exchange of ideas, Madame Bulc emphasized the need to focus innovation on enhancing human well-being and promoting a more compassionate and less fear-driven society. She also underscored the critical role of engineers and innovators, expressing her belief that they have the creativity and expertise to devise solutions when faced with significant and meaningful challenges.
Matic Gajsek, Director for Europe at the Europe-Asia Center, described the Festival as reaching "new peaks": "With thought-provoking panels, insightful speakers, and a spirit of optimism, the event reinforced my belief that the European Green Transition is within reach. The Europe-Asia Center stands ready to support this important journey in every way we can."
For press enquiries:
Jonathan Schwestka, Deputy Director for Europe, Europe – Asia Center
Comments