On 21 October 2021, Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, Secretary General for Foreign Affairs, kicked off an event as part of the “Business Location Austria” series at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. The event is designed to bring together foreign diplomats accredited in Austria with persons of the Austrian economic and business scene. The event focused on the green economy.
All of us need to adapt our lives, our habits, and our economy to the changing climate conditions. The Austrian government programme includes a commitment to achieve climate neutrality by 2040 and to switch to energy from 100 percent renewable sources by 2030. To reach these goals, we need active participation from innovative companies,
said Secretary General Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal – in his view, economic growth and climate protection are by no means mutually exclusive.
At the COP26, the United Nations climate conference beginning in late October in Glasgow, the European Union (EU) will lead by example and show how it has successfully decoupled economic growth from greenhouse gas emissions. While greenhouse gas emissions in the EU were reduced by 24 percent between 1990 and 2019, the economy grew by about 60 percent in the same period.
Austria’s commitment to reaching climate neutrality by 2040 is even more ambitious. ReFocus Austria, an initiative from the Austrian government in collaboration with the Economic Chamber, the Austrian tourist board, and other stakeholders, will actively contribute to the goal of climate neutrality:
ReFocus Austria is part of the federal government’s comeback plan for economic recovery after the coronavirus crisis. With this contribution, we want to jointly provide targeted support to Austrian companies abroad and to Austria as a business location. You should view us, the Austrian diplomats all over the world, as trailblazers, networkers and problem-solvers who are working for you,
promised Secretary General Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal. In keeping with Austria’s economic strengths, he said, the campaign is focusing on high-tech and future-oriented sectors. That includes renewable energy, e-mobility, sustainability and state-of-the-art green tourism.
Successful promotion of the “Green Economy Made in Austria” programme requires support from partner countries, which were represented by their ambassadors at the “Business Location Austria” event in Vienna. Through presentations by experts, they were introduced to Austrian companies and potential partnerships in the area of green business.
