Fighting climate change is an increasingly urgent, long-term challenge that we have to face and address in every aspect of our lives. The first Budapest Climate Summit – a niche event focusing on the green transition of Central and Eastern Europe – took place for the first time last year in the midst of the pandemic crisis. Still, the conference was followed by attendees from more than 21 countries signalling a broad consensus for fast action and increased awareness of climate change.
Indeed, the Summit is ideally placed to take a prominent role in connecting policymakers, the business ecosystem and innovators by providing a platform to discuss the driving trends of the region’s green transition and to identify the opportunities and challenges ahead of us.
Therefore, the Budapest Climate Summit will be organised this year again as a two-day conference between 7-8 October convening climate stakeholders to discuss the potentials of our green recovery.
Climate change – now affecting every country on every continent – requires coordinated, complex and urgent solutions on every level of policy-making. Therefore the Budapest Climate Summit will bring together policymakers from governments, international organisations, EU institutions and local governments who will set out the main direction of their long-term climate strategies, presenting how they plan to pursue decarbonisation and green transformation to meet our climate targets.
The Summit will be organised under the honorary patronage of János Áder, President of Hungary who will open the conference. Confirmed speakers of the Budapest Climate Summit also includes Attila Steiner, State Secretary for the Development of Circular Economy, Energy and Climate Policy, Barbara Botos, Deputy State Secretary for Climate Policy who will speak about Hungary’s climate ambitions.
As Hungary takes over the annual Presidency of the Visegrád Group in July, the Budapest Climate Summit will also include a meeting of the climate representatives of the Visegrád 4 region providing key insight into the dynamics of the region’s green transition.
The transformation of our energy system is a core element of the road to meet our climate goals. László Varró, Chief Economist of the International Energy Agency (IEA) will join the Budapest Climate Summit as a speaker, providing a comprehensive view of how the global energy system could develop in the coming decades.
Smart urban solutions will pave the way towards the development of sustainable and green and city ecosystems. Pekka Timonen, Mayor of Lahti will share the best practices of the greenest city in Finland, which was chosen as the European Green Capital in 2021.
Climate change gives rise to investment risks but also opportunities, therefore the future of sustainable finance will be high on the agenda of the Budapest Climate Summit with speakers from major global stakeholders such as the WorldBank and local accelerators.
Climate change is impacting all sectors of the economy. Thus, the Budapest Climate Summit will serve as a platform to showcase how companies contribute to making their operations and the economy more sustainable and resilient across various industries including telecommunications, food and retail, energy, building and construction, transport, manufacturing, agriculture, fashion and beauty.
Speakers of the Budapest Climate Summit include executives of leading companies such as TESCO, E.ON, MET Group, GE, Vodafone among many others who will present their business strategy to address sustainable transformation on the road towards a low-carbon economy.
The venue of the Budapest Climate Summit is the Hotel Marriott Budapest, in the heart of the city with a wonderful view of the Danube.
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