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Global prosperity, stability and security in the 21st century will depend on how successfully we manage a green and inclusive transition. To address today’s overlapping crises - geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions, widening inequality and accelerating climate impacts, we need deliberate, coordinated action across policies, sectors and countries that connects sustainable energy, climate policy and, critically, green industrialization. Only by aligning these agendas can we expand inclusive, green economic development opportunities and ensure a just and resilient energy transition while advancing global decarbonization.
Over the past two decades, the International Vienna Energy and Climate Forum (IVECF), formerly the Vienna Energy Forum, has evolved from championing rural energy access to shaping global dialogue and accelerating action on energy, climate action, gender equality and green industrialization. This year's Forum could not be more timely. Geopolitical tensions, slowing economic growth, trade and energy supply disruptions, competition over critical minerals, accelerating climate impacts and persistent energy poverty threaten development gains, particularly in Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and many Middle-Income Countries (MICs) facing rising vulnerabilities.
Yet at the same time, rapid advances in sustainable energy, low-carbon industries and climate-adaptation technologies are creating “green windows of opportunity” to address these challenges and contribute to a future of enhanced security, stability and prosperity for all.[1]
Driven by the expansion of renewables and clean technology manufacturing, the global cleantech market is growing rapidly, with a USD 2 trillion market forecasted by 2035.[2] Employment in clean energy alone could reach 38 million jobs by 2030, with many more across related sectors.[3] This green industrialization offers emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) a historic opportunity to capture new industrial growth and strengthen long-term economic resilience, creating manufacturing jobs that generate high employment multipliers. Each industrial job typically creates two additional jobs across the economy.
The Belém Declaration on Global Green Industrialization adopted at COP30 sends a clear signal that EMDEs must be central actors in this transformation, not only as adopters of solutions, but as producers, innovators and industrial partners. Their participation is essential in building resilient, diversified global value chains and achieving a global transition that is just.
This is not only a question of equity, but of economic sense. The Global South is home to around 70 per cent of the world’s wind and solar potential and nearly half of the minerals required for the global energy transition[4], including close to 30 per cent of proven critical mineral reserves in Sub-Saharan Africa.[5]
At the same time, today’s clean energy manufacturing remains highly concentrated, with a single country accounting for roughly 60 per cent of global manufacturing capacity for solar PV, wind and batteries,[6] underscoring the strategic need for diversification and more resilient global value chains.
Yet this potential will not be realized automatically. Persistent gaps in access to technology, finance, infrastructure and fair participation in global value chains risk limiting opportunities and deepening inequalities. Without coordinated action across countries and sectors, the benefits of the transition will remain uneven and its full potential unrealized.
This matters not only for economic development but also for social stability and security [7]. Inclusive access to decent jobs, local economic opportunities and resilience are fundamental for social cohesion and long-term stability. Green industrialization strategies can anchor this transformation.
By building local value chains around low-carbon technologies, countries can reduce external dependencies, generate quality employment and create domestic value chains. At the same time, resilient clean technology solutions, infrastructure and industrial systems enhance a country’s capacity to withstand climate‑related and economic shocks by maintaining productive capacity, ensuring energy security and preserving economic stability.
Governments, international organizations, financial institutions, the private sector and civil society must urgently work together to align energy, industrial and climate strategies, mobilize investment and ensure that global commitments translate into tangible results on the ground. This requires a platform for coordination, alignment and action, as articulated in the Belém Declaration on Global Green Industrialization.
By bringing together leaders and changemakers, the IVECF, on 9-10 April, will advance multilateral cooperation to contribute to a future of enhanced security, stability and shared prosperity for all.
IVECF 2026 will further this agenda through two complementary action tracks in support of the Belém Declaration on Global Green Industrialization:
- Global green industrialization focusing on policy coherence principles, multilateral coordination mechanisms and project pipeline enablers to scale cleantech innovation and industrial decarbonization
- Country and regional implementation focusing on practical implementation, peer-reviewed pilots and scalable models in LDCs, LLDCs, SIDS and emerging economies.
Across these tracks, the Forum will demonstrate how sustainable energy, green industrialization and climate action are mutually reinforcing pillars of prosperity, security and resilience. Central to this are people-centered solutions: empowering women- and youth-led enterprises, fostering innovation ecosystems and embedding skills development into industrial and energy transitions.
By harnessing multilateral cooperation and cross-sector partnerships, IVECF 2026 will translate ambition into concrete action, charting pathways toward a resilient, prosperous and secure post-2030 future.
[1] UNIDO, Industrial Development Report 2026
[2] IEA,Energy Technology Perspectives 2024
[3] IRENA/ILO/IEA, 2022
[4] RMI, Powering Up the Global South, 2024
[5] WEF, Securing Minerals for the Energy Transition: Finance for SouthernAfrica White Paper.
[6] IEA, Energy Technology Perspectives 2023
[7] IRENA/ILO/IEA, 2022