ECREEE represented by Mr. Hyacinth ELAYO, Sustainable Energy Policy Officer, participated at the 6^th  meeting of the Global Network of Regional Sustainable Energy Centers (GN-SEC) from the 6^th to 8^th of  November, and the International Forum Conference on Energy and Climate (IVECF) from the 2^nd to 3^rd  November, 2023 all held at the Hofburg Conference Center, Vienna.

The Forum is a solutions platform to accelerate low-emission, climate-resilient development around the world. The Forum highlights the action-oriented steps required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, helping to forge an inclusive pathway that leaves no one behind. ECREEE, as a foundation member of the GN-SEC, also participated in the side event “Strengthening the means of implementation for the Agenda 2030 – Promoting south-south and triangular climate cooperation through the Global Network of Regional Sustainable Energy Centres (GN-SEC).” The side event, which was organized in conjunction with the IVECF, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), and the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) highlighted the key objectives and activities of the various sustainable energy centres, as well as opportunities for collaboration.

Following the hashtag#ivecforum23, UNIDO hosted the 6th Meeting of the Global Network of Regional Sustainable Energy Centres (GN-SEC), from 6 - 8 November 2023. The 6th GN-SEC SC sought to develop a portfolio of south-south and triangular industrial cooperation (SSTC) projects to be implemented under the umbrella of the GN-SEC platform in the coming years. ECREEE participated in the 3 days of dynamic discussions around the development of joint project proposals on priority solutions of mutual interest among the GN-SEC centres.  Workshops were conducted on many topics relevant to the centres, inviting collaboration in the coming years for their implementation, including:

• Industrial Energy Efficiency and Deep Decarbonisation; Agrivoltaics to foster climate resilience and agricultural productivity; Fostering clean cooking and energy access technologies in Least Developed Countries (LDCs);
• Supporting sustainable eco-tourism through clean energy solutions; Regional BLOOM Cleantech Cluster Accelerator; PURE Platform: Making RE opportunities visible for Accelerating clean energy transition and building resilience;
• Peer-to-peer learning for sustainable energy SMEs in the SADC & CARICOM Regions;
• Regional accelerator for gender and youth in energy planning and implementation; Communication and Knowledge Management;
• Replication of the Regional SOLTRAIN Program and future cooperation with the IEA Heating and Cooling Program;
• Global Ocean Energy Alliance (GLOEA) Program;
• the ECOWAS Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Facility (EREEEF); and the Energy Efficiency Roadmap for Latin America.

ECREEE looks forward to working closely with the GN-SEC to implement these exciting projects.
Jointly, the centres accelerate the energy transition "from the regions for the regions" in more than 113 countries, including most least developed countries and small island developing states