OSCE and World Energy Council Austria join efforts to promote energy security dialogue

The impact of big data and digitalization on energy, security and society was the focus of the 2nd Vienna Energy Strategy Dialogue, which concluded on 29 November 2019 in Vienna.

Aimed at fostering a cross-cutting approach to energy security, the event was hosted by the Federation of Austrian Industries. It was co-organized  by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Affairs and in partnership with the Austrian Member Committee of the World Energy Council (WEC Austria).

Over 60 leading energy experts from academia, business, government and international organizations debated key challenges associated with future digitalization trends such as big data and artificial intelligence for energy system transformation, data security and development of climate policies. In light of increasing digitization, the requirements for a secure and affordable energy supply system are rapidly changing, creating new economic, technical and political challenges.

“The Vienna Energy Strategy Dialogue offers a unique platform for the national members of the WEC Austria to engage in a dialogue with international experts concerning hot topics driving the latest and future developments in the energy, technology and security sector,” said Dr. Robert Kobau, Secretary General of the WEC Austria.

Daniel Kroos, OSCE Senior Programme Officer on Energy Security said: “Digitalization will shape the future of energy throughout the OSCE region, creating new challenges that we need to address. The OSCE provides an effective platform for dialogue between energy leaders from government, business and academia to develop solutions to these challenges. This the purpose of the Vienna Energy Strategy Dialogue”.

Hossein Hassani, Co-ordinator of Statistics Team at the Data Services Department, OPEC said: “Big data bolsters our capacity to develop and deploy game-changing technologies that contribute to climate change mitigation efforts. Big data holds great promise for alleviating energy poverty and addressing the climate change challenge, two important pillars of the UN SDGs.”