Austrian Minister of Energy Visits Washington and Pittsburgh, Meets with U.S. Counterparts

Austrian Minister Leonore Gewessler (center) at the Austrian Embassy in Washington for the ReFocus Austria / Advantage Austria roundtable on September 19, 2022 with representatives of Austrian businesses in the climate, environment, and energy sectors that operate in the U.S. © Cajetan PERWEIN

Austrian Minister of Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology Leonore Gewessler traveled to Washington, DC for meetings with her bilateral counterparts on September 19-20, 2022. In Washington, she met with Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioner Allison Clements and U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Secretary David Turk. That same day she also met with Managing Director of Operations at the World Bank Axel van Trostsenburg and the Vice President for Sustainable Development Jürgen Vögele.

Minister Gewessler’s meeting with Senator Sanders on September 20, 2022. © Leonore Gewessler, from Twitter @lgewessler

On September 20, 2022, Minister Gewessler met with Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont at the Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill. Senator Sanders and Minister Gewessler discussed the need for the Green Transition to be a just transition and reiterated the importance of the needs of workers and for vocational re-education as the world moves away from fossil fuels and towards renewables. The recently signed State Partnership Agreement between Austria and Vermont was also discussed as well as the Austrian Klimaticket or “Climate Ticket,” which provides access to all local and long-distance public transit in Austria for an affordable yearly sum.

In Washington, Minister Gewessler also met with Acting Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Alondra Nelson and attended a roundtable with experts at the Atlantic Council on the challenges of the ongoing energy crisis in Europe. She discussed the climate impact of the Inflation Reduction Act with Congresswoman Kathy Castor, Democrat of Florida and Chair of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.

Her evenings were spent at roundtables: first with representatives of Austrian companies in the US that work in climate, environment, and energy sectors in the context of the ReFocus Austria initiative on September 19, and then with students at Georgetown University on September 20, 2022. The Georgetown University event was held at the Mortara Center for International Studies in partnership with the BMW Center for German and European Studies. Georgetown Professor of Environmental Economics Arik Levinson provided an introduction, followed by statements from Minister Gewessler and Department of Energy Under-Secretary Kathleen Hogan. Senior Policy Advisor at the E3G Washington think-tank and Georgetown University Adjunct Max Grünig moderated the discussion and Q&A.

Minister Gewessler’s meeting with John Kerry at the Global Clean Energy Action Forum in Pittsburgh, PA on September 21, 2022. © Leonore Gewessler, from Twitter @lgewessler

Minister Gewessler followed up her meetings in Washington with a trip to Pittsburgh, PA for the Global Clean Energy Action Forum on September 21-23, 2022. There she met with U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and reiterated Austria’s support for the Global Methane Pledge. On the margins of the conference, Minister Gewessler also met with UK Climate Minister Graham Stuart, Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galuschenko, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, and Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi.

Austrian Minister Leonore Gewessler at the Austrian Embassy in Washington on September 19, 2022 © Cajetan PERWEIN