The Fourth Meeting of the Global Forum on Sustainable Energy (GFSE-4) was held from 18-20 February 2004, in Vienna, Austria. The meeting considered the theme of "Energy for sustainable development: reconsidering the role of incentive measures." In particular, GFSE-4 focused on renewable energy issues, providing input to the International Conference for Renewable Energies scheduled to take place in Bonn, Germany, in June 2004. The Forum also brought together various energy-related partnerships announced at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg in 2002, in order to discuss their progress. GFSE-4 was convened by Irene Freudenschuss-Reichl, Special Representative and Assistant Director-General for UN Affairs at the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). It was co-sponsored by the Austrian government, City of Vienna, Federation of Austrian Industry, UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UNIDO. An estimated 210 participants representing government agencies, UN bodies, business and industry, non-governmental organizations and academia attended the Forum.

Delegates met in Plenary sessions to hear presentations and engage in discussions on a variety of relevant topics, including: energy and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); public sector perspectives on incentive measures in developed and developing counties; private sector perspectives on incentive measures; and initiatives that promote energy for sustainable development. Participants also convened in two Working Groups to discuss supply and demand side measures to promote energy for sustainable development. On the final day of GFSE-4, delegates reconvened in Plenary to hear reports from the Working Groups, before concluding with a panel discussion on the next steps required to advance energy for sustainable development.

The meeting also included consultations held in parallel with the official Plenary sessions that related to two partnerships on sustainable energy. The first consultation considered the feasibility of a "Patient Capital Investment Vehicle" in the context of the Johannesburg Renewable Energy Coalition (JREC); the second was a preliminary meeting of the project consortium "Partners for Africa." In addition, participants attending GFSE-4 were invited on a field trip to Vienna Freudenau, the Danube Hydropower Plant.

GFSE-4 is expected to contribute to ongoing work on the use of incentive measures for sustainable energy, and on renewable energy. In particular, it will feed into the renewable energies conference taking place in June 2004, and various other multi-stakeholder forums.