IISD's SUMMARY REPORT  is available online in HTML TEXT PDF 

The High Level Meeting on Energy in preparation for the Third United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries was held from 14-16 March 2001 in Vienna, Austria. The meeting was organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), in cooperation with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Austrian Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of Economy and Labor. Over 50 experts and high-level participants from government agencies, United Nations bodies, business and industry, academic institutions, and international and non-governmental organizations attended the meeting.  

The meeting, which served as preparation for the Round Table on Energy at the Third UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDCs) scheduled for May 2001, provided an opportunity to examine energy for sustainable development in LDCs. Participants met in plenary sessions that focused on four key issues: access to energy; the rational use of energy, including energy efficiency; financing and promotion of investment in the energy sector; and LDCs and hydrocarbons, including innovative ways to address oil price fluctuations and their impact on LDCs' balance of payments. They also heard presentations and briefings on the Third UN Conference on LDCs, preparations for the ninth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development relating to energy, partnerships with LDCs, the World Energy Assessment, and the Multifunctional Platform initiative.

On the meeting's final day, participants produced text summarizing suggested key outputs or deliverables to be carried forward to the Round Table on Energy at the Third Conference on LDCs. These proposed deliverables include support for large-scale initiatives in selected LDCs for an integrated rural development programme, promotion of the role of private Energy Service Companies, and organization of an event on the development of strategies to protect against oil price fluctuations.