Global Energy Transition Congress 2024 welcomes energy leaders and innovators

The Global Energy Transition (GET) Congress 2024 launched in Milan on Monday, uniting low-carbon energy sectors and high-carbon industries around the pressing need to develop and scale decarbonisation technologies that can accelerate the energy transition.

Addressing more than 16,000 energy leaders and innovators at the Opening Ceremony, Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair set the tone for the inaugural 3-day event in an engaging conversation with moderator Nik Gowing, Founder and Director of Think the Unthinkable. “The energy transition has begun, it is just not happening fast enough. We must focus on the practical solutions, around financing and technology, and how we help the industry find a path where they can both run a successful business and play a part in the energy transition. The policies have to be radical, but they also have to be sensible,” Rt Hon. Blair said.

Day One also saw the participation of John F. Kerry, 68^th United States Secretary of State, who featured on a one-on-one panel discussing the challenges and opportunities emerging across the global energy landscape. Speaking on his experience shaping climate-related policy in the United States and abroad, Secretary Kerry underscored the need to overcome key obstacles for investment in the clean energy economy.

Speaking at the GET Congress opening ceremony, H.E. Parviz Shabanov, Minister of Energy for COP29’s host nation Azerbaijan, highlighted the efforts being made to support the global energy transition: “Azerbaijan today demonstrates its determination to move toward renewables and contribute to the secure energy transition, not only of this region, but worldwide. Our national energy policy aims to maximise green growth, and more than 2 billion dollars of investment is expected to increase the share of expected capacity to 33% by 2027. Important progress is also on the way to create energy corridors for export.”

As recent estimates reveal, limiting global warming to 1.5°C will require achieving net zero emissions in the energy sector by 2050. In this context, the GET Congress has emerged as a vital platform for leading actors across key sectors, including government, finance, energy and industry, to come together and align on the innovative projects and forward-focused policies that will deliver significant emissions reductions and a stable, secure, and affordable energy transformation.

Reflecting the urgent need for such high-level collaboration and leadership, the first day of the GET Congress saw the start of the Changemakers Programme, which featured direct insights from the stakeholders and decisionmakers driving the energy transition forward. Speakers included H.E. Musadik Malik, Minister of Energy, Pakistan; Sanjiv Lamba, CEO of Linde; and Lorenzo Simonelli, President and CEO of Baker Hughes.

Participating in the session “Geopolitics, energy security and new challenges to net zero”, James Apputhurai, Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Innovation, Hybrid and Cyber at NATO, explored the strategies and solutions needed to overcome historic barriers to wide scale decarbonisation.

Earlier on Monday, Christopher Hudson, President - dmg events, officially welcomed attendees to the inaugural GET Congress & Exhibition. The opening remarks set the stage for impactful discussions over the next three days from 300+ ministers and CEOs speaking across 70+ conference sessions.

Consistent with global scope and ambitions of the GET Congress – which has welcomed over 200 participating companies from more than 120 countries – the opening day also emphasised the need for collective and inclusive efforts on key climate priorities, including the expansion of decarbonisation-focused investments.

With contributions from the world’s leading voices on energy, policy, technology and finance, the GET Congress is establishing itself as an unrivalled forum for accelerating the groundbreaking innovations and projects that will transform the global path to net zero. With three distinct conferences - the Strategic Conference, Project X-Change, and Roadmaps to Net Zero – and a sprawling exhibition floor, the inaugural event will continue to shape the future of decarbonisation over the next two days.

• Join the conversation at GET Congress and Exhibition in Milan from July 1- 3. Click here to register as a delegate.