Mr. Voigt, since its launch in 2019, the Greentech Festival has
been staged in your hometown, Berlin. Now you’re branching out into the
wider world. Are you nervous?
Marco Voigt: I’d call it wired –
but in a good way. That said, this was the plan right from the outset.
After all, climate change is a global phenomenon and everyone around the
world faces the same challenges in adopting more sustainable
lifestyles. We can achieve a lot in Germany but not everything. Exciting
ideas are emerging and things are happening in so many different
places.
For instance, in London where the festival’s first offshoot is now taking place. Why there?
There
are many reasons. To name just one that perhaps not everyone is aware
of, the UK is a leader in renewable energy. What’s more, we see our
festival as an event that, admittedly on a small scale, ties in with the
UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), which gets underway in Glasgow at
the same time. In fact, we’ve always also had our sights set on North
America and Asia – and that hasn’t changed. However, the ongoing
pandemic has made any plans for staging the event on another continent
virtually impossible.
COVID-19
is also one of the reasons why the scale of the London GTF won’t be
commensurate with the recent Berlin event. Instead, the focus is on
networking and exchanging ideas at an institutional level. Can you still
call that a festival?
As is the case in Berlin, the
conference is the heart of the event and we have succeeded in putting
together a roster of top-class speakers. While energy and finance are
the topics in the spotlight in London, there will also be another award
ceremony and, of course, an ancillary programme. Despite being a bit
smaller than Berlin, Greentech in London will still be an experience.