#RioPlus20: Interview with blueEnergy Director Mathias Craig for an Insider Look on Rio+20

As the Rio+20 Conference begins to wrap up it’s second day of meetings and sessions on sustainable development and poverty eradication, we wanted to get the inside scoop on the attendee experience of Rio+20.

Conference Hound interviews Mathias Craig, Executive Director and Co-founder of blueEnergy to get his take on the conference.

What brought you to Rio+20? 

I’m attending Rio + 20 to represent WindEmpowerment as part of Siemens’ “Technology in Action” initiative. WindEmpowerment is an association for the development of locally built small wind turbines for sustainable rural electrification. WindEmpowerment was co-founded in 2011 by blueEnergy,  a nonprofit organization that works for a more equitable, sustainable world by expanding access to basic services for the most isolated poor living along the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua.

Why is attending Rio +20 important? 

Rio+20 provided a unique opportunity to present WindEmpowerment and blueEnergy’s work to a diverse set of stakeholders from the private sector, government, social sector and the general public. My specific aim was to build support for the young WindEmpowerment association to expand our operating capacity to scale our impact.

What was the most important event for you? 

One very important event for us was the Sustainable Energy for All initiative of the UN and the UN Foundation. I was present for the launch of the new important report “Towards Achieving Universal Energy Access by 2030″, which shows small-scale wind power on it’s cover page.

What do you think of the location? 

Rio de Janeiro is an amazingly dynamic city and a good host. However, the gathering was very large and in multiple locations spread over considerable distance, which made it a bit overwhelming at times to coordinate. Significant time was spent in transit each day (3-4 hours average in my case).