10 November 2017 - Paris will host the next World Hydropower Congress between 14 and 16 May 2019, the International Hydropower Association announced today.

The biennial event sets priorities for the future direction of the hydropower sector. It brings together leaders from business, industry, government, finance, UN agencies, academia and civil society organisations.    

The seventh World Hydropower Congress is to be hosted in partnership with UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme.

With the theme of ‘The Power of Water for a Sustainable World’, the Congress will focus on hydropower’s role in delivering on the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Richard Taylor, Chief Executive of the International Hydropower Association, made the World Hydropower Congress announcement at the United Nations COP23 climate conference in Bonn, Germany.

“Two years ago, world leaders in Paris made the historic commitment to limit global warming. We expect the hydropower community to bring the same resolve to realising the ambition of the Paris Agreement and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals,” he said.

Mr Taylor was speaking at a special event on the water-energy nexus, hosted by the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat and Itaipu Binacional on 10 November.

Building on the 2017 World Hydropower Congress, which was hosted at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, up to 100 countries are expected to be represented at the Congress in 2019.

Notes to Editors:

Installed hydropower capacity worldwide has surpassed 1,250 GW, equivalent to supplying more than a billion people with clean energy. Hydropower makes up over two-thirds of all renewable electricity produced today.

The International Hydropower Association was created in 1995 under the auspices of UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme, whose headquarters are in Paris.

IHA is a founding member of the International Renewable Energy Alliance (REN Alliance) along with partners from the bioenergy, geothermal, solar and wind industries.