Sixteenth Session of the IRENA Assembly
16th Assembly: 10-12 January 2026 (Abu Dhabi, UAE)
Theme of the 16th Assembly - Powering Humanity: Renewable Energy for Shared Prosperity
The sixteenth session of the Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and related meetings will take place from 10 to 12 January 2026 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The Assembly session will focus on the theme of "Powering Humanity: Renewable Energy for Shared Prosperity." The Assembly session will gather global leaders and energy decision-makers to discuss strategies and underline necessary actions for the acceleration of renewable energy across countries, regions, and the world, driving economic inclusion, equity, and human wellbeing.
As the Custodian Agency for monitoring key energy goals of the UAE Consensus, IRENA will display data and projections on from the second edition of the Delivering on the UAE Consensus: Tracking progress toward tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency by 2030.
Given the urgent need for political momentum and international cooperation, several Ministerial and High-level sessions will be convened, including during the Pre-Assembly Day on 10 January 2026, to facilitate interaction among decision-makers and inform the future work of the Agency.
These sessions will address emerging global trends and pressing issues, such as harnessing the potential of renewable energy in agri-food systems, advancing geothermal energy, ensuring energy security and a cost-effective energy transition, and policy measures relating to critical materials, amongst others.
The Legislators Forum, Public-Private Dialogue, and Youth Forum will continue to provide opportunities for further insights and discussions among actors vital to our collective ambition for a just and inclusive renewable energy landscape.
The IRENA Assembly kicks off the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), which takes place 11-15 January 2026. Find out more about ADSW 2026.
Programme
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Room A1 ST REGIS. HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI |
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| 09:00 – 10:30 |
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Pathways for a Renewable Future across Latin America and Caribbean subregions: Regional Energy Transition Outlook for South America This session will present key findings from IRENA's Regional Energy Transition Outlook for South America, exploring strategic opportunities to strengthen cooperation across Latin America and the Caribbean in renewable electricity, green hydrogen, biofuels, and critical materials. Participants aim to identify priority areas for collaboration on grid integration and clean energy value chains. The session will also discuss a proposed Energy Transition Network designed to facilitate focused exchanges and practical implementation pathways tailored to country-specific challenges. |
| 10:45 – 12:30 |
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REPowering for Tripling: Advancing Wind Energy This roundtable brings together policymakers and industry leaders to explore how repowering ageing wind farms can accelerate expansion toward the 2030 tripling target. With 179 GW of onshore capacity reaching end-of-life across 89 countries, discussions will focus on upgrading legacy fleets with modern turbines, streamlining permitting and grid access, and establishing regulatory stability that attracts long-term investment. Participants will share national approaches and financing models that can scale repowering globally. |
| 12:45 – 14:00 |
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Enabling Synergies between Solar PV projects and the Local Environment Solar PV projects interact with surrounding environments in ways that can create both challenges and co-benefits for nature and biodiversity. This session convenes policymakers, industry stakeholders, and conservation organisations to examine these interactions, sharing findings from IRENA's latest report developed with IUCN and China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute (CREEI). Participants will exchange policy experiences and best practices on overcoming barriers to sustainable practices while maximising environmental benefits from large-scale solar deployment. |
| 13:00 – 14:30 |
| LUNCH |
| 14:30 – 16:00 |
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SIDS Ministerial Scaling Investment Pathways, Regional Approaches and Partnerships for the Energy Transition |
| 16:30 – 18:00 |
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High-Level Public-Private Dialogue Key Enablers for the Energy Transition: Grid and Storage |
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Room A2 ST REGIS. HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI |
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| 09:30 – 11:30 |
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2026 IRENA Legislators and Regulators Forum Rethinking the Framework: Powering the Renewable Energy Transition |
| 11:45 – 13:00 |
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High-level Consultation Towards the Review of SDG7 at the HLPF 2026: Tripling Renewables in Support of the Agenda 2030 and Beyond This high-level consultation brings together government, private sector, and civil society leaders to discuss achievements and challenges in increasing the global share of renewables, preparing for the review of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) at the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) 2026. Participants will identify bottlenecks and actions to accelerate deployment, mobilising stakeholders for a final push toward achieving SDG7 by 2030. Insights will directly inform the official review process. |
| 13:00 – 14:30 |
| LUNCH |
| 14:30 – 16:00 |
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Call to Action on Skilling for the Energy Transition This session showcases contributions to IRENA's global Call to Action on Skilling for the Energy Transition, an initiative driving international cooperation on education and training for a sustainable energy future. Governments, industry, education providers, and civil society will share measures and commitments to accelerate workforce development, promoting collaborative efforts to replicate and scale promising initiatives while encouraging additional stakeholders to join this collective effort. |
| 16:30 – 18:00 |
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IRENA Youth Forum Youth Innovation and Digital Solutions: From AI to Access in Renewable Energy |
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Room B1 ST REGIS. HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI |
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| 09:00 – 10:30 |
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From Planning to Power: Energy Communities for Energy Transitions This session showcases IRENA's SEAPS programme piloted in Senegal alongside analytical work on battery storage and mini-grid electrification in West Africa, exploring community-centred approaches to universal energy access. Governments, development partners, and financial institutions will exchange strategies for designing national masterplans that support decentralised, community-owned energy models while identifying critical success factors in policy, finance, and capacity building. |
| 10:45 – 12:30 |
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Global Coalition for Energy Planning (GCEP) From Planning to Investment: High-Level Policymakers and Finance Leaders Roundtable |
| 12:30 – 14:00 |
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Africa's Regional Energy Transition Outlook: Preliminary Insights and Regional Pathways This session presents early findings from the five Regional Energy Transition Outlooks that IRENA is developing for Africa, offering quantitative 2050 scenarios that support the African Union's Agenda 2063 through opportunities for renewable-based growth, regional power trade, and clean industrialisation. Participants will discuss how these preliminary results can advance national energy planning across the continent while providing crucial feedback to shape final analyses and policy recommendations before publication in mid-2026. |
| 13:00 – 14:30 |
| LUNCH |
| 14:30 – 16:00 |
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Innovation Landscape for Sustainable Development Powered by Renewables This session marks the launch of IRENA's Innovation Landscape for Sustainable Development Powered by Renewables report. Policymakers and innovators will convene to explore how renewable solutions can unlock broader sustainable development goals beyond the energy transition. Drawing on member country experiences, participants will examine an innovation toolbox designed to tailor solutions to local contexts, strengthen power system resilience, and expand decentralised productive uses of renewable energy while identifying strategic priorities for accelerating progress. |
| 16:30 – 18:00 |
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Mobilising Finance for Clean Cooking With 2.1 billion people lacking access to clean cooking globally, this session addresses the urgent need to scale financial support to achieve universal access by 2030. Presenting findings from IRENA's upcoming report, Tracking Financial Support across 100 Clean Cooking Access-Deficit Countries, participants will discuss how domestic and international, public and private financial actors can collectively expand the funding base while sharing country experiences on mobilising investment. |
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Plenary Hall ST REGIS HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI |
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| Family Photo |
| 10:00 – 10:30 |
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Assembly Official Opening Opening and Welcoming Statements Organisational Arrangements |
| 10:30 – 12:00 |
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High-Level Dialogue on Reimagining Energy Futures: Bold Visions for Shared Prosperity Setting the stage for the Assembly’s discussions, this high-level dialogue invites decision-makers and leading thinkers to articulate bold visions for the energy future. Participants will reflect on challenges of traditional approaches and explore how the energy transition can fully realise its potential as a catalyst for inclusive development, structural transformation, and long-term resilience. The session aims to build a shared agenda and international cooperation priorities for the years ahead. |
| 12:00 – 13:00 |
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Annual Report of the Director-General on the implementation of the Work Programme and Budget for 2024–2025 Medium-term Strategy 2023-2027 - Mid-term evaluation Proposed Work Programme and Budget for 2026-2027 |
| 13:00 – 14:30 |
| LUNCH |
| 14:30 – 18:00 |
| General Member Statements and Interventions |
| Room A1 ST REGIS. HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI |
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| 13:00 – 14:30 |
| LUNCH |
| 13:00 – 14:30 |
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High-Level Dialogue on Accelerating Electrification: Pathways for Renewables, Grids, and Industry Convened by UNEZA and AFID, this high-level dialogue brings together policymakers, utilities, industrial companies, technology providers, and international partners to address electrification challenges across policy frameworks, financing, and system flexibility. Participants will build consensus on policy priorities, explore incentive mechanisms, identify regulatory barriers, and define infrastructure needs, establishing a common vision for an equitable transition that ensures no region is left behind. |
| 14:45 – 16:15 |
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Ministerial Roundtable Geothermal Heat and Power: Building a Resilient Energy Backbone Convened by IRENA through the Global Geothermal Alliance, this ministerial roundtable aims to build a shared vision for accelerating geothermal power and heat solutions aligned with energy security, climate, and socio-economic goals. Governments and industry leaders will explore pathways to de-risk investment, accelerate innovation, and establish robust market structures, positioning geothermal as a cornerstone of a decarbonised, resilient, and diversified global energy mix. |
| 16:30 – 18:00 |
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Ministerial Roundtable on Green Industrialization Ministers will convene to explore how member countries can accelerate energy transitions through green industrialisation partnerships. Discussions will focus on leveraging critical mineral reserves and renewable-powered manufacturing to build green industrial value chains, while identifying practical approaches for mobilising public and private investment through blended finance mechanisms. The session will also highlight platforms that support project facilitation and development of bankable green industrial projects. |
| Room A2 ST REGIS. HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI |
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| 13:00 – 14:30 |
| LUNCH |
| 13:00 – 14:30 |
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Renewable energy auctions for risk mitigation and allocation In collaboration with the Sustainable Renewables Risk Mitigation Initiative (SRMI), this interactive session convenes governments, development partners, and industry to explore how renewable energy auctions can balance investor confidence, consumer affordability, and development objectives. Presenting findings from IRENA’s latest report on strategic risk mitigation, participants will examine country experiences and practical approaches to risk allocation, offering actionable lessons for facilitating investment in emerging markets. |
| Room B1 ST REGIS. HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI |
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| 13:00 – 14:30 |
| LUNCH |
| 13:00 – 14:30 |
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Energy Transition Across the Mediterranean This roundtable convenes policymakers, financiers, and system operators to address how capital flows can support infrastructure readiness across the Mediterranean. Discussions will focus on financing cross-border interconnection and grid modernisation, with regional integration positioned as a key driver for energy security and decarbonisation. Participants will also explore cooperation frameworks that align infrastructure investments with local economic development while ensuring timely delivery of flexibility assets. |
| Plenary Hall ST REGIS. HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI |
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| 10:00 – 11:30 |
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Ministerial Dialogue on the Role of AI in Accelerating the Energy Transition Examining how artificial intelligence and digitalisation can accelerate the energy transition while safeguarding affordability and security, this ministerial panel brings together high-level representatives to share national experiences on integrating digital solutions into long-term energy planning. The session also aims to engage private sector leaders to co-design strategies ensuring data centres’ rising power demands are met sustainably, while identifying policy priorities and investment pathways for coordinated grid modernisation. |
| 11:30 – 13:00 |
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Interministerial Dialogue on Scaling Renewable Energy in Agri-Food Systems Co-hosted by IRENA and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), this interministerial dialogue explores the critical links between renewable energy and agrifood systems. Ministers will examine how renewables can advance productivity, resilience, and decarbonisation across the agricultural sector while catalysing political momentum to integrate clean energy into national strategies. Building on IRENA’s Empowering Lives and Livelihoods initiative and FAO’s Energy-Smart Agrifood Systems Programme, discussions will identify priorities for policy reform, partnerships and investment. |
| 13:00 – 14:30 |
| LUNCH |
| 14:30 – 16:00 |
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High-level Panel on Sustainable Aviation Fuels This roundtable marks the global launch of FinInvest@ETAF, the first multilateral platform designed to bridge demand and supply for Sustainable Aviation Fuels to accelerate aviation decarbonisation. Ministers, airline CEOs, financiers, and aircraft manufacturers will convene to create credible offtake signals, link them to financeable SAF projects, and expand aviation finance access for the Global South. |
| 16:00 – 17:00 |
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Administrative and Institutional Matters and other mandates |
| 17:30 – 18:00 |
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Closing of 16th Assembly |
| Room B1 ST REGIS. HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI |
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| 13:00 – 14:30 |
| LUNCH |
| 13:00 – 14:30 |
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The Global Geothermal Alliance (GGA) Annual Meeting Bringing together member governments and partner institutions, the Global Geothermal Alliance Annual Meeting will review progress and lessons from GGA activities while providing a platform to share national experiences and priorities. Participants will guide future workstreams to enhance geothermal deployment across key areas including direct-use applications, policy and regulatory frameworks, finance, partnerships, and knowledge exchange. |