Thirteenth Session of the IRENA Assembly

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

The 13th session of the IRENA Assembly took place in-person from 14 to 15 January 2023 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, with related ministerial and stakeholder meetings held on 13 January 2023. The sessions were live-streamed on the IRENA Assembly event webpage. The Assembly was held under the overarching theme ‘World Energy Transition – The Global Stocktake’.

The IRENA Assembly brought together Heads of State/Government, Ministers and energy decision-makers among its Membership and States-in-Accession, as well as multilateral organisations, global stakeholders and private actors to take stock of operational plans and policies and highlight the concerted action undertaken to implement the energy transition across countries, regions, and the world.

The upcoming Assembly session convened several Ministerial and High-level sessions to facilitate interaction between decision-makers on pressing issues related to the energy transition in the coming decade and beyond, and inform the future work of the Agency.

A number of Stakeholder Engagement events were also organised at the margins of the 13th IRENA Assembly to bring specific perspectives on the energy transition from parliamentarians, youth and the private sector.

For more information, kindly refer to the 13th Assembly Executive Overview and 13th Assembly Schedule. The Bus schedule is available here. 

Programme and Live Stream

Room A1
ST REGIS. HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI
10:30 – 12:30


African Continental Power Systems Master Plan (CMP) - Establishing continent wide planning process
Building on ongoing efforts of the African Union Development Agency (AUDANEPAD) to establish the CMP, a long-term continent-wide planning process for power generation and transmission, this meeting aimed to explore the current and future link of the CMP initiative with national planning processes and highlight the importance of building robust and nationally owned processes for designing long-term energy scenarios as means to meet national and pan-African energy milestones.
12:30 – 14:30
LUNCH
14:00 – 16:00


SIDS Ministerial – Climate Pledges to Action: Amplifying Energy Transition for Sustainable Development in SIDS
This Ministerial meeting aimed to provide a status update on the SIDS Lighthouses Initiative towards the achievement of the S.A.M.O.A Pathway, Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals. It also provided an opportunity for Small Island Developing States to share insights in the lead up to COP28.
16:00 – 18.00


Public-Private Dialogue: Just and Inclusive Energy Transitions – Social Dialogue, Skills, and Decent Jobs for All
This edition of the Public-Private Dialogue convened governments, private and non-profit sectors, labour and youth representatives to share their perspectives, showcase best practices and lessons learned and discussed what a just energy transition meant in practice. Preliminary findings from a Just Transition Brief were presented. The event provided opportunities to identify further cooperation and outline key challenges and concrete actions to address them.
18:30 – 20:00


Solar Photovoltaic (PV): A Gender Perspective
This event featured an interactive high-level dialogue on how gender aspects were being integrated across the solar PV and overall renewable energy sector and what best practices could be replicated to ensure an energy transformation that was rapid, inclusive and leaves no one behind. The special evening event closed with a cocktail reception to further continue discussions and networking.
Room A2
ST REGIS. HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI
10:00 – 12:30


IRENA Legislators Forum
With a view to ensuring a more sustainable energy transition through international cooperation, and learning from various national green hydrogen strategies, this edition of the IRENA Legislators Forum served as a platform for discussions on new opportunities that could arise from potential partnerships in setting up local value chains, stimulating the decarbonisation of industries, creating new jobs and ensuring greater social equity.
12:30 – 14:30
LUNCH
12:30 – 13:30
Renewable Energy Roadmaps for Latin America: Perspectives and way forward
This event convened representatives from countries of the Latin American region and aimed to present the REmap study’s objectives, scope and expected outcomes, as well as to delve into the overall insights and lessons learned from the development of the Central America and South America reports.
13:30 – 15.30


IRENA Youth Forum: The New Generation of Decision Makers – Empowering Youth to Lead an Equitable Energy Transition for a Sustainable Future
The fourth edition of the IRENA Youth Forum brought together young people from different countries and backgrounds to discuss the theme “Empowering Youth to Lead an Equitable Energy Transition for a Sustainable Future”, particularly in the context of youth involvement in energy policy, financing mechanisms to support the emergence of youth-led solutions, and capacity building opportunities for youth.
16:00 – 18:00


High-Level meeting on the Energy Compact on Renewable Energy for the United Nations Peacekeeping
This High-Level meeting provided a platform for a strategic discussion on the alignment of climate and development objectives related to the greening of peacekeeping operations and the development priorities of host communities. The meeting also outlined key opportunities for partners to join and promote the realisation of the Energy Compact.
Room B1
ST REGIS. HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI
9:00 – 10:30


Decentralised Renewable Energy Solutions for Remote and Isolated Communities
This meeting facilitated dialogue on transitioning remote, isolated and indigenous communities to clean and reliable sources of energy by increasing the adoption of renewables as an alternative to fossil fuels. Discussions also addressed investment needs and delivery models for decentralised renewable energy deployment across these communities.
11:00 – 12:30
Catalyzing Local Finance for Renewable Energy Projects
This meeting gathered local financing stakeholders for a discussion that highlighted their role in mobilising investment in renewable energy projects on the ground. The meeting also explored avenues on how local banks could complement, supplement and partner with international funders, such as multilateral and bilateral financial institutions, for the purpose of advancing the clean energy transition in their respective countries.
12:30 – 14:30
LUNCH
12:30 – 14:00


Réunion de Concertation Francophone
This event was convened in coordination with the Institut de la Francophonie pour le Développement Durable (IFDD) for IRENA Members that form part of the French-speaking Francophonie to exchange views on solutions for increasing jobs in the field of renewable energy within these countries, with a focus on the employability of young people and women.
14:00 – 16.00


End-of-life Management of Solar PV and the Circular Economy
This meeting previewed findings from IRENA’s recent work on the projection of global solar PV waste in the 1.5oC Scenario and provided a platform for policymakers and stakeholders to discuss the current status, major barriers and best practices on circular economy approaches for end-of-life management of solar PV.
16:00 – 18:00


National frameworks for scenario development towards net-zero target-setting
This meeting gathered specialists from diverse sectors to discuss frameworks for developing and using long-term energy scenarios (LTES) targeting net-zero emissions to achieve climate goals, create long-term development strategies and their uses and impacts on critical sectors, such as the financial sector.
Plenary Hall
ST REGIS. HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI
Family Photo
10:00 – 10:30
Assembly Official Opening and welcoming statements
The Official Opening of the 13th session of the IRENA Assembly took place on 14 January 2023 at 10:00 am, with high-level statements including by the Presidency of the Assembly, the Host Country and the IRENA Director-General, amongst others.
10:30 – 13:00


High-level Plenary session on World Energy Transition – The Global Stocktake
The first UNFCCC Global Stocktake concluded at COP28 in Dubai. It considered the world’s collective progress in the implementation of the Paris Agreement and its long-term goals. Energy transitions are a central part of this effort, and IRENA’s World Energy Transitions Outlook sets out a pathway aligned with a 1.5°C future that can help guide the Global Stocktake. Among other things, IRENA is providing the best available science to inform the process as well as a venue for dialogue and a framework for action.
The High-level Plenary session set the scene for the Assembly’s deliberations and considered the role of energy transitions in the context of the Global Stocktake. In preparation for COP28, it reflected on the key priorities of the energy transition, in diverse geographical and sectoral settings.

13:00 – 14:30
LUNCH
13:15 – 14:00


Press Conference
Ballroom Foyer
13:15 – 14:00


Global Offshore Wind Alliance: Offshore Wind as a Key Solution to the Climate and Energy Security Crises
The Global Offshore Wind Alliance (GOWA) was launched at COP27 in Egypt with the ambition to create a global driving force for the uptake of offshore wind. This event presented the mission of GOWA and its value proposition to IRENA Members, bringing together the co-chairs and existing members of GOWA as well as public and private sector actors across the offshore wind value chain.
14:30 – 16.00


Annual Report of the Director-General for 2022-2023
Draft Medium-Term Strategy 2023-2027
Member interventions
16:00 – 18:00
General Member Statements
Delegations shared their national experiences/statements on priority actions and challenges related to the deployment of renewable energy and exchanged views on issues related to the energy transition in the coming decade and beyond.
18:30 – 20:30
Assembly Dinner Reception
Ballroom Terrace
Room A
ST REGIS. HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI
13:00 – 14:30
LUNCH
13:00 – 14:30


Advancing renewables-based clean cooking solutions
This event discussed actions needed to step up progress on the adoption of renewables-based clean cooking solutions – a pre-requisite for achieving both sustainable development and climate goals. It showcased IRENA’s ongoing activities on the topic and invited Members and experts to share experiences and lessons learnt on creating enabling frameworks for renewables-based clean cooking solutions, with a focus on the policy, financing, local value chain and enterprise development aspects of scaling clean cooking solutions.
16:15 – 18:15


Ministerial Roundtable on Decarbonising Shipping: The role of ports in addressing supply, demand and trade of renewable-based fuels
This Ministerial Roundtable aimed at sharing experiences around the strategies to address the decarbonisation of the shipping sector by facilitating a high-level dialogue between Ministers and Senior Executives from the renewables and shipping industries and port authorities.
18:30 – 20:30
Ministerial Dinner: Energizing Healthcare with Renewables
Olea Restaurant

Room B1
ST REGIS. HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI
13:00 – 14:30
LUNCH
13:00 – 14:30
Power system RE-structuring for the transition and to avoid the next power price crisis
This event gathered policymakers and experts to discuss new power system structures that addressed misalignments and were fit for the energy transition. It showcased the dual procurement approach proposed in the IRENA study “RE-organising Power Systems for the Transition”, gathering feedback on its suitability for supporting the energy transition as well as a potential roadmap for its implementation.
Plenary Hall
ST REGIS. HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI
10:00 – 11:30
Ministerial Dialogue on Regional Energy Transition Outlooks: Southeast Asia Energy Transitions
This Ministerial Dialogue provided a platform for a high-level discussion on scaling up renewable energy uptake in Southeast Asia, with a view to supporting the region’s ambitions to achieve sustainable growth and prosperity.
11:30 – 13:00


Ministerial Dialogue on Critical materials for the Renewables-Centred Energy Transition: How to jointly harness opportunities
This Ministerial Dialogue focused on experiences on de-risking supply, including materials innovation and recycling, and making the supply chain more environmentally and socially sustainable. The discussion contributed to the work of the Collaborative Framework on Critical Materials for the Energy Transition, amongst others.
13:00 – 14:30
LUNCH
14:30 – 16:00


Ministerial Dialogue on Energy Transition Accelerator Financing (ETAF) Platform
This Ministerial Dialogue focused on the ETAF Platform, partners and its innovative business model aimed to increase investments in renewable energy to meet the developing world’s energy transition ambitions and potential, while meeting Sustainable Development and Climate Goals. This session also facilitated discussions on reducing barriers to greater investment growth in energy transition assets by taking steps to reduce project risk and raise capital.
16:00 – 17.30
Administrative and Institutional Matters and other mandates
17.30 – 18:00
AoB-Closing
Room A1
ST REGIS. HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI
13:00 – 14:30
LUNCH
13:00 – 14:30


SDG7 at Mid-Point: Delivering on the Global Roadmap for Accelerated SDG7 Action
This event served to take stock of the progress on the Energy Compacts, one of the key outcomes of the UN Secretary-General’s 2021 High-level Dialogue on Energy, and considered collective actions required towards 2030, as Member States prepared for the review of SDG7 at the UN High-level Political Forum 2023, the SDG Summit 2023, and the global stocktaking of SDG7 to be held in 2024.
18:30 – 20:30
Women in Diplomacy Event: Empowering Lives and Livelihoods – Renewables for Adaptation
Attendees to this High-level event received an invitation to the launch of the ‘Empowering Lives and Livelihoods – Renewables for Adaptation’ initiative, which aimed to connect people and livelihoods through renewable energy solutions in agri-food and health sectors.
Room A2
ST REGIS. HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI
13:00 – 14:30
LUNCH
13:00 – 14:30
Global Geothermal Alliance Annual Meeting
This meeting presented a platform for IRENA to engage with the members and partners of the Global Geothermal Alliance (GGA) on the Agency’s geothermal related activities.
Room B1
ST REGIS. HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI
13:00 – 14:30
LUNCH
13:00 – 14:30
Scaling-Up Renewable Energy in Mano River Union Region
This event showcased IRENA’s ongoing activities in the Mano River Union (MRU) region, encompassing Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, and as part of its broader regional engagement in West Africa and the continent at large. Preliminary findings from the regional market analysis report were presented and Members, development partners and financing institutions were invited to provide feedback and share perspectives on recent developments in the renewable energy landscape of the region.