Fifteenth Session of the IRENA Assembly
15th Assembly: 11-13 January 2025 (Abu Dhabi, UAE)
Theme of the 15th Assembly: Accelerating the Renewable Energy Transition - The Way Forward (Energy security, Socio-economic development and Financing options)
See the coverage of the Pre-Assembly Day LIVE here
See the coverage of the 15th Assembly LIVE here
The fifteenth session of the Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and related meetings will take place from 11 to 13 January 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The Assembly session will focus on the theme of “Accelerating the Renewable Energy Transition – The Way Forward” (Energy security, Socio-economic development and Financing options). Marking the 5th World Energy Transition Day, the Assembly session will gather global leaders and energy decision-makers to evaluate progress and outline actions to accelerate the global renewable energy transition, aligned with the UAE Consensus, the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, and the Paris Agreement.
As the Custodian Agency for monitoring key energy goals of the UAE Consensus, IRENA will display data and projections on 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 11 January 2025, 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 achieving the tripling renewables goal by 2030 through international cooperation, raising ambitions for the upcoming Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC 3.0), charting energy transition pathways in emerging economies, ensuring financial flows for an inclusive transition, and leveraging innovative investment tools.
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 12-18 January 2025. Find out more about ADSW 2025.
15th Assembly Schedule
15th Assembly Bus Schedule
Programme
| Room A1 ST REGIS. HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI |
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| 9:00 – 10:30 |
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SDG7 on Sustainable Energy: The Road Ahead This side event will foster dialogue on accelerating SDG7 implementation and aligning energy policy with broader sustainability and climate goals. Participants will examine commitments in the Pact of the Future and anticipate the third SDG7 review at High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) 2026, shaping global efforts towards a just energy transition. It will mobilise stakeholders to advance SDG7 and inform more robust post-2030 sustainable development planning. |
| 11:00 – 12:30 |
| Key Enablers For The Energy Transition: Grid and Storage
This event will explore the pivotal role of grid expansion, modernisation, and energy storage in achieving the UAE Consensus goals, including tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency by 2030. Through expert public-private dialogue, it will highlight challenges, identify opportunities, and foster innovative solutions to enhance energy system efficiency, reliability, and resilience. The event will aim to drive actionable outcomes that accelerate the energy transition and support the achievement of global climate and energy goals. |
| 12:30 – 14:30 |
| LUNCH |
| 12:30 – 14:00 |
| Energy Transitions across the Mediterranean: Enabling Infrastructure for a Sustainable Future This event convenes Mediterranean stakeholders to identify enabling conditions, foster collaboration, and promote a shared vision for renewable energy infrastructure. Participants, including governments, industry, financiers, and civil society, will discuss transformative policies, market reforms, and investment strategies. By addressing policy barriers, enhancing energy security, and unlocking large-scale renewable deployment, the session aims to accelerate the region’s transition towards an integrated, sustainable energy system in the Mediterranean. |
| 14:30 – 16:00 |
| Global Coalition for Energy Planning: Shaping the Agenda for Action This event discusses priorities for Global Coalition for Energy Planning (GCEP)’s Agenda for Action, fostering collaboration, capacity building, and best-practice exchange in national energy planning. Participants will explore critical priorities, leverage existing knowledge networks, connect finance and planning communities, and align approaches to strengthen energy planning. |
| 16:30 – 18:00 |
| Public-Private Dialogue Building community support for the energy transition This dialogue focuses on strengthening community engagement to build trust and support for a just, inclusive energy transition. It will highlight effective approaches, guiding principles, and best practices to address challenges, enhance cross-sector collaboration, and align national efforts with community interests. Participants will explore holistic solutions, share lessons learnt, and forge partnerships for sustainable, community-driven energy development. |
| 18:30 – 20:30 |
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Women in Diplomacy (by invitation) |
| Room A2 ST REGIS. HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI |
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| 9:30 – 12:30 |
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Legislators Forum Legislative Pathways for the UAE Consensus: Tripling Renewables and Doubling Efficiency This 2025 IRENA Legislators Forum provides a platform to explore legislative pathways aligned with the UAE Consensus targets to triple renewables and double efficiency by 2030. Participants will gain insights into integrating these goals into their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), addressing financial barriers, and fostering regional cooperation. Through discussions, knowledge-sharing networks, and guidance on finance and policy, legislators aim on advancing collective action, contribute to global energy strategies, and catalyse transformative progress towards a sustainable energy future. |
| 12:30 – 14:30 |
| LUNCH |
| 14:30 – 16:00 |
| Environmental Impacts and Benefits of Renewables This session examines the local environmental impacts and benefits of renewable energy projects, exploring solutions and policies to address challenges and maximise benefits. Policymakers, experts, and industry stakeholders will share experiences, best practices, and lessons from diverse contexts. Discussions will highlight how to assess and minimise negative impacts and identify measures to overcome barriers to increase the adoption of renewables. |
| 16:30 – 18:00 |
| Youth Forum Youth for Accelerating a Renewables-powered Energy Transition This 2025 IRENA Youth Forum empowers young leaders to shape a just, renewables-driven energy future. By amplifying youth voices in policy, strengthening their capacity to implement projects aligned with global goals, and exploring innovative financing mechanisms, the Forum fosters inclusive collaboration. Participants will gain tools, forge partnerships, and contribute to transformative action, ensuring youth-driven innovation, action, and impact that accelerates the global energy transition for all, ultimately delivering long-term resilience. |
| 18:30 – 20:30 |
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Women in Diplomacy (by invitation) |
| Room B1 ST REGIS. HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI |
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| 9:00 – 10:30 |
| High Level Dialogue Accelerated Partnership for Renewable Energy in Central Asia (APRECA) This High-Level Dialogue on APRECA aims to accelerate renewable energy partnerships in Central Asia. It will explore scaling up renewables, fostering regional and international cooperation, and strengthening infrastructure aligned with climate goals. Discussions will highlight policy frameworks, investments, and private sector engagement for green industrialisation. By leveraging finance, APRECA aims to unlock the region’s potential to the global energy transition and promote regional economic development. |
| 11:00 – 12:30 |
| Meeting SDG7 and climate ambitions through renewables-based clean cooking This event highlights successful integration of renewables-based clean cooking into climate strategies, including Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs0 and national targets. It explores cross-sectoral collaboration to achieve SDG7 and climate goals, while examining finance options to support developing countries. |
| 12:30 – 14:30 |
| LUNCH |
| 12:30 – 14:00 |
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Innovative Renewables Risk Mitigation Instruments This event examines traditional financing and risk mitigation tools and their limitations in macro-economically challenging contexts. It highlights successful blended and results-based financing models that improved returns and catalysed renewable energy projects. Discussions will explore policies and frameworks to reduce risk perceptions, incentivise investment, and enhance international cooperation. Dialogue will focus on bridging financing gaps for sustainable energy development. |
| 14:30 – 16:00 |
| Empowering Lives and Livelihoods with Renewables This session spotlights financing solutions for renewable energy in healthcare, focusing on underserved areas. It will highlight best practices and de-risking strategies, encourage collaboration among governments, the private sector, and international partners. It will also highlight policy frameworks to bolster climate resilience, scaling investments and improving cross-ministerial coordination. Discussions aim to empower communities through reliable, sustainable energy for improved health outcomes. |
| 16:30 – 18:00 |
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Enablers for scaling up trade in green commodities This event explores strategies and enabling measures to scale up trade in green hydrogen and hydrogen-derived commodities that are essential for decarbonising heavy industry and transport. Building on insights from IRENA and the WTO’s joint publication Enabling global trade in renewable hydrogen and derivative commodities launched at COP29, discussions will highlight best practices, regulatory frameworks, and international cooperation to foster global markets for green commodities. |
| 18:30 – 20:30 |
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Women in Diplomacy (by invitation) |
| Plenary Hall ST REGIS. HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI |
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| Family Photo |
| 10:00 – 10:30 |
| Assembly Official Opening Opening and welcoming statements Organisational arrangements |
| 10:30 – 13:00 |
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High-level Panel Accelerating the Energy Transition – The Way Forward This high-level panel engages IRENA Members and global stakeholders in discussions on accelerating the energy transition and ensuring prosperity and energy security. It will consider macroeconomic planning, private finance, and international cooperation, recognising diverse regional contexts, including Africa and Small Island Developing States. Two Davos-style discussions will shape strategies at global and regional levels. |
| 13:00 – 14:30 |
| LUNCH |
| 13:00 – 13:45 |
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Press Conference Ballroom Terrace |
| 14:30 – 16:00 |
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Annual Report of the Director-General on the Implementation of the Work Programme and Budget for 2024-2025 Member interventions |
| 16:00 – 18:00 |
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General Member Statements |
| 18:30 – 20:30 |
| Assembly Dinner Reception Ballroom Terrace |
| 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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Climate Principles to Unlock Grid Financing This session presents Climate Finance Principles for Green Grids, fostering consensus among utilities, financiers, and policymakers to unlock global grid investments, aiming to enable co-financing, securitisation, and scaled-up investments in grid infrastructure worldwide. This session also aims to consult utilities, finance partners, IRENA Members, and other key stakeholders on the Climate Finance Principles for Green Grids, refining the approach to build investor consensus and advance the COP28 UAE tripling goal and the COP29 Global Energy Storage and Grids Pledge. |
| 18:30 – 20:30 |
| Assembly Dinner Reception Ballroom Terrace |
| 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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Policy Recommendations for Achieving 100% Renewable Energy by 2050 This event highlights policy recommendations and strategies to achieve 100% renewable energy by 2050. It will examine pathways for phasing out fossil fuels and nuclear, emphasising enabling subsidies, rapid innovation, and overcoming regulatory and financial hurdles. Discussions focus on flexibility, electrification, grid modernisation, energy storage, and efficiency. By fostering public-private collaboration and promoting social equity, the event aims to empower governments to implement ambitious policies ensuring universal, sustainable energy access. |
| 14:45 – 16:15 |
| Ministerial Roundtable Accelerating Africa’s Energy Transition and Green Industrialisation Agenda This ministerial roundtable reviews one year of the Accelerated Partnership for Renewables in Africa (APRA)’s implementation, highlighting evolving national priorities and progress in scaling transformative renewable energy. It will examine the systemic changes required to attract capital and effective arrangements to ensure sustainability. High-level representatives will share insights on collective action and support from partners, aligning interventions with Africa’s development aims. Panellists will also explore how to enhance green industrialisation, accelerate the energy transition, and ensure long-term results. |
| 16:30 – 18:00 |
| Ministerial Roundtable Scaling up Finance to Support the Energy Transition in Emerging Markets and Developing Economies This High-Level Ministerial Roundtable focuses on addressing financing gaps and reforms needed for a just energy transition in emerging and developing markets. It will explore improved coordination through nationally led country platforms, policy reform, and capacity building to unlock private investments. Discussions will highlight ways to strengthen concessional finance and derisk projects, enabling greater private capital flow while aiming to align global support with ambitious climate and energy goals. |
| 18:30 – 20:30 |
| Assembly Dinner Reception Ballroom Terrace |
| 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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Planning and prospects for renewable power: Central Africa This event marks the launch of the upcoming report, Planning and prospects for renewable power: Central Africa, presenting key outcomes of the Central African Power Pool (CAPP) support programme. It highlights how regional analysis and data-driven scenarios can inform the region’s first official power sector masterplan, strengthening institutional capacity and promoting regionally integrated energy planning. Participants will discuss aligning processes with CMP frameworks, leveraging these findings to drive renewable investments, and fostering country-led energy transitions across Central Africa. |
| 18:30 – 20:30 |
| Assembly Dinner Reception Ballroom Terrace |
| Plenary Hall ST REGIS. HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI |
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| 10:00 – 11:30 |
| High-level Panel Energy Transition Pathways in Emerging Economies This panel provides a platform for high-level representatives from emerging economies to discuss accelerating energy transitions, exploring net-zero pathways, the UAE Consensus, and global stocktake outcomes. It will emphasise leveraging public finance to derisk private capital and foster broader South-South cooperation. The discussion will guide strategies to triple renewables by 2030, identifying transformative policies, technologies, financing, and strengthening IRENA’s strategic engagement with key emerging partners. |
| 11:30 – 13:00 |
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High-level Dialogue Tripling Impact in Small Island Developing States: Accelerating Renewables, Climate Resilience and Sustainable Development This high-level dialogue spotlights key priorities for scaling renewables in Small Island Developing States (SIDS), aligning with the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS. It will examine strategies to build climate resilience, secure financing, and facilitate technology transfer and capacity building. Two thematic discussions will guide the conversation, enabling SIDS to strengthen energy security, foster inclusive solutions, and enhance global cooperation, accelerating sustainable development and climate action. |
| 13:00 – 14:30 |
| LUNCH |
| 14:30 – 16:00 |
| Ministerial Dialogue Innovative Sustainable Finance This event convenes ministers, policymakers, and developers to explore advanced strategies for financing renewable energy. The dialogue focuses on leveraging innovative instruments, including carbon credit markets to incentivise emissions reductions and channel funds into renewables. Additional tools, such as green bonds and blended finance, will be examined. The conversation aims to identify scalable solutions, foster partnerships, and mobilise public and private capital to accelerate sustainable energy transitions and climate resilience. |
| 16:00 – 17.30 |
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Administrative and Institutional Matters and other mandates |
| 17.30 – 18:00 |
| AOB Closing of the Session |
| Room A1 ST REGIS. HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI |
|---|
| 13:00 – 14:30 |
| LUNCH |
| 13:00 – 14:30 |
| Global Offshore Wind Alliance This event brings together offshore wind stakeholders to foster strategic partnerships and drive inclusive growth. It will facilitate knowledge exchange across the entire value chain, enhancing capacity building and investment flows. Through in-depth discussions on financing mechanisms, participants will identify solutions to address financial challenges, unlock private capital, and scale deployment in emerging markets. This collaborative platform aims to accelerate global offshore wind capacity and deliver tangible, sustainable outcomes. |
| Room A2 ST REGIS. HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI |
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| 13:00 – 14:30 |
| LUNCH |
| 13:00 – 14:30 |
| Global Geothermal Alliance Annual Meeting This Annual Meeting convenes Global Geothermal Alliance (GGA) members and partners to discuss geothermal deployment challenges, opportunities, and solutions. It encourages knowledge sharing, policy support, and broad cooperation among diverse stakeholders. Through capacity building and priority setting, participants will drive faster geothermal power and heat deployment globally. |
| Room B1 ST REGIS. HOTEL SAADIYAT ISLAND, ABU DHABI |
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| 13:00 – 14:30 |
| LUNCH |
| 13:00 – 14:30 |
| Skilling for Tripling Renewables: Enhancing International Collaboration This session invites stakeholders to refine principles and make commitments towards accelerating skill-building for tripling renewables. It will foster international collaboration, supporting shared standards, open curricula, and best practices while scaling domestic initiatives aligned with the global call to action. By exchanging policies, training frameworks, and technical assistance, participants aim to shape a skilled, globally coherent renewable energy workforce to enable the energy transition. |