Leaner, action-oriented IRENA will be global hub for energy transition

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) will step up its work to promote renewable energy worldwide with a strengthened mission and streamlined structure starting this year. The intergovernmental organisation, established in 2011, will serve as a centre of excellence, advisory resource and hub to promote and accelerate renewable energy deployment, its more than 100 Members decided at the year’s foremost global renewable energy gathering.

Around 1,000 participants – representing nearly 140 countries as well as other entities – gathered for IRENA’s third annual Assembly on 13-14 january in the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Abu Dhabi. With the adoption of the Agency’s 2013 budget and work plan, along with an ambitious strategy for the next five years, Member governments confirmed IRENA’s key role in international efforts to scale up renewable energy to support a sustainable future.

The third Assembly also confirmed the IRENA’s commitment to action based on the UN Secretary-General’s Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) initiative, whose goals include the doubling of renewable energy in the global energy mix by the end of the next decade. IRENA’s analysis shows that this is attainable, and that renewables could account for at least 30 per cent of all energy worldwide by 2030, if governments adopt and start implementing sound policies now,

The Agency, established in April 2011 with its headquarters in Abu Dhabi, has the mandate to promote the widespread adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy worldwide.  IRENA’s Statute – first endorsed by founding states in Bonn, Germany in 2009 – links renewable energy closely with sustainable development.

With this vision in mind, the Agency must aim “to be the principal platform for international cooperation, a centre of excellence on renewable energy and repository of policy, technology, resource and financial knowledge, and to help countries in their transition to a renewable energy future,” said IRENA’s Director-General, Adnan Z. Amin.

IRENA will carry out this work through three divisions with clarified responsibilities and minimal overlap, he added.

First, the Knowledge, Policy and Finance Centre (KPFC) will serve as a global knowledge repository on renewable energy, providing valuable research and analysis on policy, finance issues and economic value creation, and continuing to expand the open-access Global Renewable Energy Atlas. Second, the IRENA Innovation and Technology Centre (IITC), located in Bonn, will provide cutting-edge information on renewable energy technologies and innovations, while seeking new pathways for the transition to a sustainable energy future, such as with REMAP 2030, a global roadmap for scaling up renewables in line with SE4ALL goals. Third, IRENA’s Country Support and Partnerships (CSP) division will support countries in the development and implementation of national and regional renewable energy strategies, while providing a platform for cooperation between various stakeholders, including countries, regions, organisations and institutions. Helping countries conduct Renewables Readiness Assessments (RRAs) is a prime example.

Mr Amin presented a budget of USD 29.7 million for 2013, comprising USD 18 million from the regular contributions of Members and USD 11.7 million in additional voluntary contributions from specific Member states. Close cooperation with Members and engagement with the private sector would be important to advance IRENA’s mission in 2013, he added.

Members, taking into account the multi-year nature of IRENA’s activities, endorsed a two-year programming and budgeting cycle, allowing for clearer planning.

The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon welcomed IRENA’s leadership and support as the renewable energy hub within the SE4ALL initiative that he announced in 2012. As he underlined in a message delivered by Wu Hongbo, UN Under-Secretary-General, the Decade of Sustainable Energy for All starting in 2014 will continue the efforts to find a more sustainable pathway to growth that provides for the needs of today while conserving the planet’s resources for future generations.

Denmark’s Minister for Climate, Energy and Building, Martin Lidegaard, elected President of the third IRENA Assembly, expressed his conviction that IRENA would play an important role in efforts to rapidly increase the global uptake of renewable energy in the years to come. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Special Envoy for Energy and Climate Change, meanwhile, announced the UAE’s ratification of its Headquarters Agreement with IRENA, completing the Agency’s legal and institutional foundation.

At the close of the two-day meeting, the President of the third Assembly, Minister Lidegaard, called on all delegations to keep up the spirit of optimism and determination regarding the global renewable energy agenda.