IRENA at G7: Renewables Are Key to Address Global Challenges

From 19 - 21 September, IRENA Director-General Adnan Z. Amin will engage with Ministers and key stakeholders at the G7 Environment, Oceans and Energy Ministers Meetings, hosted by the Canadian G7 Presidency in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

In his interventions, IRENA’s Director-General will stress that increasing investment in renewables is a win-win scenario that creates jobs, supports socio-economic growth, empowers gender equality and improves the resilience of coastal and island communities. At the same time, he will underline the need for accelerating the energy transformation as a six-fold increase in renewable energy deployment is necessary to reduce global warming.

Themed “Working Together on Climate Change, Oceans and Clean Energy”, the G7 will focus on effective ways to tackle global climate action while boosting clean growth, sustainable finance, resilient coasts, energy security and clean energy. As the global intergovernmental organisation dedicated to supporting countries in the use of all forms of renewable energy, IRENA will provide evidence and analysis to G7 Ministers on the far-reaching benefits of the global energy transformation driven by renewables and suggest actions that could further accelerate it. The meeting in Halifax takes place only days after Canada officially becomes a “State in Accession” following its announcement last May to become a Member of IRENA.

On 19 September, the IRENA Director-General will provide a keynote on offshore renewable energy at the G7 Ocean Partnership Summit. Renewables are breaking records in terms of capacity additions and cost declines every year: From 2016 to 2017, offshore wind grew by about 25%. And costs of wind turbines alone have fallen by 30% since 2010. IRENA will emphasise the role that offshore renewable energy can play in creating new jobs and economic growth.

The sustainable energy transformation in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) will be the focus of IRENA’s intervention at the Joint Ministerial Session on Healthy Oceans, Seas and Resilient Communities on 20 September. SIDS are among the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change and are heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels for their energy needs. For reasons of scale and isolation, energy costs are high, and the severe impact of oil price and supply volatility is exacerbated by the small size of local markets. By supporting SIDS in their deployment of renewables, the IRENA-coordinated SIDS Lighthouses Initiative helps to ensure that islands become more resilient, less import dependent, scale up renewables and have greater access to technical knowledge and funding. Already today, two years ahead of the 2020 schedule, SIDS Lighthouses has met all its targets of mobilising USD 500 million and building additional renewable energy capacity. Based on this success, a new phase of SIDS Lighthouses will officially be launched at a high-level event at the upcoming UN General Assembly on 28 September 2018 in New York.

On 21 September, the Director-General will take part in the meeting of G7 Energy ministers. In addition to actively participating in the discussions on offshore energy and just energy transitions, he has been invited to address the Panel on Gender Equality in the Energy Sector. Director-General Adnan Z. Amin will highlight the importance of integrating a gender perspective into energy policies and how renewables provide socio-economic opportunities for greater participation and empowerment of women.

Join the conversation on twitter via @IRENA and @adnanzamin

For more information consult the G7 website