IRENA 12A: Pre-Assembly Live Coverage

Articles

Newsletter

IRENA Pre-Assembly stakeholder and ministerial meetings took place on 13th January and 14th January 2022. See the full schedule here.

The sessions were live-streamed on this webpage, all recordings can be accessed below. 

Watch the Ministerial Meeting on a Just and Inclusive Energy Transitions in Africa - Promoting development and Industrialisation session:

14 January 2022 | 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM
23:50
Concluding today's session, Rabia Ferroukhi, Director of KPFC at IRENA thanks the speakers for the engagement and high interest in continuing advancement of Africa's energy transition and green economy. "Only by mobilising support and investment, Africa can accelerate its shift to renewables. IRENA stands ready to enhance knowledge and partnership that can increase Africa's contribution to global energy transition," she concluded.
23:45

Highlighting the mutual consensus between the panelists, Mr. Daniel Schroth, Acting Director for the Department of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, African Development Bank, said that “Energy transition provides tremendous opportunities for Africa. However, there is an increasing importance for clear policies and frameworks, private sector investments, correct data and evidence, enhanced regional integration of power systems, support for project development and joint investments from public-private sectors to fastrack progress for the African continent."

Daniel concluded his speech by quoting Nelson Mandela, “It only seems impossible until it’s done.” Go to Twitter and show us how you #chooseaction 

23:35
23:25
Ms. Towela Nyirenda-Jere, Principal Programme Officer, NEPD Agency said that NEPD is working with regional communities to focus on population growth and sustainable economic growth. She further added, “We are looking at more ambitious scenarios like building models that are resilient and planet friendly to achieve sustainability goals.” In building the masterplan, NEPD is looking at long term sustainability and long term planning, while focusing on the approach. She concluded her message by expressing gratitude for partnerships. “Lastly, partnerships are a key to the development of masterplans”, said Ms Towela.
23:22
President Joe Biden is driving the US government’s efforts to support countries around the world to enhance and meet their climate ambition. "US missions are deploying development resources for expanding clean energy access, said Helaina Matza, Director Energy Transformation in her intervention. 
23:18
Ms. Towela Nyirenda-Jere , Principal Programme Officer, NEPD Ageny, said that NEPD is working with regional communities to focus on population growth and sustainable economic growth. She further added, “We are looking at more ambitious scenarios like building models that are resilient and planet friendly to achieve sustainability goals.” In building the masterplan, NEPD is looking at long term sustainability and long term planning, while focusing on the approach. She concluded her message by expressing gratitude for partnerships: “Lastly, partnerships are a key to the development of masterplans”, concluded Ms Towela.
23:10
In his remark, Peter Claes, Ambassador of Belgium to the UAE expresses how he's encouraged to see African countries boosting the efforts towards energy transition to create jobs and increase climate resilience. "The Wallon government has had the pleasure to support African countries by facilitating partnership and investment, because we believe the shift to renewable energy by adopting state-of-the-art technologies is key to Africa's prosperity."
23:00
"There is a huge opportunity for African countries to produce advanced biofuels to decarbonise, especially in countries where energy transmission is a challenge," highlighted Giuseppe Ricci, Director General, Energy Evolution ENI contributing to the ingoing discussion.
22:55

"Innovation and technology play an important role to achieve sustainable, affordable and reliable energy systems," said Ms Nadja Haakansson, Managing Director for Africa, Siemens Energy. She continued saying that we all need to acknowledge that Africa is diverse and because if that, the continent cannot be addressed with a single approach. "Massive investment into energy is required in the continent, accompanied with policy frameworks and incentives to encourage it is crucial," she highlighted.

22:51

Alain Ebobissé, CEO of Africa50 Investment Group said: "Pushing Africa's energy transition forward starts with project development. That's why enhancing projects' bankability is crucial to boost green economy. Africa must #ChooseAction to implement renewables projects at scale and with speed."

See how IRENA helps to prepare projects to be bankable and drive investment as a part of the CIP Initiative.

22:40

Ditte Juul Jorgensen, Director-General of Energy of the European Commission said that over the last five years, EU have invested €3bn in energy aid to African countries which has resulted in an additional 11GW of renewable capacity and given clean energy access to 18 million people. “Our renewable energy industry is ready to invest in Africa, given there is a competitive market. We are committed to support African countries in the clean energy transition,", she underlined. Main obstacle to the larger investment in renewables is the cost of capital and public finance. "To bridge the gap, we encourage private sector investment in pursuit of open and competitive markets," she concluded.

22:28
Uganda's State Minister for Energy, Sidronius Opolot Okasai outlined during his remark: "We have created an enabling environment for developing renewable energy. Most of our electricity now is generated from hydroelectric sources." Heurges IRENA to continue support for South-South Cooperation to create impact. The exchange of knowledge and best practice of such cooperation is valuable for Uganda's industrialised and green economy.
22:20
Mohammed Amin Adam, Ghana's Deputy Minister of Energy underlined the crucial role that the young people play in the race for energy transition in Africa. "We are heavily investing in the education of our people. Particularly our young people need skills to participate in the move towards green energy and benefit from the business opportunity as small & medium sized enterprises", he said.
22:15
"I believe in interconnections' crucial role in Africa. Burkina Faso has the best solar potential in West Africa, so we can contribute to the interconnections, advancing a green economy of scale," says Dr. Bachir Ismaël Ouédraogo. Minister of Energy, Burkina Faso in his remarks. "Together with our neighbours, we can meet each other's power needs, and the whole region can benefit from the increased access to electricity. We have the potential, the opportunity, and the market. I hope IRENA will continue supporting this effort towards regional interconnection."
22:06
Zhemu Soda, Minister of Energy and Power Development, agrees that Zimbabwe’s untapped hydropower, if utilized, can meet the electricity demand in the entire nation. Together with Zambia and Mozambique, we have a potential to generate up to 16,000 MW of electricity.
22:00

Commenting on how African countries can learn from the UAE to build the energy industry, H.E. Mr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, UAE pressed the importance of having a vision. He stated that 2021 was a pivotal year for the UAE, as far as renewable energy is concerned. UAE has invested billions of dollars in 17 countries to pave the way for energy transition. “We are now accelerating investments in Africa on energy and solar electrification. Africa has huge potential for FDI, as far as renewable energy resources are concerned We will continue to explore potential investment opportunities in Africa,” he concluded.

21:50
Asked about how Nigeria leverages the country's capacity to advance the energy transition, Mr Ogbonnaya Onu, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation explains that acknowledging the increasing impact of climate change, Nigeria increases its commitment to meet its climate goals, by pushing efforts to attract private sector's participation in the country's energy transition.
21:45

The high-level discussion continues with Ministerial interventions. 

"In the solar market, Morocco remains competitive compared to other countries as it has a progressive regulatory and contractual framework coupled with local integration and an optimal distribution of risk," says Leila Benali, Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development.

21:40

Speaking about the potential policy needs for industrial development in Africa, Professor Mr Ha-Joon Chang of University of Cambridge makes the case for deliberate protectionist policies that support local industrial capacity development.  It is the theory of “infant industry protection” he says saying that nobody would have believed 40 years ago that domestic car maker Hyundai could have ever produced more cars than powerhouse US car makers Ford and General Motors.  Yet in 2009 Hyundai produced more cars than Ford and in 2015 it produced more cars than General Motors. “If you had told people that Hyundai would make more cars than Ford and GM when it was making 10 000 cars a year, people would have tried to put you in a mental hospital”.

He went on to underline that the transformation of energy can happen with the right policies. But industrialising and diversifying economies need nurturing of innovation and domestic markets. “Industrialisation is a deliberate policy. You must have long term strategies that encourage diversification,” he added.

21:25

Speaking on industrialisation in Africa, Ms Damilola Ogunbiyi, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, said that “We need to look into what countries need and we cannot achieve this if we leave Africa behind." She continued underlining that to reduce dependency, solar energy components such as batteries, inverters and solar panels can actually be manufactured in the continent.

21:15

Mr. Yumkella invited the fire chat session participants to give their views.

Vera Songwe, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, explained that Africa has a lot to offer the energy transition - not only the renewable energy resources themselves, but also the human resources. Investment must be mobilised to make sure Africa's industries are ready to support the supply-chain of renewable energy sector. "It will not only be Africa's contribution to the green energy transition, but also to the world's economy," she says.

21:10

In her speech, Cristina Duarte, Under-Secretary-General, Special Adviser on Africa to the United Nations Secretary-General, pointed out the significant issue in African energy transition is financing. Stating the facts, she said, “ Africa accounts for just 4% of global power. Over the past decade the total solar additions amounted to 8.5 GW across all of Africa. New York city alone uses an average of 8-12 GW. We need to do better. We need investment in research and development of the renewable resources to build optimal solutions for the region.”

20:55
"I am sure we all agree that the ultimate key to industrialisation in Africa is access to electricity, which relies heavily on Africa to get its natural resources right," Says Dr Amani Abou-Zeid, AU Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy. “However, proper management of Africa’s natural resources does not stop only at switching plants to clean sources. It requires a profound transformation of how we in Africa see energy and how we plan to power up and diversify our economies.”
20:50

In his message at Ministerial Roundtable on Africa, Kevin Kariuki, VP, African Development Bank, highlighted that “ADB’s Investment portfolio is over 80% renewable since 2016. Green finance products like SEFA (Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa),a blended finance facility for commercial investments, along with flexible debt solutions will pave the way forward in Africa.” The newly launched report  states structural policies and socio economic changes that will also help in post COVID-19 recovery in Africa. Concluding his message, he said, “Support of countries and partners such as IRENA could underpin the African green deal, thereby enabling Africa to lead the way as a principal source of energy on the continent.”

See the report here

20:42
20:35

The Director-General Francesco La Camera opens the session by presenting the findings of IRENA new report, Renewable Energy Market Analysis: Africa and its Regions, which lays out a pathway to a renewables-based energy system in the continent. The report was developed in collaboration with the African Development Bank.

The Director-General  makes it clear that a global energy transition with Africa's participation and development is crucial. A comprehensive policy framework like an African Green Deal will benefit all African, provided it is designed to the different nations in the continent. By doing so, Africa can diversify its economy, create jobs for millions, and achieve a resilience for climate challenges. The Director-General also hopes the report's findings to be valuable for the planning of Africa's energy transition pathway, of which IRENA stands ready to support.

See the press release 

20:32
The Pre-Assembly Day commences with the Ministerial meeting on a Just and Inclusive Energy Transitions in Africa: Promoting Development and Industrialisation session moderated by Mr Kandeh Yumkella, Founder and CEO, The Energy Nexus Network. "This year’s Ministerial on Africa is unique as it combines achieving Sustainable Development Goals for sustainable energy for all and economic transformation, industrialisation and growth", he said.
00:38

Watch the recording of the The Youth Forum - Youth-led Solutions to Accelerate the Energy Transition and Achieve Climate Objectives session

00:33
In closing of the Youth Forum, Lydia Sanz Lozano reminded attendees that their inputs and contributions will be included and reflected on an outcome document that will be presented by one of the young participants at the 12th Session of the IRENA Assembly on 16 January.
00:26
00:15
The Public-private Dialogue on Renewable Energy and Circular Economy is now coming to an end. The discussion was focused and interesting, and covered many aspects of end of life management of renewables. There are definitely challenges ahead but it has been evident throughout the session that there are enormous benefits that will be unlocked with circular economy, including jobs and technological advancement - summed up the moderator, Melinda Crane.
00:15

Watch the recoding of the Public-Private Dialogue Renewable Energy and Circular Economy: Focus on End-of-life Management of Renewables session

23:55

The youth discussion continues. Esther Wanza, RAYNOW Energy pointed out that funding is one of the biggest obstacles for young aspiring entrepreneurs to start businesses around clean energy. Governments and corporates should come forward and ease funding process, she concluded.

Meanwhile, Ibrahim Togola, Chief Executive Director, Access had a strong message to the Youth gathered at the event: “You are much more capable and connected than previous generations. There is no limit to what you can achieve. Be surrounded by people who inspire you to always look up and recognise that change is possible”.

Follow IRENA's #ChooseAction campaign and contribute on social media.

23:35
23:24
"Skill development needs to be up-scaled in order to make young people employable, especially in the renewable energy market", pointed out Victoria Edeha-Anthony, Founder of D'Young Energy and Youth Sustainable Energy Hub Representative at the Youth Forum.
23:01

As a part of his contribution to IRENA’s Public-Private Dialogue, Andreas Nauen, CEO, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy said that 80-90% of materials used in making wind turbines are recyclable. Shedding light on the private sector efforts, he added, “We are addressing the problems of non-recyclable components. Siemens has made great progress in producing fully recyclable blades.” Concluding his message, Andreas highlighted that their goal is to make wind turbines fully recyclable by 2030.

22:52
22:50

Nobuyuki Kikuchi, Director, Resource Security and Economic Affairs. MOFA, a panelists at the Public-Private Dialogue session talked about how Japan is supporting circular economy for renewables. He opened his remarks saying that for Japan, actions are most important - it's efforts that count, not slogans. Therefore, he continued, 'awareness is important, it is a starting point of looking into the challenge'. 'Technology is also important', he continued saying that technology exists but in many cases efforts are not well connected to each other so it is difficult to scale up the capability. Finally, he added that the commercialization is important, "if it doesn't pay, it is not viable in business terms and is not going to be sustainable" so proper market mechanisms and transparent market rules need to be created by governments.

 

22:35
22:27
Citing examples from Norway, 2021 IRENA Youth Representative Sofie Ryan-Øye touched on the importance of implementing policies that ensure clean energy jobs for young people and highlighted the importance of funding clean energy projects especially during COVID.
22:25

“To promote the use of renewable energy in a sustainable manner, it is crucial not only to accelerate its introduction but also to consider beforehand the issue of its eventual disposal,” says Japan’s Kiyoshi Odawara, State Minister for Foreign Affairs. “It is important to establish transparent rules under the strong leadership of each government as well as the efforts of the private sector, in order to ensure the circular economy goes beyond being just a concept.”

22:22
Sharing outcomes from the first Global Youth Energy outlook, Helen Watts, Senior Director of Global Partnership, Student Energy, pointed that 82% of young entrepreneurs have indicated that a lack of financial support is the main barrier to making entrepreneurship feasible.
22:17

The second session of the Public-Private dialogue started with the contribution from Kadri Simson, Commissioner for Energy, European Commission. She spoke on how renewable energy sector is becoming more sustainable, saying that “The EU is making sure end of life cycle is considered in every model manufactured under this sector in terms of design and energy labelling."

She continued highlighting that the European Union will face new challenges in terms renewable energy waste management as it ramps up deployment ambitions in the coming decade. “In the next five years 38 GW wind power capacity will need to decommission or upgraded in Europe, and by 2026 30 GW of solar PV will be more than 15 years old. That is why the EU Commission is already incorporating circular economy principals into our energy policies.”

22:15

The first part of the Public-Private Dialogue concluded with the participants giving quick recommendations for policy makers to advance the end of life management of renewables, encouraged by the moderator Melinda Crane. They all spoke about standardization, regulations and legislation to create the level playing field as well as ensuring long-term revenue visibility and creation of competitive markets. 

22:14

At the Youth Forum, during her welcoming remarks, H.E. Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, UAE  talked about the important role that youth play in climate action, emphasising that the UAE will rely on young innovators to achieve its 2050 net zero target. Her Excellency also promised the youth that the UAE will have the highest level of youth participation in delegations to COP at COP28 that the country will host in two years.

22:10
Addressing young people gathered at the Forum, Francesco La Camera emphasised action. "As we come together today to hear and learn about concrete actions and innovative solutions from and for youth, I encourage you to continue embodying these ideals in your actions. IRENA is with you at every step of the way," he said.
22:05

Today's final event is the 3rd IRENA Youth Forum. The 2022 edition of the Forum will provide an opportunity for the participants to discuss the role of young people in identifying and developing solutions that can promote and accelerate renewables-based energy transitions to achieve climate targets and other sustainable development goals.

"Today, our goal is to bring together young voices, make ourselves heard, take action, and be given a seat at the table as The New Generation of Decision Makers," said Lydia Sanz Lozano opening the 2022 the Forum as moderator.

21:55

With regards to the circular economy, whoever puts the right financial package in place will see the projects flourish. Canada, the UK, the US, and France are leading on the front at the moment. Countries with good environmental legislation will definitely do better than others, said Rémi Gruet, CEO, Ocean Energy Europe.

21:48
Bharadwaj Kummamuru, Executive Director, World Bioenergy Association spoke about how the different sub-sectors are developing approaches to waste from bioenergy, what are the challenges and opportunities in the process. "It is important to realise that sometimes recycling is not enough and it has its limitations, " he said. "The energy recovery & production of biomass is an obvious solution for circular economy," he continued. He concluded that "Bioenergy will be the 2nd largest industry in recycling in years to come."
21:31
In our supply chain, 90% of materials that make up a wind turbine are already recyclable and can be put into current commercial recycling chains, said Ben Backwell, CEO of the Global Wind Energy Council.  'As we move towards end of life for a growing amount of wind turbines, and it is a significant amount by 2030, that creates a significant revenue stream for circular economy". The only concern is the non-recyclable blades that end up in the landfills. But efforts are being made to reuse end-of-life wind turbine blade, he concluded.
21:30
 “We welcome the discussion around legislation on standards,” says Ben Blackwell, CEO of the Global Wind Energy Council at the Public Private Dialogue on Renewable Energy and Circular Economy focused on end of life management. “We’d like to see common standards across regions and countries, so that we have a real level playing field the wind turbine supply chain and for the economy of wind energy. That is not a conversation we are reticent to engage in.”
21:25

Watch the Legislators Forum - Parliamentary and Regulatory Actions to Drive National Energy Transition Policies: From Commitment to Action:

21:20
The 7th edition of the IRENA Legislators Forum is now over. "The discussion offered a right platform to share nuanced insights into issues surrounding energy transition', concluded Guy Lentz, Upcoming Secretary of the Energy Charter. 
21:15

The first session of the Public-Private Dialogue gathered leading industry associations representatives who are going to talk about what they are doing about end of life management of renewables already and give us insights in the future of circular economy. The session is moderated by Ms Melinda Crane, Chief Political Correspondent at DW TV. 

21:03

The 5th Public-Private Dialogue serves as a key platform for policymakers, legislators, and members of the Coalition for Action to exchange views on circular economy and end-of-life management of renewables, as well as what actions are needed from governments and the energy industry to accelerate global progress towards unlocking the benefits of a truly sustainable renewable energy sector. The session Public-Private Dialogue Renewable Energy and Circular Economy: Focus on End-of-life Management of Renewables has just started with Francesco la Camera, IRENA Director-General commenced the dialogue by welcoming the attendees and by pressing that, “Key actions from leading global industry associations will be critical to managing the end-of-life of renewables."

20:55

In summary, during the panel discussion at the Legislators forum themed “Parliamentary and Regulatory Actions to Drive National Energy Transition Policies: From Commitment to Action,” the members discussed the importance of shifting the energy transition to the implementation phase of national and international commitments. While most of the panelists agreed on the importance of a strong policy framework to achieve energy transition goals, it was also pointed out the governments aren’t doing enough yet. Kandeh Yumkella, MP, Sierra Leone, who moderated the debate, emphasised that legislators and parliamentarians must work together to increase the deployment of renewable energy in this decade of action. Yumkella gave his own spin on the IRENA12A theme ‘Energy Transition: From Commitment to Action’: “I would say from commitment to kWh for real people in real places."

 

20:48

Bärbel Höhn, Chair, Global Renewables Congress speaking at the Legislators Forum brought up an example of Germany. In 2020 more than 50% of German electricity was coming from renewables and that was nearly 250TW coming form renewables". The new government has an even more ambitious goal, she pointed out, "for 80% of electricity to be coming from renewables" She continued underlying the importance of action and participation of all, decision makers and people alike, and that the ambitious target "is a success of parliamentarians who pushed the government to be more ambitious and support renewables".

20:42
The moderator, Kandeh Yumkella, MP closed the first panel session saying that parliamentarians have a role to set the agenda but also to provide the resources that legislators need to implement it. "We must make our government and global institutions accountable for targets, to achieve thein a fair and equitable way."
 
20:22
During the discussion at the Legislators Forum, Elijah Sichone, Executive Director, Regional Energy Regulators Association of Southern Africa  quoted a RERA publication saying "If regulation and policy don't adapt and enable transition, it will still happen just not fast enough". He indicated that the transition will happen thanks for the falling costs, technological advancing and mounting appetite for renewabales, but it won't be quick enough to limit the the temperature rise and mitigate climate change. "We need to have a dynamic and flexible, but clear and predictable policy, with clear rules and targets. We need roadmaps to help us get to the targets," he concluded.
20:20
20:17

Sharing the Indonesian experience, Member of Parliament (@MCB_DPRRI) Mercy Barends highlighted the country’s geography as one of the main challenges to achieving NDC targets. “Indonesia consists of around 17,000 islands making it very difficult for us to craft policy-making for continental provinces and archipelago provinces. We have to be prudent in developing the energy transition throughout Indonesia.”

 

 

20:15
Addressing other legislators, Nicholas Dunlop, Secretary-General, Climate Parliament, said net-zero for 2050 is a target that many governments have set but it’s not enough. "You really need to be focussing on the targets for 2025, 2030 - the more immediate targets. That’s more meaningful", he underlined. 
20:15

Watch the recording of the Long-Term Energy Scenarios for Developing Energy Transition Plans in Africa - Featuring Regional Power Pools session:

20:10

Kandeh Yumkella, MP, Sierra Leone opened a panel discussion asking the panelists about the challenges they are facing in taking steps towards the realisation of the climate path  and what have they done on their country level to address them. "It is important to share ideas and knowledge between regulators", he added. 

20:08
Summarizing, the LTES panel discussion led by Peter Kinuthia, Senior Energy Advisor, African Union Commission, shed light upon the deployment of energy incorporation in African countries and how the organisations like SADC and ECOWAS are doing their bit to ensure greater access to energy in every region. As per the findings of energy consultants in Africa, the share of resources is going to decrease from 2030-2050. Dolf Gielen, Director, IRENA Innovation and Technology Centre, concluded the session by thanking the speakers and emphasizing the regional integration and robust coordination between member states as the only way forward for a successful transformation of the energy system.
20:05

“In today’s session we heard the importance of dialogue, transparency and clarity regarding the process of developing scenarios and the need for strong stakeholder engagement,” says Dolf Gielen, Director of IITC at IRENA in concluding remarks at the Long-term Energy Scenarios in Africa session. “Thanks to the abundance of national resources and decreasing installation costs, renewable energy has become the backbone of many national long-term energy plans.”

19:52

"IRENA estimates scaling renewables along the 1.5° pathway provides boost in global GDP that is 2.4% more than planned energy scenarios over the next decade. This aligns with the needs of a post Covid recovery" underlined Rabia Ferroukhi, Director, Knowledge Finance and Policy Center, IRENA in her scene-setting presentation. She is underlined that transitioning to renewables creates jobs and provides other socio-economic gains. Yet, it is crucial for the transition to be just to reap the full benefits of the transition. See the latest Jobs report

19:45

In her keynote presentation at the Legislators Forum, Jane Dennett-Thorpe, Deputy Director Decarbonisation & Energy Transition, Ofgem brings up the decade of action and the fact that renewables form a backbone of the clean energy system. "The entire energy system must become carbon negative, our commitment is for our power system to be fully decarbonised by 2035", she said reffering to the UK current plans. "How do we bring consumers into it?" she asked underling the importance of leading the inclusive energy transition. She also brought up the theme of COP26, under the UK presidency, 'Turning ambition to action'. "We should see the opportunity to enable legislators to be a part of that change', she concluded. Participate in our conversation on Twitter via #chooseaction campaign. 

19:43

"Governments in many countries are in the front seat driving the decarbonisation process. But once the policies are in place, the legislators and regulators have a major role to make energy transformation happen", said Alberto Pototschnig, Executive Deputy Director, Florence School of Regulation, during his keynote speech at the Legislators Forum.

“We all agree that renewables play a major role in decarbonisation,” he said, highlighting three major challenges that need to be addressed for greater penetration of renewables. “We need to have a more flexible energy system to accommodate the variability of renewables, shield consumers and price revenues from price volatility and protect vulnerable consumers. Fortunately, technological progress and digitalisation provide the opportunity to meet these challenges."

19:38
Introducing the panel, Kandeh Yumkella, MP, Sierra Leone said: We have many examples of good regulations. The issue now is - in this critical decade of action, how will parliament and regulators work together to increase the deployment of renewable energy", he asked opening the floor to keynote speakers.
19:28

Hamad Ahmad Al Rahoomi, First Deputy Speaker, Federal National Council, United Arab Emirates, underscored the urgent need to drive a structural shift towards more investment choices in renewable energy sources. “The Emirates Energy Strategy 2050, with investments amounting to 600 billion dirhams, is an example of such shift,” he concluded. 

19:24

Martin Chungong, Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) stresses on the important role of parliamentarians in achieving climate targets. "Legislators must be at the forefront to ensure that clean energy becomes the norm not the exception."

19:16

"You find yourselves in a unique position: you have the power to design strong and effective policy frameworks to facilitate the energy transition. The work that you do shapes the future of our planet," says IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera addressing legislators in his welcoming remarks.

19:10

Opening the 2022 IRENA Legislators Forum, Guy Lentz, Upcoming Secretary of the Energy Charter said “We tend to talk about targets and deadlines at climate meetings, focusing on research and policies but we must also be attentive and careful about the legal framework that we need to recreate to achieve them.”

This session is moderate by Kandeh Yumkella, Member of Parliament, Sierra Leone.

19:09
The panel discussion moderated by Peter Kinuthia, Senior Energy Advisor, African Union Commission is continuing at the LTES session. Participants discuss how are scenarios defined, on regional or country level as national master plans. 'National master plan is a foundation to start the national master plan', says Bernard Hessou, WAPP.
19:00
The second session of the day is the 7th IRENA Legislators Forum. The Forum will focus on the overarching theme of parliamentary and regulatory actions to drive national energy transition policies that can guide Legislators in supporting countries to shift the energy transition to the implementation phase of national and international commitments.
18:56

Emmanuel Bué, Convener of Technical Committee Economic Studies and Scenarios, MED-TSO provided a comprehensive overview of LTES scenarios for Mediterranean Master Plan created to address Mediterranean Power System by 2030. The scenarios explore the opportunity of electricity exchange, support investment and address the uncertainty in a coordinated process.

Reflecting on the Mediterranean transition system in the context of long-term planning, he says: "We develop power system scenarios to understand our needs to 2030, exploring opportunities for electricity exchange through the region to realise the economic opportunity of surplus electricity exchange and complementary in terms of seasonality – managing demand peaks in different parts of the region".

 

18:38
Bernard Hessou, Head of Division, Studies, Planning and Projects Financing at the African Pool says that their strategy is based on regional grouping with the objective to integrate a national system into regional market in order to meet demand. There are abundant energy resources in the region but a mismatch in supply and demand persists. "The plan is to get the energy to where it is needed," he continued.
18:30
In his presentation Patrice Manirakiza, Senior Planning Engineer at EAPP, said that process of the LTES in EAPP is a bottom-up approach: national level first then progressing to the regional level.
18:12

Gauri Singh, Deputy Director-General of IRENA opens the first session today on long-term energy scenarios highlighting the importance of integrated planning to the realisation of the transition, saying: “Energy transition pathways must take into account disruptive innovation, business models and the cost of transition – leading us towards a cleaner and more equitable future.”

Her opening is followed by the background setting presentation by Asami Miketa, IITC, IRENA who also introduces the moderator for this session, Mr Simbini Tichakunda, Energy Infrastructure Expert, AUDA-NEPAD and invites questions from the participants. Mr Tichakunda stressed on the importance of LTES in the African member states and how it is crucial in achieving energy transition in the continent.

18:04
The Stakeholder Engagement Day commences with the side-event, Long-Term Energy Scenarios for Developing Energy Transition Plans in Africa - Featuring Regional Power Pools, which aims to share the lessons learnt from the African power pools’ LTES planning practices. This event also marks the final session of the webinar series organised under IRENA’s LTES Network in November and December 2021 in which ten African countries shared their experience on how they effectively develop and use energy scenarios in support of long-term policy documents such as integrated resource plans, nationally determined contributions, and energy master plans.
20

See also

Related content