Over the course of two weeks of the conference, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) launched key initiatives and engaged with governments, the private sector, and youth, advocating for ambitious outcomes that would align decisions related to the energy transition with a 1.5°C scenario.

At COP29 in Baku, IRENA and the United Arab Emirates co-hosted a high-level event to discuss the challenges and opportunities of “Integrating UAE Consensus Energy Outcomes with NDCs 3.0”.

APRA, the Accelerated Partnership for Renewables in Africa, was one of the main areas of focus at “Africa's Green Momentum: Harnessing Renewables for Industrialisation”, a high-level event on the second day of COP29 organised by Kenya, IRENA and the NDC Partnership.

The ministerial dialogue, jointly convened by the COP29 Presidency of Azerbaijan, the EU and the COP28 Presidency of the United Arab Emirates provided an opportunity to reflect on progress and refocus on the commitments made by governments at COP28, to triple global installed renewable power capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030.

The Parliamentary Accountability Summit at COP28 aimed at exploring the critical role of parliamentarians in driving increased accountability for climate action, focusing on commitments to limit temperature increases and on implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The Energy Compact on Renewable Energy for Peacekeeping seeks to accelerate the transition of UN peacekeeping operations to renewable energy through public and private partnerships, developing local capacity to supply renewable energy to UN missions and host communities.

At the Climate Week NYC, IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera underscored the need for massive investments in renewable energy to mitigate the current energy crisis.

The capacity building roundtable for islands in the Atlantic, Indian Ocean and South China Sea was organised by IRENA through its SIDS Lighthouses Initiative.

Recognising its invaluable promotion of sustainable development in SIDS, IRENA received the first ever “UN SIDS Partnerships Award” in the environmental category.

China aims for its carbon emissions to peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.