Twelfth Session of the IRENA Assembly

Following the Director-General’s presentation on the Implementation of the Work Programme and Budget for 2020-2021 and the Proposed Work Programme and Budget for 2022-2023, the Assembly witnessed the signing of a number of partnership agreements and Memoranda of Understanding.

This Ministerial Meeting aimed to engage Ministers and heads of private organisations in discussing best practices for transitioning towards decarbonised transport, buildings and industry sectors based on renewable electricity, focusing on the best practices for power sector transformation, including how to leverage the flexibility from the electrification of end use sectors to ensure a reliable, cost-effective, decarbonised power system. Following introductory remarks and keynote presentations, delegations were invited to make interventions within an allotted time of three minutes and exchange views on the matter

Associated Publications

• World Energy Transitions Outlook (2021)
• Sector Coupling in Cities (2021)
• Reaching Zero with Renewables (2020)
• Electricity Storage Valuation Framework (2020)
• Innovation landscape for a renewable-powered future (2019)
• Electrification with Renewables (2019)
• Innovation Outlook: Smart Charging for electric vehicles (2019)
• 3rd IRENA Innovation Week (IVIW2020) – Summary Report (2020)
• Demand-side flexibility for power sector transformation (2019)
• Power system flexibility for the energy transition (2018)

Following the launch of the report on the Geopolitics of Hydrogen on 15 January 2022, the main findings were discussed by the Assembly, bringing together Ministers and invited High-level contributors, to exchange views on the evolving geopolitical energy landscape and the role of hydrogen, and highlight policy considerations in this dynamic sector. Following a presentation and a scene-setting discussion, delegations were invited to make interventions within an allotted time of three minutes and exchange views on the matter.

Associated Publications

• A New World – The Geopolitics of the Energy Transformation (2019)
• Green hydrogen: A guide to policy making (2020)
• Green hydrogen cost reduction (2020)
• World Energy Transitions Outlook: 1.5°C Pathway(2021)
• Green Hydrogen Supply: A guide to policy making (2021)
• Decarbonising end-use sectors: Practical insights on green hydrogen (2021)

This Ministerial Meeting aimed to engage Ministers, heads of financial institutions and heads of private investor organisations in discussing best practices for crowding in local and national financial institutions for accelerating just and inclusive energy transition globally, focusing on partnership with governments, foreign direct investors and multilateral development banks and via new innovative climate-action related business models. Following introductory remarks and keynote presentations, delegations were invited to make interventions within an allotted time of three minutes and exchange views on the matter.

Associated Publications

• Global Landscape of Renewable Energy Finance 2020 (2020)

The Assembly heard reports from the Ministerial Meetings held on 15 and 16 January 2022, and the Ministerial and other High-Level and Stakeholder Meetings held on 13 and 14 January 2022.

The 2022 edition of the IRENA Legislators Forum presented a timely opportunity for inclusive and diverse discussions on actions and most up-to-date policy measures that can guide Legislators in supporting countries to shift the energy transition to the implementation phase of national and international commitments. This event was held in a virtual format with simultaneous interpretation into English, French and Spanish.

Associated Publications

• World Energy Transition Outlook: 1.5°C Pathway (2021)
• IRENA’s Energy Transition Support to Strengthen Climate Action (2021)
• Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report(2021)
• Community Energy Toolkit: Best practices for broadening the ownership of renewables (2021)
• Renewable Energy and Jobs – Annual Review 2021 (2021)
• Renewable Energy and Climate Pledges: Five Years after the Paris Agreement (2020)

This edition of the Public-Private Dialogue convened policy makers, legislators, and members of the Coalition for Action to discuss circular economy and end-of-life management considerations for 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. This event was held in a virtual format with simultaneous interpretation into English, French and Spanish.

Associated Publications

• Call to Action for COP26: Renewable Energy Jobs for a Just and Inclusive Energy Transition (IRENA Coalition for Action, 2021)
• World Energy Transitions Outlook: 1.5°C Pathway (IRENA, 2021)
• Renewable Energy and Jobs – Annual Review 2021 (IRENA and ILO, 2021)
• End-of-Life Management: Solar Photovoltaic Panels (IRENA and IEA-PVPS, 2016)

Held under the overarching theme “Youth-led solutions to accelerate the energy transition and achieve climate objectives”, the 2022 edition of the IRENA Youth Forum highlighted the role of young people in identifying and developing solutions that can promote and accelerate the renewables-based energy transitions to achieve climate targets and other sustainable development goals. It also offered the opportunity to young people to interact and connect with global thought leaders, government representatives, and IRENA experts in identifying the essential areas that require support for youth to contribute to the advancement of a global energy transition. This event was held in a virtual format with simultaneous interpretation into Arabic, English, French and Spanish.

Associated Publications

• World Energy Transition Outlook: 1.5°C Pathway (2021)
• IRENA’s Energy Transition Support to Strengthen Climate Action (2021)
• Renewable Energy and Jobs – Annual Review 2021 (2021)
• Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report (2021)
• Stimulating Investment in Community Energy: Broadening the Ownership of Renewables (2020)
• Renewable Energy and Climate Pledges: Five Years after the Paris Agreement (2020)
• Innovation Landscape for a Renewable-Powered Future (2019)

This High-Level Meeting convened the Global Geothermal Alliance Member Countries and Partner Organisations to discuss the crucial role of geothermal energy in the energy transition and its relevant contribution to climate action, offering a high-level platform for an exchange on challenges and opportunities in the deployment of geothermal solutions globally.

Associated Publications

• Geothermal: The Solution Underneath (2021)

This Ministerial Meeting aimed to engage Ministers and heads of organisations in discussing the adaptation benefits of renewable energy, with a specific focus on the linkages with the agriculture and water sectors. It was an opportunity for IRENA Members and other organisations to showcase renewables-linked adaptation initiatives, share best practices and lessons, and discuss measures to attract financing for such solutions. The Ministerial aimed to strengthen the link between the energy transition and climate action across sectors, and the broader 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Following introductory remarks and keynote presentations, delegations were invited to make interventions within an allotted time of three minutes and exchange views on the matter.

Associated Publications

• Bracing for climate impact: Renewables as a climate change adaptation strategy (2021)
• Renewable energy for agri-food systems – Towards the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement (2021)
• Climate Action with Renewables: Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions (2021)
• Accelerating geothermal heat adoption in the agri-food sector: Key lessons and recommendations (2019)
• Water Use in India’s Power Generation: Impact of Renewables and Improved Cooling Technologies to 2030 (2018)
• Water Use in China’s Power Sector: Impact of Renewables and Cooling Technologies to 2030 (2016)
• Solar Pumping for Irrigation: Improving livelihoods and sustainability (2016)
• Renewable Energy Benefits: Decentralised solutions in the agri-food chain (2016)
• In focus: Complementarity between hydropower and other renewable generation technologies (Renewable Energy Market Analysis: Latin America (2016)
• Renewable Energy in the Water, Energy and Food Nexus (2015)

This Ministerial Meeting discussed the relationship between development and energy, diving deep into the interlinkages between SDG7 and other SDGs, including SDG8 on Decent Work and Economic Growth and SDG9 on Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure. It provided a platform to showcase leadership and commitments in support of putting energy transitions at the centre of development and industrialisation goals in Africa, and enable discussions amongst Ministers from Africa and IRENA’s wider global Membership as well as high-level private sector participants on this important topic. The Ministerial Meeting also witnessed the launch of IRENA’s report ‘Renewable Energy Market Analysis: Africa and its Regions’, developed in partnership with the African Development Bank. Following introductory remarks and keynote presentations, delegations were invited to make interventions within an allotted time of three minutes and exchange views on the matter.

Associated Publications

• Africa Regional Market Analysis (Forthcoming)
• World Energy Transitions Outlook (2021)

Long-term energy scenarios have been used as effective tools for energy planning by various governments. In the face of the clean energy transition, transformative change is envisioned not only within the energy sector and but also for society at large. There is an increased awareness that planning for the clean energy transition may demand a new level of complexity to the governance of the scenario planning process and in some cases, to the underlying modelling methodologies.

This side event, which is also a special and the final session of the LTES Africa webinar series, featured the development and use of LTES by selected African power pools. The power pools devise the regional master plan to enable intra-continental power system integration between African countries in the same region.

The objective of the side event was to share the lessons learnt from the African power pools’ LTES planning practices, both in terms of institutional governance as well as LTES methodologies.

Many countries are currently developing strategies to become climate neutral by mid-century, yet decarbonisation of the harder to abate sectors is still in a nascent stage, with limited solutions at hand. That is why hydrogen has emerged as a policy priority in the past couple of years. However, with this growing momentum to establish a global hydrogen market comes the need for a deeper understanding of its broader effects, including on the geopolitics of energy.

Tasked by the Collaborative Framework on the Geopolitics of Energy Transformation (CF-GET), IRENA has carried out an in-depth analysis of the geopolitics of hydrogen. Building on IRENA’s substantial body of work in hydrogen and the Global Commission’s report, "A New World – The Geopolitics of the Energy Transformation" in 2019, the new report reflects on many of the key themes with a targeted focus on hydrogen evolution.

Francesco La Camera, Director General at IRENA, presented the key findings of the report “Geopolitics of Energy Transformation: The Hydrogen Factor”, followed by a short exchange around the larger topic of the Geopolitics of the Energy Transformation and the role of hydrogen.

Associated Publications

• A New World – The Geopolitics of the Energy Transformation (2019)
• Green Hydrogen: A Guide to Policy Making (2020)
• Green Hydrogen Cost Reduction (2020)
• World Energy Transitions Outlook: 1.5°C Pathway (2021)
• Green Hydrogen Supply: A Guide to Policy Making (2021)
• Decarbonising End-Use Sectors: Practical Insights on Green Hydrogen (2021)

This High-Level Meeting was organised through the SIDS Lighthouses Initiative and it aimed to engage Ministers, high-level representatives of development partners, multilateral and private organisations, in discussing the investment and capacity needs as well as identifying the appropriate enabling frameworks that will facilitate actions that contribute to the achievement of the SIDS commitments to the Paris Agreement and sharing best practices for transitioning towards climate resilient economies.

Associated Publications

• SIDS Lighthouses Initiative: Progress and Way Forward (2021)
• Climate Action with Energy Transition: Enhancing and Implementing Nationally Determined Contributions
• IRENA Member Countries Statistical Profiles