IRENA Twelfth Assembly Live

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IRENA twelfth Assembly under the theme Energy Transition: From Commitments to Action start on Saturday, 15th January 2022. The meetings continue on 16th January.

See the full schedule here.

The sessions will be live-streamed on this webpage.

The second day of the IRENA Assembly starts at 3:00pm on Sunday, 16th January. 

22:45
The IRENA  Assembly is now continuing with a discussion on administrative and institutional matters. This session is a closed session. 
22:25
22:15

The IRENA Assembly has continued with the Signature of Framework Agreements.

The Agreements included a framework agreement with El Salvador to put the energy transition centre-stage of national economic and social agendas and a strategic partnership agreement with India to broaden renewable technology base including to green hydrogen. Other agreements included partnerships with the Energy Community, ENEL Green Power and the International Chamber of Shipping.

21:37
The IRENA Twelfth Assembly have adopted the Annual Report and Proposed Work Programme and Budget presented by the Director-General, Francesco La Camera. 
19:01

The Twelfth Session of the IRENA Assembly continues today with Member Interventions.

After the conclusion of member interventions, the Assembly will hear reports from the Ministerial plenary sessions and other events previously held, including the IRENA Legislators Forum, Public-Private Dialogue and the IRENA Youth Forum. See the Pre-Assembly Live coverage for more information. 

Following the adoption of Annual Report and Proposed Work Programme and Budget, the Assembly will witness the signing of a number of partnership agreements and Memoranda of Understanding.

22:07

The Member Interventions will now commence, follow the live stream or video link for more:

21:57

Watch the presentation of the Annual Report of the Director-General on the Implementation of the Work Programme and Budget for 2020-2021 and the Proposed Work Programme and Budget for 2022-2023:

21:55

The Director-General, Francesco La Camera, is now presenting the Annual Report on the Implementation of the Work Programme and Budget for 2020-2021 and a Proposed Work Programme and Budget for 2022-2023 outlining Agency's current work and upcoming priorities. 

"The energy transition is a global challenge and that is why the solutions must be found on so many levels," said the Director-General highlighting IRENA's work to date and IRENA's flagship publication, the World Energy Transitions Outlook: 1.5°C Pathway. The report outlines a pathway for the world to achieve the Paris Agreement goals and halt the pace of climate change by transforming the global energy landscape. This global pathway will now be translated into regional pathways, said Mr La Camera. 

21:47

Watch the Launch of the Geopolitics of the Energy Transformation: The Hydrogen Factor Report 

21:45

The moderator, Ms Melinda Crane, has concluded the session summarizing the discussion saying "above all, international cooperation will be absolutely essential to effectively navigate the unknowns, mitigate risks and overcome obstacles as we do more with the hydrogen factor." 

Download the full report

21:40

There have been previous booms in hydrogen more focused on transportation,” says author Daniel Yergin speaking to IRENA Director-General at the launch of the new report on the geopolitics of hydrogen. “I think what has brought it to the fore now is that hydrogen can play a role in the hard to decarbonise sectors like industry. There is a lot of talk about a switch from natural gas to hydrogen gas because infrastructure that exists for hydrogen can be used for hydrogen.” But like any other industry, the hydrogen business will take time to grow, he added. The next three years will give us a real sense of how quickly it’s possible to mobilize the industrial engineering capabilities to bring an integrated chain into the hydrogen market. In their conversation, the Director-General agreed that time and scale are the two main components as far as the future of hydrogen is concerned.  "IRENA’s report is a pivotal starting point in this journey," Mr Yergin added.

"We are at the beginning of the new era when it coms to hydrogen," said Mr Yergin concluding the conversation. 

21:32

H.E. Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, United Arab Emirates in his message underlined that for more than a decade now the UAE has continuously supported IRENA’s critical work on geopolitics and the energy transition. "For our part, the UAE is the founder and a member of the global commission on the geopolitics of energy transformation. Over the last year the UAE has acted as the co-chair of IRENA’s collective framework on the geopolitics of energy transformation. In this capacity, the UAE urges IRENA member states to conduct an in-depth analysis on the impact of hydrogen on the current and future geopolitical environment," he said.

21:26

IRENA is working on hydrogen through its Collaborative Framework on Hydrogen which gathers many IRENA Members.

One of the Framework Co-Facilitator, Germany, is today represented by H.E. Anna Lührmann, Minister of State for Europe and Climate, Germany who underlines the importance of policies for hydrogen development as hydrogen is indeed an answer to many decarbonisation challenges. "This very decade, the 2020s, must become the new roaring 20s with a flood of investment in sustainable energy and technology." She added that hydrogen will truly transform the energy market and it will have profound consequences on global markets overall. The technology exists but the regulatory framework lags behind, we need to explore rules for market access and connectivity. "Common rules are indispensable, there must be less division in the world," she added. Our energy decisions of today will impact the geopolitical landscape of tomorrow. The new form of diplomacy could be a hydrogen diplomacy.

21:17
21:12

IRENA has published a new report on the Geopolitics of the Energy Transformation: The Hydrogen Factor today. Read the press release

The launch session is moderated by Ms Melinda Crane, Chief Political Correspondent, DW TV who opened the session bringing up the urgency for action and invited the Director-General, Francesco La Camera to present the report. 

21:08

Watch the High-level meeting on the follow up on COP26 and the High-Level Dialogue on Energy outcomes:

21:07

Thanking the speakers and panelists for their participation, H.E. Ms Alexandra Hill Tinoco, Minister of Foreign Affairs, El Salvador highlighted the “urgency for action” and reiterated that “the future is now”. She concluded the session by saying, “These insights are important for the Agency and Members to create solutions in technologies for energy transition. There are many opportunities for Member states to find solutions on energy related issues. Promoting green recovery from Covid-19 pandemic through sustainable solutions is of utmost importance right now.”

She then hands over Melinda Crane from DW News to moderate the launch of the geopolitics report.

21:05

Becky Anderson is now winding up the high-level session. In their final remarks the participants bring up the need to speed up the transition through investment and making sure the transition is just, also by including the small islands development states as part of global transition through investment into their recovery.

The Director-General, Francesco La Camera also brought uo a need for investment in Africa, new technologies, including hydrogen, need for international cooperation. He underlined enormous knowledge database of IRENA available for all.

"The message is clear, we need to act and we need to act fast," Ms Anderson closed the discussion with a string statement. 

20:38

Becky Anderson has now invited Francesco La Camera to give him input. He highlighted that we all agree that the next 10 years are decisive. It is even less than that to 2030 and we need to look at technologies and scale, and the only answer here are renewables, complemented by hydrogen, in this period also blue and then green, as well as sustainable biomass. Innovation is crucial, he added. This is also the only solution that is socially fair, he concluded.

20:33

Mr. Achim Steiner, Administrator, UNDP stated that, “The recovery from the pandemic has catapulted an aggressive approach towards energy transition and #renewable energies. But for this, the national policies need to be reviewed and an investment environment needs to be made."

20:30

"Africa is one of the contents that will be impacted most by the impact of climate change," said Mr. Mohamed Shaker El-Markabi, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Egypt and Vice-President of the IRENA Assembly. "As host of COP27, our vision is to move to an implementation phase, improving access to electricity, energy efficiency and further increase climate ambition," he underlined.

Mr Mohamed hopes that COP27 will be another landmark in this energy transformation, moving from preparation of decisions to the phase of implementing these initiatives to see real decrease of emissions.

20:23
“We must never forget climate justice,” says Molwyn Joseph, Minister of Health, Wellness and the Environment for Antigua and Barbuda. “The case has to be made, that small island developing states and LDCs (landlocked developing countries) must be placed at the top of the agenda, let us get that first of all.”
20:21
“IRENA's role is becoming even more important moving forward because we want to make sure that COP27 really delivers. The rhetoric stops here and the action starts,” says Amani Abou-Zeid Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy at the African Union.
20:15

“It's simple. Major emitters need to do better in mitigation. They need to comply with the global goal of 1.5 degrees and update NDCs to make it happen,” says Frans Timmermans Vice President of the European Union. “Major emitters are mostly the G20 countries and those countries should take the lead. The EU is doing its part in reducing emissions by 55 per cent by 2030 but one of the major issues is speeding up the energy transition.”

20:12
A moderated discussion moderated by Ms Becky Anderson, CNN starts now. She has introduced all the participants and opened the conversation with a broad question to all the guests asking about the "main opportunities and challenges in implementing the objectives outlines by COP26 and how the objectives can be leveraged through IRENA's expertise to achieve the goals". 
20:01
“Major announcements were made at COP26 in critical areas on deforestation and power generation. Yet it is a fragile win,” said UK Energy Minister Greg Hands. “1.5 degrees lives – 1.5 is alive - but we cannot be complacent. It will only survive if we deliver on our promises and increase our ambition. Over the next year the world must come together to turn commitments into action.”
19:50

As the high level meeting moved to Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations’, she made it explicitly clear that so much more needs to be done in the energy sector and, urgently. She further added, “The global energy roadmap provided by the member countries shows essential milestones for the energy transition. We need decisive actions to close the energy access gap worldwide. We need clean energy access to 260 million people along with decarbonized energy systems. She highlighted the urgent priorities as the coalition of public and private finance for packages of support; integrating a just and inclusive energy transition into every aspect of national policies; keepong the 1.5 degree goal within reach when we move from commitment to action.

19:48

In the introductory remarks, António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, said the IRENA Twelfth Assembly brings together ministers of energy as well as all other vital stakeholders in the energy landscape. It offers a unique opportunity to shape the energy discourse and drive investment in the growing green economy. What's needed is phasing out coal, putting a price on carbon, ending fossil fuel subsidies and ensuring support for a just transition. That's why I am calling on governments and the private sector to form coalitions to help energy transition in developing countries.

19:47
In his introductory remarks, IRENA Director-General reminded the audience that the theme for this Assembly is “from commitment to action”. This message carries a special significance, as it is crystal clear that we can no longer continue with business as usual if we are to live in a world that is safe, resilient and prosperous for all. “We still have a lot more work to do. Even if every commitment made at the High-Level Dialogue and COP is fulfilled, we are falling short of what is needed to achieve.
19:46

In her message to IRENA at the High-Level Meeting today, Ms Mariam Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, UAE demonstrated the progress made by UAE in energy transition by saying, “ I am proud that UAE has been a leader in accelerating this cause by focusing on enhancing the endeavors for adopting a more sustainable approach. UAE became the first country in the MENA region to promise net zero by 2050, at COP26.” She concluded her message by commending IRENA and said, “The development of blue and green hydrogen will help in supporting local industries and will also help in achieving climate neutrality.”

19:42

The Assembly now continued with the High-level Meeting on the Follow-Up on COP26 and the High-Level Dialogue on Energy Outcomes.

In his opening remarks, Francesco La Camera underlined that the policy commitments and technology developments are moving markets and investments. The question is how to accelerate renewables and the energy transition to achieve SDGs and Paris Agreement goals. “Simply said, we need to move from implementation to action.” 

19:40

Watch the Assembly Opening and Welcoming Statements:

19:39
"Our future is now" - a strong opening by the current Twelth Assembly President, H.E. Ms Alexandra Hill Tinoco. "This Assembly is taking place in a critical moment for mankind," she continued outlining how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected our world and societies. “We have an enormous commitment towards creating a greener world for generations to come," she added. She underlined the credibility and power that IRENA as an intergovernmental organisation 167 Members strong, has to create synergies, promote international policies and efficient, accessible and low-cost energies and therefore combat the effect of global warming.
19:19

H.E. Ms Alexandra Hill Tinoco, Minister of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador will serve as the President of the Twelfth Assembly. She commences with confirming agendas and rapporteurs for the entire Assembly, to make sure objectives of each session are met with the active engagement of all participants.

19:15

In her opening remarks, H.E. Ms Teresa Ribera, Deputy Prime Minister of Spain and the Eleventh Assembly President whilst commending the Member countries’ commitment to accelerate energy transition on a national and global level, she also said "we need all, we need more, we need faster," referring to the needs to accelerate energy transition at the global level. She continued stressing that the work is not done, it is only the beginning of the path to 1.5 degree and more action and investment is needed. At the same time, she underlined that we need to pay attention to the social impact the transition brings. 'We need to embark on a clear pathway of action', she highlighted. "We need to take the steps to move from commitment to action in the coming decade, " she concluded. 

Follow and contribute to IRENA's #ChooseAction campaign. 

19:00

Welcome to the 12th IRENA Assembly blog. The first day of the Assembly - the 2nd World Energy Transition Day, commences with an opening session.

After the welcoming statements, a High-Level Meeting and Dialogue takes place where the participants including Ministers, heads of international organisations and private actors will share their views on the outcomes of the United Nations High-Level Dialogue on Energy and the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties at its 26th session (COP26).

The session will be followed by the launch of the Geopolitics of the Energy Transformation: The Hydrogen Factor, a new IRENA report focusing on the role of hydrogen in the geopolitics of energy. Francesco La Camera, IRENA Director-General, will present the key findings of the report.

The sessions will continue with the presentations on the Work Programme and Budget, and later the floor will be opened for Member Interventions.

20

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