IRENA was founded a decade ago to solve the world’s energy problems. It’s like the United Nations of Renewable Energy and anyone who is a serious stakeholder in renewables from government to news to suppliers goes to this annual event.
This year it’s happening today, with more than 1,500 delegates and high-level participants including prime ministers, bank CEOs and leaders from the private sector will gather for the 10th assembly in Abu Dhabi tomorrow. It’s a serious meeting because people don’t travel all that way for nothing. They also dovetail their attendance at the event prior to the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and the World Future Energy Summit, taking place from 13 to 16 January 2020.
Green Prophet has been invited to these events in the past, and they are a great way to see emerging technologies and use in the Middle East. Solar energy and renewable energy stakeholders should be there.
“As the lead intergovernmental agency for the energy transformation, IRENA and its Assembly, will endeavor to set in motion a decade of rapid energy sector development to ensure that renewables support a new age of universal energy access, sustainable economic growth and climate action,” said IRENA Director General Francesco La Camera. “There is no question we are moving in the right direction but a significant increase in the speed of transformation is critical to global development.
“This Assembly also marks an important moment in the Agency’s evolution. The need for multilateral cooperation and long-term decision making has never been greater in the context of energy planning,” continued Mr. La Camera.
The 10th Assembly will engage women and youth, address low-carbon investment needs, discuss climate and energy policy and explore emerging technology options, to promote actionable outcomes that advance energy transformation.
Ten years on things have changed for renewables: global goals also need to address key social needs and climate change while building sustainable economic outcomes.
The Assembly will be presided over by Uganda’s Deputy Prime Minister, H.E. Ally Kirunda Kivejinja.
A day of preliminary meetings and discussions will take place today January 10, including the IRENA Legislators Forum, a High-Level Meeting on the Geopolitics of the Global Energy Transformation and a High-Level Meeting on Accelerating the Energy Transformation in Small Island Developing States.
Youth will feature on the agenda for the first time at an IRENA Assembly. The Agency will invite young people from around the world to the first IRENA Youth Forum, offering young people an opportunity to make concrete contributions to the global energy discourse and stay informed on developments in the renewable energy sector. Guess Greta Thunberg had something to do with this.
Some countries will be given aid and long term loans to help them meet new and expected international energy goals.
Meet windy women
A high-level dinner celebrating the role of women in the renewable energy sector will feature. The evening session will include the launch of a new publication on the role of women in the wind energy sector, presented by IRENA in collaboration with the Global Wind Energy Council and Global Women’s Network for the Energy Transition.
More about IRENA’s participation during the World Future Energy Summit can be found here.
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