IRENA and the challenge for Renewable Energy
I have just returned from the 4th General
Assembly of the International Renewable Energies Agency (IRENA) based in Abu Dhabi.
It is the youngest intergovernmental body with now 124
countries as full members and 43 states in accession.
At this Assembly China joined IRENA and attended with a
large delegation. China brings substantive weight to IRENA due to being the
largest producer of solar energy, the largest installed wind power capacity in
the world, they also have something like 20% ethanol in the total automotive
fuel consumption not to mention that hydropower also is providing over 210 GW.
China is also the largest producer of CO2 now more than the
next two countries combined (USA and India). It is hoping to reduce its
production from 70% to closer to 30-50% by 2015. This will require even more
investment in renewables and therefore being a strong member of IRENA they hope
will help in identifying the best ideas around in the area of renewables.
IRENA had a good Assembly as an intergovernmental organization
its budget is going up and the work governments want it to undertake increasing.
The present Executive Secretary Adnan Amin has in a very short time made IRENA
the organization to go to for work on renewables. They have managed this by
building positive relationships with other energy organizations such as the InternationalEnergy Agency, REN 21 and the parts of the UN doing work on energy such as the
Secretary Generals Sustainable Energy for All initiative.
Another example of this was the launch of their first ‘Coalition
for Action’ to Bolster Public Support for Renewable Energy. The multi-stakeholder
coalition made up of IRENA and 35 leading players in renewable energy from
around the world. This included such diverse members as Greenpeace, Center for
Science and Environment (India), WWF International, companies such as Vestas,
First Solar, ENEL Green Power, and Industry Associations such as .
This Coalition will address that while public awareness of
the promise of renewable energy is relatively strong, renewable energy
developers and investors still need to gain the confidence of local communities
and decision makers to ensure support for such projects.
The activities of the Coalition will be:
1.
Knowledge base; Collect renewable energy facts
and scientific evidence and provide quality assurance to ensure robust
arguments.
2.
Network of communicators: Host a network of
communications officers in the renewable energy sector, public agencies and
media , and share the ;latest news, information, lessons and training
opportunities.
3.
Common communication material: Produce visual
and print material promoting renewable energy facts that can be disseminated by
all, and
4.
Responding to concerns and misconceptions:
Monitor media coverage and coordinate swift, collective responses among members
when necessary, along with systematically engaging influential journalists and
opinion makers.
The work of IRENA on renewable energy corridors in Africa,
Asia and Latin America offer the chance for those countries to jump to new
environmentally friendly technology and ones that often are off grid and therefore
supporting local energy provision. As
Adnan Amin said in an article for Our Planet in the runup to Rio+20:
IRENA aims to capitalize on experience and foster
cooperation at global, regional and
national levels, sharing knowledge,
enabling policies, enhancing capacity,
and encouraging investment,
technological development and
innovation. In the end, renewable energy
is one of the best hopes we have for
achieving a more sustainable and
inclusive future.”
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