IRENA assembley in Abu Dhabi to set renewable energy agenda

Delegates from 150 countries will convene the third session of the Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) on 13-14 January in Abu Dhabi.

The preeminent annual renewable energy event aims to help set the global policy agenda for the transition to a sustainable future based on renewable resources and technologies.

IRENA is a global intergovernmental Agency with 105 members and has another 55 participating nations in the process of becoming members.

Delegates who will be attending include energy and environment ministers from countries that are leading the way with the deployment and uptake of renewable energy technologies.

The event is a central occasion for setting the agenda and crystallizing the global effort in the world's transition to clean, sustainable energy.

Since its establishment in 2011, IRENA has become a hub for key issues such as how to double the share of renewables in the global energy mix by 2030, one of the key targets set out last year in the UN Secretary-General's Sustainable Energy for All initiative.

Boosting renewable energy to 30 per cent would lead to a host of significant benefits but current progress has been underwhelming and if these levels were maintained renewables will account for 21 per cent of the global energy mix by 2030.

Discussions in Abu Dhabi will focus on setting a global roadmap, REMAP 2030, to recommend actions, to track progress and highlight new opportunities to accelerate the deployment of renewables.

The Global Renewable Energy Atlas, an online resource assessment tool, will become active on the IRENA website on 13 January as several more countries join the collaborate initiative to make solar and wind data openly available. IRENA experts will also give presentations on the Renewables Readiness Assessment (RRA) process, which provides country-specific guidance to scale up renewable energy and spreads the knowledge of what has worked successfully.

The Assembly marks the opening of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, a series of high-level energy and environmental conferences in the UAE capital, home of IRENA's headquarters.

Dramatic falls in costs have made renewable energy increasingly competitive with fossil fuels globally, the latest IRENA report confirms.