Action, not talk, needed on clean energy: Irena

A gathering of 90 ministers, members of the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), stressed that for the world to adopt clean energy, the intergovernmental agency must focus on actionable results, rather than high-level discussions.

Open dialogue between the members of Irena will encourage further multilateral cooperation and play an integral role in the development of sustainable energy systems, uniting both developed and industrialised nations.

Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Special Envoy for Energy and Climate Change, CEO of Masdar, and President of the ongoing session, said: "Irena was created to accelerate the global adoption of renewable energy. For the agency to live up to its promise, it must focus on delivering real, measurable results that address the critical issues we seek to address. From climate change to energy security, our members are dedicated to meaningful collaborations, and economic solutions to shift the energy mix to include renewable resources.

"For Irena to have a long-term impact, we must steer away from bureaucratic dialogue and utilise this platform for an open policy discussion that will ensure the agency remains an efficient, lean organisation that heeds real results," added Dr Al Jaber.

On Tuesday, the second day of the historic first session of Irena, the General Assembly gathered 800 delegates from 150 nations - all share the agency's mission to promote the acceleration and adoption of renewable energy worldwide.

The newly appointed Irena Director General, Dr Adnan Amin, said: "It is crucial that we leverage the presence of such influential ministers to initiate dialogue that leads to measurable results. Following the adoption of the institutional founding documents of the agency - it was important for us to extract input from the ministers and engage in active discussions on their future expectations of the Agency."

The minister session, moderated by Maud Olofsson, Swedish Minister for Enterprise and Energy and Jose Rene D Almendras, Philippine Secretary of Energy, included discussions on how Irena's role can have a significant impact in the upcoming Rio +20 meetings and the COP 17 negotiations in Durban. In addition, Ministers also examined the importance of engagement between the public and private sectors and the best ways in which Irena can assist member states in the sharing of policy best practices, capacity building and facilitating multi-stakeholder interaction.

Attending the meeting were ministers from Brunei, Chile, England, Germany, Korean, Nigeria, South Africa, and other nations.

On Monday's historic first session of the International Renewable Energy Agency, member nations officially confirmed the UAE as the permanent home to the global organisation and selected Adnan Amin, as the Director General of the Agency.

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