The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to promote the widespread and increased adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy. It was founded in Bonn in 2009. Today, membership of IRENA comprises 159 States and the European Union, out of which 100 States and the EU have ratified the Statute.

IRENA’s first Director General, Adnan Z. Amin, a national of Kenya, was appointed in April 2011 for an initial term of four years.

IRENA is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The IRENA Innovation and Technology Centre (IITC), one of its three directorates, is located in Bonn. IRENA currently works with around 100 international experts.

IRENA is to become the global voice of renewable energies in international discussions as well as a hub that allows countries to share experiences on successful models for increasing the use of renewable energies, on enabling policy frameworks, capacity-building, available finance mechanisms and renewable energy-related energy efficiency measures. As an advisory resource, IRENA is to facilitate access to renewable energy information, including technological expertise, economic data, renewable resource potential data and renewable energy scenarios, and to advise countries on how to increase the use of renewable energies.

Cooperation with other actors

IRENA is an international organisation with global reach, created to support the efforts of all actors to dramatically increase the deployment of renewable energy technologies on a global scale. Governments, national and international institutions, non-governmental organisations, and the private sector are indispensable partners.

Work programme

IRENA’s work programme consists of three programme areas:

The Knowledge Management and Technology Cooperation programme (KMTC) works on establishing a knowledge base, creates mechanisms for industry stakeholders and encourages regional collaboration as well as North-South and South-South cooperation. The KMTC programme is directed by Gauri Singh, a national of India.

The Policy Advisory Service and Capacity Building programme (PASCB) encourages the creation of an enabling environment for renewables which allows investments to be leveraged in a sustainable way. PASCB is also responsible for the IRENA scholarship Programme. The PASCB programme is directed by Hugo Lucas, a national of Spain.

The Innovation and Technology Centre (IITC) programme in Bonn aims to accelerate the uptake of renewable energy technology. The IITC is creating a framework for the support of technology development and innovation and works on cost reduction potentials and the wider use of standards. In fulfilling its part of the IRENA work programme, the IITC works closely with the two other sub-programmes, KMTC and PASCB, which are based at the IRENA headquarters in Abu Dhabi. The IITC is directed by Dolf Gielen, a national of the Netherlands. It has a staff of around 20.

The IITC seeks to provide governments with the means for an accelerated renewable energy technology uptake tailored to their specific needs, considering national economic conditions and resource endowment. For this purpose, it analyses current technology costs and standards. It develops scenarios, strategies and technology roadmaps to support governments in designing effective technology and innovation policies. It also develops roadmaps for the use of renewable energies in cities and in industrial processes and for implementing the goal of the UN Sustainable Energy for All initiative of doubling the share of renewables in the global energy mix to 30 percent by the year 2030.

Principal organs

IRENA has three principal organs. The Assembly, in which all ratifying Members are represented, is the supreme decision-making authority of IRENA. It convenes annually. The Council, currently composed of 21 Members, considers documents and reports, including the IRENA work programme and budget, and submits them to the Assembly for decision. Germany is a current member of the Council. It has been elected for a two-year term. The Secretariat implements the Agency’s work programme and assists the Assembly, the Council and their subsidiary organs in the performance of their functions. The Secretariat has offices in Abu Dhabi and Bonn. The Secretariat is led by the Director General.

More detailed information on the principal organs can be found in the IRENA Statute.

Background to the creation of IRENA

First calls for an international agency dedicated exclusively to renewable energy were already made in the early 1980s. As a result of an increasing interest in renewable energy globally, this call had become steadily louder and was finally pronounced very clearly by an important number of states at the 2004 Bonn International Conference for Renewable Energies. The idea was brought to life when IRENA was officially founded on 26 January 2009. The Agency became a fully-fledged international organisation at the first session of the Assembly which took place at its seat in Abu Dhabi on 4-5 April 2011.