International Renewable Energy Agency
 |
|
| Formation | 26 January 2009 |
|---|---|
| Type | international organization |
| Legal status | treaty organization |
| Purpose | promotion of renewable energy |
| Headquarters | Masdar City, United Arab Emirates |
| Location | |
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Membership
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150 states |
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Official language
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English |
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Director-General
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Adnan Amin |
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Main organ
|
Assembly |
| Website | www.irena.org |
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organization to promote adoption and sustainable use of renewable energy. It was founded in 2009 and its statute entered into force on 8 July 2010. The agency is headquartered in Abu Dhabi. The Director-General of IRENA is Adnan Amin, a national of Kenya. IRENA is an official United Nations Observer.
The first suggestions for an international renewable agency is based on the 1980 Brandt Report activities. NGOs and industry lobbying groups like Eurosolar, the World Council for Renewable Energy (WCRE) and the World Wind Energy Association have promoted IRENA since several decades. 1990 the Austrian government of Franz Vranitzky suggested a reneweables agency to the UN. One of the drivers was Hermann Scheer, a German politician and lobbyist which was acting as president of EUROSOLAR and chair of WCRE.
On 15 June, at their annual event, the WWEA gave their 2010 World Wind Energy Award to the Founding member States of IRENA. They stated: "The creation of IRENA can be seen as the most important decision ever taken on the global level in favour of renewable energy. The founding of IRENA sent out a very strong signal to the world community that renewable energy will have to play and will play a key role in the future energy supply all over the world. With the Award, WWEA would also like to indicate that WWEA is committed to work closely with IRENA and will continue to give its full support."
54 countries participated in the Preparatory Conference for the Foundation of the International Renewable Energy Agency in Berlin, held on 10 and 11 April 2008. This meeting followed several other meetings since 1981 which also discussed the formation of IRENA. At Berlin, government representatives met to discuss the objectives, activities, finances, and organizational structure of IRENA. Participants expressed a need to begin a swift transition to a more secure, sustainable renewable energy economy with the assistance of an international body.
The Founding Conference of the International Renewable Energy Agency was held in Bonn, Germany, on 26 January 2009. 75 countries signed the Agency's statute. The statute entered into force on 8 July 2010, thirty days after the twenty-fifth country deposits its instrument of ratification. The Founding Conference established the Preparatory Commission for IRENA, which consists of all signatory states.
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