DG of IRENA confirmed
Abu Dhabi, 05.04.2011 - REEEP International Secretariat / IRENA
Mr. Adnan Amin was sworn in for a four-year term as Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) at the first General Assembly of that organisation. This followed the fifth and last meeting of the Preparatory Commission, which was chaired by Ogunlade Davidson of Sierra Leone. Dr. Marianne Osterkorn, Director General of REEEP, had the opportunity to congratulate Mr. Amin on his appointment personally.
In addition to naming the Director General, the two-day General Assembly meeting, which drew 800 delegates from 150 countries, also confirmed that Abu Dhabi would host the new intergovernmental organisation.
IRENA is backed by both the developed and developing world as a key new catalyst towards the expansion of renewable energy. A Ministerial Roundtable on the strategic needs for a clean energy future met to discuss developing and developed country views on the role of IRENA, how the agency should position itself vis a vis other institutions, and the creation of markets and policies to facilitate renewable energy uptake.
According to Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), UNEP looks forward to working in close partnership with IRENA in mainstreaming renewable energy worldwide.
"This is a key sector of UNEP's Green Economy work and both agency are natural allies in accelerating a transition at the national and global level in order to meet the multiple goals of sustainable development, poverty eradication, green growth and decent job generation," Steiner said.
IRENA is a very different kind of international organization. Its topic, its structure, and its mission will be dramatically different from the international organizations of previous generations, said Assistant Secretary Kerri-Ann Jones, U.S. Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs.
"Instead of prescribing top-down solutions, IRENA will work across sectors and across technologies to build capacity and foster innovation," Jones said in her remarks as over 70 ministerial-level representatives delivered their country statements.