IRENA, World Government Summit to advance renewable energy shift

Staff Reporter, Gulf Today

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and World Government Summit on Sunday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly promote the development of the renewable energy sector globally.

With a focus on the energy system, the two organisations will use their convening power to identify effective solutions to meet global challenges, promote sustainable development and support governments as they work to shape a better future for coming generations.

The agreement was signed by Francesco La Camera, Director-General of IRENA, and Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications and Managing Director of the World Government Summit.

Omar Sultan Al Olama said the Summit shares IRENA’s vision of a future where next generations have access to sustainable energy. “This partnership with IRENA reflects the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to promote areas of cooperation and to share successful experiences and expertise with governments and global organizations, in sectors most associated with human life, and His Highness’s focus on diversifying energy sources and promoting them.”

He continued: “The World Government Summit shares the Agency’s vision and aspiration to provide sustainable, efficient and eco-friendly energy sources for coming generations. As a platform for global partnerships aimed at building a better future for societies, the World Government Summit will lead efforts and initiatives to promote the renewable energy sector and bring together all stakeholders to design and develop solutions to achieve this goal.”

IRENA Director-General, Francesco La Camera welcome the partnership, saying: “The energy transition is fundamental to rebuilding our economies in a way that is sustainable and resilient. Under this collaboration both organisations will work to advance renewable energy deployment efforts by convening leading decision makers in the field of energy, climate, policy and investment.

La Camera continued: “Cooperation remains the cornerstone of the world’s response to its most pressing issues, and through this partnership we aim to bring people together to codevelop the solutions we need to achieve critical goals this decade. “

The two entities will co-develop initiatives and joint events that facilitate knowledge sharing, promote the identification of new opportunities and encourage cooperation to advance renewable energy and develop solutions to emerging transition related challenges, thereby contributing to the future readiness of governments.

The World Government Summit, which was launched under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, in 2013, is a leading global platform that brings together government leaders, ministers, senior officials, decision makers and pioneers Ideas and specialists in finance, economy and societies from around the world to exchange experiences and knowledge that contribute to the foresight of the future of governments, and hosts a variety of workshops, sessions and initiatives to explore and share the latest trends and best practices in government leadership and provide innovative solutions to pre-empt global challenges.

Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy (DoE) has launched a Regulatory Policy for Clean Energy Certificates as part of its commitment to driving the transition to a sustainable decarbonised energy sector and marking a foundational step to establish a market for trading renewable and nuclear energy attributes in the emirate.

The Policy sets out the regulations and principles for implementing a clean energy certificates scheme in Abu Dhabi, as a measure to help reduce the carbon footprint associated with power generation while providing a reliable accreditation system that caters to the growing appetite among corporate businesses and households to the fight against climate change.

Since electricity generated from clean energy sources is indistinguishable from that produced by any other source, such an attribute tracking system is required to validate electricity providers’ and consumers’ claims of using low or zero-emissions electricity, thereby reducing their carbon footprint.

DoE designed the Clean Energy Certificates scheme based on the internationally recognised attribute tracking system for renewable energy certificates developed by the International Renewable Energy Certificate Standard Foundation (I-REC Standard). An agreement has been signed between both parties, appointing DoE as the accredited I-REC local issuer for Abu Dhabi.

Four key parties have been identified as key enablers for implementing Abu Dhabi’s Clean Energy Certificates scheme. The DoE is the ‘Issuer’, the entity formally authorised to issue Clean Energy Certificates within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.