The creation of the International Renewable Energy Association (IRENA) has taken a step forward with the signing of a Foundation Treaty and agreements on establishing a headquarters and a centre of technology and innovation.
At a meeting of the organization’s Preparatory Commission in Egypt, 22 states signed IRENA’s Foundation Treaty and designated Abu Dhabi as the interim headquarters. It was also decided that Bonn will host IRENA’s centre of technology and innovation and its liaison office will be located in Vienna.
IRENA was officially established in January 2009 and has so far accumulated a membership of 136 states. Its mandate is to become a driving force for the rapid and widespread development and deployment of renewable energy on a global scale.
The selection of Abu Dhabi marks the first time that an international organization has chosen a Middle East city for its headquarters. IRENA’s offices will be located in Masdar City, the UAE’s flagship ‘ecopolis’ project.
Abu Dhabi competed with bids from Germany, Austria and Denmark but the IRENA commission was attracted by the UAE’s ability to “serve as a bridge between the developing and developed world” as well as “the allure of the world’s first carbon neutral city and a generous commitment of financial and political support”, according to a statement from the UAE.
“This is a great achievement for the United Arab Emirates, but more importantly it is a testament to the strength of the relationships we have established throughout our campaign. It was very important for us to offer IRENA a value proposition that would help the agency achieve its goals by engaging with developing and developed nations alike," said His Highness Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates. “The UAE is committed to working with each of the member countries and meeting the immediate needs of IRENA to ensure its successful launch.”
“This has been a tremendous educational experience, and has strengthened bonds with our IRENA co-members that will allow us to collectively advance the benefits of renewable energy on all continents,” said Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar and a key architect of the UAE’s bid. He added that the efforts by the UAE to encourage non-signatory nations to join IRENA not only strengthened the UAE bid but also strengthened the organization itself, which grew from 75 member states at the time of its foundation in January to over 130 countries to date.
As part of its commitment to IRENA, the UAE offered to support the agency with a grant of $136 million over a six year period, while also covering all operational costs in perpetuity. Moreover, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development created a special endowment of up to $50 million annually to be used for loans in support of renewable energy projects in the developing world.
The UAE bid attracted wide spread international support by key figures, including Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Dr. Rajendra K Pachauri, Nobel laureate and Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC).
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