My Dear IRENA Would You Like To Dance?

Time for an International Renewable Energy Agency?
by Lily Riahi, Contributing Writer
Berlin, Germany [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]
At the invitation of the German Federal Government, representatives from more than 60 countries met in Berlin earlier this month to discuss the founding of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), an intergovernmental organization that will exist to exclusively promote the adoption of renewable energy worldwide.
"Promoting renewables must now become a global and universal priority, and IRENA is a necessary condition for that goal. If we intend to embark on the renewable energy revolution, we cannot do it without IRENA."-- Bianca Jagger, Chair of the World Future Council
Participants expressed a sense of urgency to begin a swift transition to a more secure, sustainable renewable energy economy with the assistance of an international body. A variety of countries have expressed support for IRENA, including Spain, India, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Portugal and South Africa.
During the Berlin meeting on April 10th and 11th, government representatives met to discuss and hone the objectives, activities, finances, and organizational structure of IRENA. A common point of discussion during the workshops was the relationship between IRENA and other existing international bodies that deal with energy issues. Some countries expressed concerns over the duplication of activities or unecessary competition with organizations such as the International Energy Agency.While there were concerns over how IRENA would work alongside other bodies, it was made clear by participants that a strong, independent force for supporting renewables is necessary to realize the full social, economic and political benefits of clean energies. It was generally agreed that most of the existing initiatives lack a focal point. With limited mandates and capacities, current international renewable energy associations, networks and UN bodies cannot fill the institutional gap that IRENA plans to fill, said Bianca Jagger, Chair of the World Future Council.
“Promoting renewables must now become a global and universal priority, and IRENA is a necessary condition for that goal. If we intend to embark on the renewable energy revolution, we cannot do it without IRENA,” said Jagger in a speech.
“IRENA will work toward improved regulatory frameworks for renewable energy through enhanced policy advice, improvements in the transfer of renewable energy technology; progress on skills and know-how for renewable energy; it will be able to offer a scientifically sound information basis through applied policy research; and better financing of renewable energy,” she continued.
Although the International Energy Agency (IEA) established an advisory board on renewables in 1982, the world has yet to see a breakthrough in renewable energy adoption. This proves the need for an exclusive focus on creating the structural changes needed to ensure widespead adoption of renewable energy, said Hermann Scheer, founder of the European Association for Renewable Energies and member of the German parliament.
“The IEA will have to compensate for all of the current energy problems and won’t have time to push for new forms of energy,” said Scheer.
The IEA deals with questions of supply security and the needs of energy markets. This is reflected in its allocation of votes, which are based mainly on the oil consumption of different countries. As a result, it doesn’t cover in great detail the economic, political, and social aspects of renewable energy. In its in-depth country reviews, the IEA analyzes the energy policies of member states without fully recognizing the potential renewable energy, say some critics. The agency's focus remains on primarily on large-scale energy supply and therefore does not offer much needed advice on how to adapt energy markets towards more decentralized energy sources such as renewables. Further, in contrast to IRENA’s proposed global approach and diverse membership, the activities of the IEA are largely limited to countries involved with the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD).
According to conference organizers, IRENA will work alongside the IEA and other international bodies in areas of renewable energy research, similar to the relationship between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the IEA. One of the major reasons for the foundation of the IAEA in the 1950s was the desire to exploit the opportunities offered by what was then a new energy source. The same attention needs to be given to renewables, said Jose Etcheverry, a chair of the World Council on Renewable Energy.
“The world sorely lacks innovative economic, social and political institutional frameworks to provide strong support for renewable energy development worldwide,” said Etcheverry. “Conventional energy sources such as fossil fuels and nuclear power have incredibly powerful lobbyists to ensure that their interests are provided with preferential treatment over the more socially desirable options of renewable energy and efficiency.”
IRENA will address several critical barriers that are preventing the full-scale adoption of renewable energy. It will provide informed policy advice and assistance to national governments that are currently lacking the means and capacity to develop effective regulatory frameworks for renewable energy adoption.To strengthen technology transfer IRENA will combine the various independent projects and optimise synergies between them, focus on knowledge exchange, integrate technical, administrative and financial actions, and create suitable incentives for industry to engage in developing countries. Of course, none of these tasks can be fully accomplished without adequate human capacity. IRENA will provide an inventory of current training activities and provide courses for policy-makers and regulators on how to overcome administrative barriers to renewable energy adoption.
The time to create IRENA is now, said supporters. Indeed, as organizers learn from the decades of experience of other international agencies, they believe they can create of the most innovative, streamlined agenices in the world while helping usher in a new era of clean, sustainable energies.
Lily Riahi is a RenewableEnergyWorld.com Correspondent currently working out of Canada. She is a research intern for the office of Dr. Hermann Scheer and is currently finishing her masters on the socio-cultural barriers to renewable energy adoption.
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Reader Comments (6)
Author:willstedt heikki
Date Posted:April 25, 2008
The world needs a strong and well funded IRENA, a focal point were developing countries can find the assitance needed to leap-frog conventional energy technologies that simply cannot give solutions to the energy deprived billions living in those countries. At the same time it would be a counter-balancing force to the more conservative focus of the IEA and IAEA, which is badly needed if the world is to see future energy scenarios were renewables are more than 20% of the total world energy consumption by 2050. The EU should push for Germany or Spain to host the IRENA in order to keep the momentum for renewables that has been developed in the EU thanks mostly to these two countries.

Comment 1 of 6
Author:Paul Johnson
Date Posted:April 25, 2008
Please, no more ineffective bureaucracies that lack the ability to hold members accountable.

Comment 2 of 6
Author:morty prisament
Date Posted:April 25, 2008
Even if IRENA might start out with limited enforcement capabilities, such an organization would provide a much needed "framework" and "forum" through which information can be shared, issues debated, and policies developed. A comprehensive approach utilizing a central forum will stimulate discussion and actions on one of the most precient and far-reaching issues of our time. Currently, there is a flurry of activity on a multitude of fronts. If such an entity accomplished little more than tracking research, technological developments and trends, provided periodic commentaries on economic, financing, and marketing considerations, and reported on policy developments-all from an international perspective, we would be thereby advancing the transition to renewables.

Comment 3 of 6
Author:william hughes
Date Posted:April 25, 2008
Something a new IREA could tackle immediately is a world wide ban on double metering. Double metering has succeeded in Germany to encourage the massive uptake of Solar Electric which is a very good thing but only because of a totally unrealistic and unsustainable FIT policy. In the long run it exposes the German small generator to income tax on every unit (kwh) they produce and GST (VAT) on every unit they use. Worse still it exposes their power company to the same charges on the same transactions. This will make the power companies much more reluctant to be used as the batteries of the small generators. Single metering with the single metre simply turning backwards when you generate makes you transparent to the tax officials except for your small net buy or sell of power. Even if your present government only looks at the difference between your two metres, what is there to stop a future government from utilizing this 'tax oportunity'. Nothing. If governments are truly serious about weaning their economies off fossil fuels, they will legislate for single metering.

Comment 4 of 6
Author:derek louden
Date Posted:April 26, 2008
Scotland offers a possible future HQ for a world renewables centre. With a core of established energy professionals in nearly all sectors of renewables technologies Scotland is at the cutting edge of offshore wind, wave and tidal current research. Our long history in hydro power is now joined by biomass schemes and crop research. We have many educational institutions who are participating in top-grade research and in Aberdeen have the European oil capital with a world-class centre of engineering innovation and potential finance for new projects.Scotland also plays host to innovative market solutions such as community scale developments which provide potential models for global renewables. Communities such as Gigha offer an economic model capable of global implementation and offering small communities real empowerment. Communities such as Findhorn & their Unitar centre offer a world-leading example of low impact living for a low carbon age.At a macro and a micro level, Scotland offers the best choice to host any new IRENA HQ.

Comment 5 of 6
Author:Jim Bates
Date Posted:April 26, 2008
The most effective place for the headquarters at this time for IRENA is in the frontiers of development and that is where it should always be. That is to say the basis for renewable energy discovery and usage is Life's longing for itself. Our struggle is to comprehend how to do this dance with the natural energies all around us. In order to work with these natural energies we must release people minds from the prisons that have been created by attempting to live by an unnatural system of development. This unatural capitalism has never given true respect or placed a real emphasis on the value of Earth's natural systems. As a Natural Capitalist developer I believe the fastest, most practical and sound policies for accomplishing the goals of IRENA and like minded people is to develop learning environments and pedagogies that empower the children's creative and innovative capacities to think. Not WHAT to think but empower them in HOW to think.This week there was a 12 year old who gave a speech at a press conference in Pigeon, Michigan where he attends the Laker schools and he spoke to why renewable energies are so vitally important to him, his generation and to their childrens, children. The truth of the matter is, the children get it! Because this kind of development is based on the truth! Let's develop true innovation capacity in education worldwide. This is where the headquarters of IRENA will flourish , in the minds of people around the globe that have made a new agreement to support life in it's infinite wisdom and to join this global dance towards recreating and appreciating a truly sustainable Global community.
Comment 6 of 6