Countries should rapidly step up their focus on renewables, efficiency and other clean energy technologies to accelerate global energy transitions in the next decade. This urgent message was the main theme of IEA Director Dr Birol’s keynote address at the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) General Assembly this weekend in Abu Dhabi.
Dr Birol also highlighted the IEA analysis on hydrogen’s unprecedented momentum at the moment and the role that it can play in overcoming a variety of difficult energy challenges, including grid integration of renewables, the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate sectors, and the enhancement of energy security.
The IEA and IRENA have recently stepped up cooperative efforts, signing a Memorandum of Understanding last year that builds upon long-standing collaboration on data and statistics, renewable energy technology costs, and renewable policies. In particular, the agencies are the joint custodians of the IEA/IRENA Renewables Policies Database, which is available on the IEA website
