IRENA And UNFCCC Are Jointly Ramping Up Efforts To Fight Climate Change By Promoting Sustainable Use

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The new strategic partnership builds on a long history of cooperation that aims to ensure a low-carbon climate-resilient world in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.  

In a Memorandum of Understanding signed today in Bonn between the heads of IRENA and UN Climate Change, the two organizations have agreed to step up the exchange of knowledge on the energy transition, collaborate more closely at expert meetings, increase capacity building to promote renewables and undertake joint outreach activities. Patricia Espinosa, UNFCCC Executive Secretary, said: “The rapid transition to clean energy is crucial to meet the central goal of the Paris Climate Change Agreement, which is to hold the global average temperature rise to as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Time is running out  we are already seeing worsening climate change impacts around the world – including unprecedented heatwaves, floods and wildfires – and we need to grasp all opportunities to rapidly deploy clean, renewable energy at scale to prevent the worst climate scenarios form becoming a reality.”

IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera added: “Falling technology costs have made solar, wind and other renewables the competitive backbone of energy decarbonization and, together with energy efficiency, the most effective climate action tool available.

Renewable energy delivers jobs, delivers on sustainable development and will deliver a viable climate solution. Renewables-based energy transition provides a clear opportunity to increase ambition in the reviewing process of the national climate commitments under the Paris Agreement. IRENA will fully support countries in realizing this opportunity on the way to COP25 in Chile this year and to COP26 in 2020.”