The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) have signed a cooperation agreement to join efforts to enhance the adoption and deployment of wind and renewable energy worldwide
This agreement was signed by IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera and GWEC CEO Ben Backwell on the occasion of the Race to Zero Dialogues, a programme to accelerate progress by governments, industry and other major stakeholders to meet the Paris Agreement, convened by the High-Level Champions for Global Climate Action.
Both IRENA and GWEC recognise that rapid decarbonisation will require a variety of policy shifts and investments, including increasing renewable energy commitments, resolving market and regulatory barriers, improving access to finance and expanding the pipeline of bankable projects. Approximately one-third of all new renewable energy capacity added in 2019 was from wind power, and data from IRENA suggest that wind – together with solar power – will dominate future capacity growth.
“Wind energy is a cornerstone of the global energy transformation, and with evolving technologies and a strengthening economic case, it will continue to support the world’s low-carbon growth agenda through to mid-century,” said Francesco La Camera. “By blending the knowledge, capabilities and convening power of our two organisations, we can jointly work to address policy and investment barriers and create an enabling environment for wind energy.”
Ben Backwell added, “On behalf of the global wind industry, we look forward to strengthening our partnership and work with IRENA through the Climate Investment Platform and other important initiatives. It is more important than ever that intergovernmental institutions work collaboratively with industry in pursuit of shared sustainable development goals.
“There is no question that we must urgently take action to reduce carbon emissions and collaborate to slow the impacts of climate change; accelerating the development of renewable energy is one of the most effective ways to achieve these objectives. Wind energy, as a scalable, clean and affordable technology, will be critical to supporting countries, companies and other parties on the road to net-zero and green recovery.”
Among other areas, the enhanced cooperation between IRENA and GWEC will focus on: strengthening wind energy project facilitation in the climate investment platform; engaging the wind industry in industry-government dialogues, investment forums and other arenas for knowledge exchange; and exploring open-source agreements and project templates for wind projects in emerging markets in order to mitigate legal risks and barriers. The parties agree to work collaboratively to minimise regulatory, legal and administrative barriers to investment in wind and renewable energy, and enhance international dialogues and actions on increasing the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
