Geothermal meeting at the upcoming 9th Session of the IRENA Assembly
Geothermal Panel Discussion at the IRENA meetings in Abu Dhabi 2018 (source: IRENA)
Alexander Richter
9 Jan 2019
The 9th Session of the Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) will kick off this week in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Geothermal will again see a feature as part of the a special session by the Global Geothermal Alliance. I am attending the events on behalf of the International Geothermal Association (IGA).
This week, the ninth session of the Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) will take place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. This will be the third time, I will attend in my role as President of the International Geothermal Association (IGA).
The Assembly is the Agency’s supreme decision-making body and brings together Heads of State, Ministers, government officials, and representatives from the private sector, civil society and other international organisations to reaffirm the global renewable energy agenda and make concrete steps to accelerate the global energy transition.
Two ministerial roundtables will take place during the Assembly, featuring Ministers and high-level participants. They will discuss the role of renewables in achieving universal energy access and the transformative impact innovation is having in the renewable energy sector. A special evening event on “Gender in the Energy Transformation” will mark the launch of a new IRENA publication on the topic and feature an interactive discussion on the gender dimension of the energy transformation.
A special geothermal event will take place as part of the Global Geothermal Alliance on January 12, 2019 – 13:15 to 14:15. Title of the event is “Enhancing Dialogue and Cooperation”, I am looking forward participating in the event. IGA has worked with IRENA on workshops on bringing UNFC Specifications of Geothermal Resources to Indonesia and recently to the Caribbean. More is likely to follow.
A number of the Assembly’s Plenary discussions will feature presentations and provide opportunities for contributions from IRENA Member delegations, stakeholder groups and the private sector. Plenaries will focus on aspects of the Agency’s work and actions by countries in the development and deployment of renewables. The Assembly will also consider the conclusions of 16th Council and will provide guidance on specific administrative and institutional matters.
Thematic meetings, organised by IRENA, and in collaboration with stakeholders, will be held over the course of the Assembly. The main objectives of these will be to raise awareness of the importance of renewable energy and its impact on sustainable development, connect policy makers, experts and 3 innovators from many countries to learn from each other, share good practices and inform decision makers by identifying shared needs and finding common ground on shared priorities.
The Assembly takes place at the outset of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and is followed by the World Future Energy Summit, from 14 to 17 January 2019, which will also feature a number of events hosted by IRENA.
