International Renewable Energy Agency to launch next month

The renewable energy industry will next month see the formal launch of its first worldwide lobby group, designed to ensure the fast emerging sector has a clear voice at next year's UN climate change negotiations.

Originally proposed by the German government and supported by Denmark,
Germany, Spain, Poland, India and Ethiopia, the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) is to host a founding conference in Bonn, Germany on 26 January.

The agency is inviting other governments to join the group, which will aim to promote the industry and advance the most effective financing models and technologies for bolstering renewable energy capacity in both developed and developing economies.

Irena said that there was an "institutional gap", whereby the renewable energy industry is not adequately represented at the UN's climate change talks and other international negotiations relating to energy and climate change.

Speaking following a meeting on the sidelines of the UN's latest round of climate change negotiations in Poznan, Poland earlier this month, Connie Hedegaard, the Danish Minister for Climate and Energy, said that the new agency would make a valuable contribution to future UN meetings.

"Irena will help us to take informed decisions and to use renewable energy in a cost effective way," she said. "Support for Irena will make it easier for us to reach an ambitious and truly global climate agreement in Copenhagen one year from now."

Sigmar Gabriel, Germany's environment minister, similarly welcomed the forthcoming launch of the new government-backed agency, arguing that it would help to promote the emerging sector at a time when the global economic downturn has led to fears that some capital-intensive alternative energy projects may find it increasingly difficult to attract funding.

"This is precisely the right time for Irena," he said. "Climate change and the financial crisis demands a clear focus on future oriented and sustainable technologies such as renewable energies."