International Renewable Energy Agency facts for kids

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is a special group of countries that works together to make the world use more renewable energy. Renewable energy comes from natural sources that don't run out, like sunlight, wind, and water. IRENA helps countries share ideas, learn new things, and use these clean energy sources more often. It's the first international organization focused only on renewable energy, helping both rich and developing countries. IRENA started in 2009, and its main office is in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. The current leader of IRENA is Francesco La Camera from Italy. IRENA also works closely with the United Nations.

Quick facts for kids
International Renewable Energy Agency

(Green) Countries which have ratified the IRENA      (Light-blue) Countries which have signed, but not yet ratified the IRENA
Formation	26 January 2009; 16 years ago (2009-01-26)
Type	International organization
Legal status	Treaty organization
Purpose	Promotion of renewable energy
Headquarters	Masdar City, United Arab Emirates
Location	Abu Dhabi
Membership	168 states and the European Union (2024)
Director-General	Francesco La Camera
Main organ	Assembly
Budget	$55 million (2022)

How IRENA Started

The idea for an international agency focused on renewable energy came up a long time ago. Groups like Eurosolar and the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) pushed for IRENA for many years. In 1990, the government of Austria even suggested it to the UN. A German politician named Hermann Scheer was a big supporter of this idea.

In 2010, the WWEA gave an award to the countries that helped start IRENA. They said that creating IRENA was "the most important decision ever taken on the global level in favour of renewable energy." They believed it sent a strong message that renewable energy would be key for the world's future energy.

Early Meetings and Founding

Many meetings happened since 1981 to talk about forming IRENA. A big meeting took place on April 10-11, 2008, with 54 countries. Here, government representatives discussed what IRENA would do, how it would be organized, and how it would be paid for. Everyone agreed that the world needed to switch to clean, sustainable energy quickly, and an international group could help.

The official meeting to found IRENA was held in Bonn, Germany, on January 26, 2009. Seventy-five countries signed the agreement to create the agency. The agreement officially started on July 8, 2010, after 25 countries had formally approved it.

Choosing Leaders and Headquarters

After the founding meeting, the countries met again in Bonn on January 27, 2009. They decided how to choose IRENA's first temporary leader and where its temporary main office would be.

The second meeting happened in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on June 29-30, 2009. They chose Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, as the temporary headquarters. This was a big deal because it was the first time a developing country hosted such a major international organization. They also decided that a center for new ideas and technology would be in Bonn, and an office to work with the United Nations would be in Vienna. Hélène Pelosse was chosen as the temporary Director-General.

Later, on April 4, 2011, Adnan Amin became IRENA's first official Director-General. He had been the Deputy Interim Director-General before that.

Important Reports and Events

IRENA has held many events where member countries can talk about how to advance renewable energy. They also do important research. On September 8, 2014, IRENA released a major report called REthinking energy. This report encouraged countries to use renewable energy technologies faster. It said this was the best way to reduce carbon pollution and avoid serious climate change.

What IRENA Wants to Achieve

IRENA wants to be the main leader in helping the world switch to using renewable energy.

It acts as a global voice for clean energy. IRENA gives helpful advice and support to both developed and developing countries. It helps them create better rules and build their ability to use renewable energy. The agency also makes it easier to find information, like facts about how much renewable energy is available, good ways to use it, how to pay for it, and the latest technology.

IRENA also advises governments on rules for renewable energy, how to build skills, and how to share technology. It works with other groups that focus on renewable energy, like REN21.

Countries That Are Members

To join IRENA, a country must be a member of the United Nations or a similar regional group. Member countries promise to follow IRENA's rules as best they can.

As of July 2022, 168 countries and the European Union are members of IRENA. Another 17 countries are in the process of joining. Canada became IRENA's 160th member on January 9, 2019.

How IRENA Is Organized

IRENA has three main parts that help it run smoothly.

The Assembly

The Assembly is IRENA's main decision-making body. It includes one representative from each member country. The Assembly meets once a year to talk about everything related to IRENA's management. This includes the budget, new membership requests, and yearly goals. The 9th Assembly was in January 2019, and the 10th Assembly was held on January 11-12, 2020, in Abu Dhabi.

The Council

The IRENA Council has 21 elected officials from member countries. Each official serves for two years and reports to the Assembly. Council members change regularly to make sure all types of countries are fairly represented. This includes countries of different sizes, locations, and levels of development. The Council directly handles IRENA's budget and annual reports.

The Secretariat

The Secretariat is like IRENA's executive team. It includes the Director-General and their staff. The Secretariat helps the Council and Assembly and gives them technical support. The current Director-General of IRENA is Francesco La Camera from Italy. He started his role on April 4, 2019.

IRENA's first Director-General was Adnan Z. Amin from Kenya. He was elected in April 2011 and served two terms until April 2019. After his time as Director-General, he was given the special title of Director-General Emeritus. During his time, IRENA grew to include almost all countries worldwide.

IRENA and the United Nations

Many UN organizations work with renewable energy. However, IRENA is the only one completely focused on promoting 100% renewable energy around the world. IRENA and the UN work together to speed up the change in how the world gets its energy.

Hélène Pelosse, a former temporary Director-General of IRENA, met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in 2009. They talked about how IRENA and different UN groups could work together in the future. IRENA also wants to work with other UN-related organizations like the United Nations University, UNESCO, the World Bank, and others. They want to cooperate on things like education, training, getting energy to everyone, and studying energy potential.

Renewable Energy Facts

IRENA collects and shares information about how much electricity is made from renewable sources. They have been doing this since 2013. They get their information from their own surveys, national reports, industry studies, and news.

Renewable Energy in 2023

In March 2024, IRENA reported that global renewable electricity capacity grew a lot in 2023. It increased by 473 gigawatts (GW). This means that 86% of all new power plants built that year used renewable energy. China was the biggest contributor to this growth. The report also showed that solar energy capacity grew by 32.4% to reach 1.42 terawatts (TW), becoming bigger than hydropower. Wind energy also reached a big milestone, going over 1 TW.

Renewable Energy in 2024

In July 2025, IRENA published its 2024 report. In 2024, the world added 582 gigawatts (GW) of new renewable power. This was a 19.8% increase from 2023 and the biggest yearly growth since 2000. Solar power led the way, adding 452.1 GW (77.8% of the total), followed by wind power, which added 114.3 GW. These additions brought the total global renewable energy capacity to 4443 GW by the end of 2024.

In 2024, Asia added 413.2 GW of renewable capacity, a 24.9% increase. This brought Asia's total to 2374 GW. China added most of the new solar (61.2%) and wind (69.4%) power globally. The USA, India, Brazil, and Germany also added a lot of renewable energy.

IRENA has said that 91% of new renewable power projects built in 2024 were cheaper than any power plant that uses fossil fuels.

IRENA has stressed that the global goal is to triple the use of renewable energy sources. They aim to reach a total capacity of 11.2 terawatts by 2030. This means adding about 1,044 gigawatts of new renewable energy every year. Doing this would cut carbon dioxide emissions by 43 percent by 2030 and 60 percent by 2035.

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