NEW DELHI: Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, President-Designate of the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28), while addressing the 13th session of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) assembly, said that renewable energy capacity would need a major boost in the upcoming years.
Al Jaber, who is also the Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), assured that the UAE will continue to provide its support in helping advance IRENA’s mission and continue to be the closest partner and the strongest advocate for the organisation.
Minister Jaber said, “Over the next seven years, we will need to more than triple renewable generating capacity worldwide. The world must move much faster than ever before. And IRENA has a critical role to play in leading that global acceleration across all sectors, all regions and all communities.”
He added that last year renewables accounted for 81 per cent of the new energy capacity, and the sector will witness tremendous growth in the next five years, which will be greater than the cumulative growth achieved in last 20 years. To meet this fast pace of growth, IRENA needs to adopt innovative methods.
Minister hailed the Energy Transition Accelerator Financing Platform (ETAF), launched on the sidelines of COP26 and highlighted that the gulf country has committed around $400 million as initial funding support to allow the platform to target funding of emerging economies. IRENA, an intergovernmental organisation that helps countries transition towards sustainable energy, bring together various stakeholders, including governments, ministers, multilateral organisation, energy decision-makers and private players.