Diverging from the Path: The Creation of IRENA

Abstract

In January 2009, 75 countries created the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) at a founding conference in Bonn. The creation of IRENA highlights the growing concern over the unfolding energy and climate crises. Fossil fuels provide 80 per cent of global energy while being responsible for almost 60 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions (IPCC 2007, 36;IEA 2010, 80). Demand for these fuels is set to grow, while the conventional reserves are dwindling, sparking fears of ‘peak oil’. In the wake of the recent shale gas and tight oil revolution, however, those fears have largely been replaced by concerns that fossil fuel abundance, not scarcity, is the most pressing problem, as it could lead us to overshoot our ‘carbon budget’, the amount of carbon dioxide that can be emitted without jeopardizing our chances of staying below two degrees of average global warming (McKibben 2012). Renewable energy sources have thus come into view as attractive alternatives to fossil fuels not only because they are abundant and clean, but also because they can help to bring energy services to the poor, while stimulating economic growth and job creation. Furthermore, when used and produced in a sustainable manner, renewable energy can reduce the pressure on natural resources by helping to combat deforestation, desertification and biodiversity loss (German Federal Government 2008).