Basing a renewable organisation in Abu Dhabi sends world a message

Some questioned headquartering the International Renewable Energy Agency in the UAE, an oil-rich country.

ABU DHABI // The opening of the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) headquarters in the UAE, one of the world’s biggest oil producers, is sending a message about the seriousness of renewable energy to the global community.

Among the first people to support the project was Hillary Clinton, former US secretary of state.

Adnan Amin, director general of Irena, said of one of his first meetings with Mrs Clinton: “She said ‘you need to make this work’.

“For us, there are two very important things: one is the future of clean energy and two, we urgently need a positive working example of international cooperation with different cultures in the Middle East,” Mr Amin said.

Mr Amin said that when the UAE was competing against Germany and Austria to become the home of Irena’s headquarters, there had been a debate on whether it was suitable for an international organisation dedicated to clean energy to have its headquarters in Abu Dhabi.

“It sends a very powerful statement to other countries, that the reason an international organisation for renewables is headquartered in an oil-producing country is because even oil-producing countries that have built their foundation on hydrocarbons know that the future is going to be different,” he said.

He said Irena was invested in providing support for that transition for Opec countries and non-oil-producing countries alike.

The competition to host Irena was fierce, with several countries backing Germany, which was the site of the agency’s founding conference in 2009. Germany’s campaign was headed by current vice chancellor Sigmar Gabriel.

“He came to visit us here a few weeks ago and I had a very interesting conversation with him. At the end of it, he said, ‘In retrospect, I’m absolutely convinced that it was the right decision to have it here’,” Mr Amin said.

“He’s a very powerful politician in Germany and that’s saying something.”

For Mr Amin and his team, finding a permanent location for the organisation’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi means it now has room to grow and moving to such an energy-efficient property sets a good example.

“There’s a feeling of solidity,” Mr Amin said. “You’re not an institution that’s running from one rented place to another, you’re sitting in a building that’s permanent. A state-of-the-art building and the attributes are in line with the vision of the organisation.”

Dr Ahmad Belhoul, chief executive of Masdar, said the building, its energy-efficiency achievements and the presence of Irena in Abu Dhabi raises the UAE’s profile on the international scene.

“Irena, by default, by being here and attracting people to this building, creates an interest from people around the world in what we are doing,” he said.

We showed that you can go “to the highest level of energy efficiency and it’s actually commercially viable”.

“From a policy perspective you cannot continue to rely on one source of hydrocarbons, we must diversify and the UAE in my view has made tremendous development on that front.”

He said the UAE was at the forefront of technology and showed its commitment to diversity since Masdar was created and targets were set.

“The fact that an intergovernmental organisation has chosen Abu Dhabi as its headquarters is a testament to the global position of the UAE and will strengthen our message even more,” he said.

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Irena:

■ UAE celebrates landmark Irena launch

■ The increasing importance and use of renewables - graphic

■ The UAE's greenest building projects

■ Abu Dhabi opens Irena to world

■ The history of Irena

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