IRENA and small island states accelerate energy transition with new agreement

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) have signed an agreement that will see the two organizations work closely together to mobilize climate finance and advance the deployment of renewable energy in the small island developing states (SIDS) .

According to an IRENA analysis of the first round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) conducted in 2019, around $16 billion in funding is needed by 2030 to meet their respective SIDS targets. In September this year, AOSIS and IRENA, through the SIDS Lighthouse Initiative, pledged to reach a total of 10 GW of installed renewable energy capacity in all SIDS by 2030 in the framework of a joint energy pact submitted to the UN. By the end of 2020, around 6 GW of renewable energy was operational in SIDS.

The signing ceremony took place at the AOSIS pavilion – the first time the Alliance has secured space for small island representation at the COP – between IRENA Director General Francesco La Camera and HE Mr. Molwyn Joseph, Minister of Health, Welfare and Environment of Antigua and Barbuda and President of AOSIS.

“The plight of small islands around the world must serve as a constant reminder of the urgency to act,” says IRENA Director General Francesco La Camera. “The enthusiasm demonstrated by this COP must now be translated into commitments into action in the months and years to come. In this context, IRENA and AOSIS will redouble their efforts to maintain the leadership of the energy transition demonstrated by island nations since the signing of the Paris Agreement by working to mobilize climate finance and strengthening the implementation program.

AOSIS represents 44 small islands and low lying coastal developing states representing 39 SIDS across the Caribbean, Pacific and Atlantic, Indian Ocean and South China Sea.

“IRENA has been supporting the work being done in our island nations to accelerate the transition to renewable energy for almost a decade, so we are very pleased to finally make it ‘official’,” says Joseph.

The partnership will work to operationalize the “ambitious SIDS Climate Action Summit Package” announced at the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit in 2019 and aims for increased access to instruments reduction of financial risks to achieve the energy transition objectives by 2030. The package is implemented through the SIDS Lighthouses Initiative (LHI) coordinated by IRENA, composed of 38 SIDS and 31 partners, including developed countries, regional and international organizations, development agencies, private companies, research institutes and non-profit organizations.

IRENA and AOSIS, through this cooperation, will also support the strengthening and implementation of NDCs and the pursuit of sustainable development in SIDS. Other areas of cooperation will include enhanced coordination of the SIDS agenda and action through information and knowledge exchanges, tailored capacity building activities, assessment opportunities the use and applications of renewable energy and the publication of technical documents on energy transition and climate action for the Atlantic, India Ocean and South China Sea (AIS), Caribbean and Pacific.