IRENA Coalition for Action

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In January 2014, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and 35 players in renewable energy from around the world jointly established a Coalition for Action to promote the wider and faster uptake of renewable energy technologies.

The IRENA Coalition for Action forms a key international network to discuss industry trends, determine actions, share knowledge and exchange best practices with the vision to drive the global energy transition in line with the Sustainable Development Goal on energy. Its mission is to convene a global dialogue amongst non-governmental and governmental stakeholders to develop actions to increasing the share of renewables in the global energy mix.

Today, the Coalition brings together over 80 leading renewable energy players including private sector companies, industry associations, civil society, research institutes and intergovernmental organisations.

IRENA acts as the Secretariat of the Coalition.

Activities and Working Groups

The Coalition offers a number of opportunities to engage in the below working groups and IRENA’s strategic and programmatic activities

Business and Investors Working Group

Engages in activities that address barriers to scaling up renewable energy investments in emerging markets. In early 2018, the Group launched a white paper on the topic, which was discussed in a Public-Private Dialogue at the 8th IRENA Assembly. The paper is the basis for country specific work and dialogues continuing in 2019.

Community Energy sub-Group

Focuses on community energy investment. In early 2018, the Group launched a white paper on broadening the ownership of renewables, which was discussed in the Public-Private Dialogue at the 8th IRENA Assembly. This work is being further elaborated through case studies of best practices for enabling local renewable energy investment in developing countries.

Communication and Outreach Working Group

Aligns communication messages among Coalition members, amplifying each other’s events and activities, and creating joint communication campaigns. Joint campaigns in 2018 were 1) #Renewables4Development, which focused on the socio-economic benefits of renewables, and 2) #Renewables4Climate, which targeted COP24.

Towards 100% Renewable Energy Working Group

In early 2019, the group launched the white paper, which focused on policy recommendations and case studies of how regions, cities and islands can make the transition to 100% renewable energy. The white paper was discussed in the Public-Private Dialogue at the 9th IRENA Assembly.

Coalition Events and Campaigns

10 January 2019 | Abu Dhabi, UAE

Coalition for Action Annual Strategy Meeting 2019

The third Coalition for Action Annual Strategy Meeting will take place in conjunction with the IRENA Assembly and the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi. This will be a closed meeting for Coalition members only.
10 January 2019 | Abu Dhabi, UAE

Public-Private Dialogue on Actions Needed to Accelerate the Energy Transformation

Based on a presentation of the IRENA Coalition for Action White Papers – Towards 100% Renewable Energy and Financing Community Energy - the dialogue will highlight key opportunities and challenges in expanding renewable energy markets worldwide, and the need for better alignment between policy-makers, legislators, and the private sector in order to maximise socio-economic and community benefits. Participants will include government representatives, legislators, and Coalition for Action members.
02 – 14 December 2018 | Global Campaign

COP24 Katowice Joint Communication Campaign #Renewables4Climate

#Renewables4Climate is a global initiative to raise awareness about renewable energy as a key solution to climate change. The initiative has been launched by the IRENA Coalition for Action for the second year in a row and will coincide with the United Nations Framework on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP24) in Katowice, where renewables are highlighted as one of the critical means of keeping the rise in global temperature below 2 or even 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

01 July – 01 October 2018 | Global Campaign

UN HLPF 2018 Joint Communication Campaign: #Renewables4Development

#Renewables4Development is a global initiative that highlights the central role of renewable energy in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The campaign has been launched by the IRENA Coalition for Action to coincide with the United Nations High Level Political Forum (HLPF) 2018 where the implementation of the 2030 sustainable goals including SDG 7 on energy will be reviewed.
16 January 2018 | Abu Dhabi, UAE

Coalition for Action Annual Strategy Meeting 2018

The second Annual Strategy Meeting of the Coalition took place in conjunction with the IRENA Assembly and the World Future Energy Summit. This was a closed meeting.
12 January 2018 | Abu Dhabi, UAE

Public Private Dialogue on Unlocking Renewable Energy Investment Worldwide: Perspectives on Key Challenges and Opportunities
(at the Eighth session of the IRENA Assembly)

This dialogue aimed to build common understanding and encourage commentary actions between the public and private sector. The event highlighted key opportunities and challenges in growing renewable energy markets worldwide, and the need for better alignment between government, legislators, and industry.
06 – 17 November 2017 | Global Campaign

COP23 Joint Communication Campaign: #Renewables4Climate

#Renewables4Climate is a global initiative to raise awareness about renewable energy as a key solution to climate change. The initiative has been launched by the IRENA Coalition for Action to coincide with the United Nations Framework on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP23), where renewables are highlighted as one of the critical means to keep the global temperature rise below 2 or even 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
07 – 08 July 2017 | Global Campaign

G20 Joint Communication Campaign: Socio-economic Benefits of Renewable Energy

To highlight the socio-economic benefits of renewables and its wider contribution to the SDGs, a social-media campaign was launched by the IRENA Coalition for Action to coincide with the G20 meeting in Hamburg. The campaign was translated into several languages and had a total reach of approximately 60 million.

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Supported Events and Campaigns

20 – 21 November 2018 | Amsterdam, Netherlands

RE-Source 2018

Solar Power Europe in partnership with WindEurope, RE100 and WBCSD are organising the second RE-Source event in November 2018. The RE-Source platform and event are focusing on corporate sourcing of renewables, in particular corporate renewable PPAs in Europe.
08 – 10 November 2018 | Bamako, Mali

2nd World Community Power Conference

WWEA and the Mali Folkecenter, together with the ISEP, will host this event which brings together large numbers of national, regional and international community power stakeholders to provide a launch pad for the community power concept in Africa.

Publications

Towards 100% Renewable Energy: Status, Trends, and Lessons Learned

This white paper is a global mapping of 100% renewable energy targets, along with several case studies from national, regional, city and islands levels that illustrate different paths to a 100% renewable energy transformation.

Scaling up renewable energy investments in emerging markets: challenges, risks and solutions

This white paper outlines a discussion of the most significant challenges to the scale-up of renewable energy investment and development that the Coalition for Action Business and Investors Group members have encouraged while delivering projects worldwide. The paper also describes a selection of available tools and policies recommended by the Business and Investors Group to overcome these challenges.

Community Energy: broadening the ownership of renewables

This white paper identifies the benefits and implementation challenges of community energy, in addition to outlining actions and policies to promote community ownership of renewables.

IRENA Coalition for Action Members

Since its formation in 2014, the IRENA Coalition for Action has grown to consist of over 85 members, including private sector companies, industry associations, civil society, research institutes and intergovernmental organisations.

The Coalition is open to legal entities supporting the widespread adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy, and meeting the requirements outlined in the Coalition for Action Structure Document.