On January 14, 2017 in Abu Dhabi (UAE) the Head of the State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving of Ukraine Sergiy Savchuk took part in the seventh session of the General Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

"IRENA unites various countries around the world to encourage their transition to a sustainable energy future, using innovative technologies and the best financial instruments. For Ukraine it is a great honour to have the opportunity to join this organization. We believe that participation in IRENA will bring renewable energy Ukraine to a new level of development, assisting to achieve the goal - to reduce dependence on traditional energy resources, especially gas", - the Agency's Head said and added that our country's participation in IRENA it is an opportunity to fully join the global trend of clean energy sources usage.

Sergiy Savchuk also said: "We are in the home stretch with the Ukraine accession to IRENA. The relevant bill drafted by the Agency has already been endorsed by all the central authorities. I hope that in the coming months it will be considered and adopted by Parliament".

Speaking on behalf of the Government of Ukraine, Serhiy Savchuk also presented to the participants of the session, representatives from more than 150 countries the "green" energy development policy in Ukraine, the objectives of the adopted National Renewable Energy Action Plan by 2020. He also noted that the Agency had already been using studies made by IRENA, including the REmap 2030 Renewable Energy Prospects for Ukraine.

The IRENA General Director Adnan Amin talked about the key developments of IRENA and presented the annual report on implementation of the work program and budget for 2016-2017. According to him, the increase in IRENA membership (currently 150 members and 27 countries are in accession process) confirms the need for the world to switch to clean sources. Over the past two years, the most new installed capacities in the world have been operating on renewable energy sources. In 2015 156 GW of new capacity were recorded and the amount of investments in this sector reached a record 286 billion dollars. All this indicates that the switch to renewable sources has become global. IRENA will continue to provide support and assistance to all countries that started to increase the "green" energy share, especially those who need to facilitate access to financial resources.

"The unprecedented transformation of our energy system is under way. A sharp fall in prices and a rapid technologies development have stimulated investment in renewable energy," - said General Director of IRENA Adnan Amin, adding that the key question was how to accelerate the transition to a global, sustainable energy future.

In turn, Mr. Mario Giro, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy, a country which this year was elected a president of the 7th session of the Assembly, noted the important role of IRENA, which was the only global voice for renewable energy development. Speaking, he drew attention to the socio-economic benefits of developing this sector, including the issue of migration and employment by creating new jobs.

Note:

The presentation of the SAEE Head Sergiy Savchuk can be found here: http://saee.gov.ua/sites/default/files/Renewable_Energy_Ukraine_IRENA.pdf.

The seventh session of the Assembly of IRENA gathered more than 1,100 representatives of more than 150 countries. Italy was elected the president of this year's session.

Communication and PR Department