IRENA and UNIDO support global energy transition through green hydrogen

Today, Francesco La Camera, the Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and Gerd Müller, the Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) have signed a joint declaration on advancing sustainable energy through the fundamental role of green hydrogen.

In their statement made at the UN Climate Change Conference COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, both Organisations’ leads declare to jointly advance the transition towards sustainable energy through green hydrogen in pursuit of access to energy, energy security and economic development.

Furthermore, IRENA and UNIDO intend to leverage international cooperation as an enabling platform to facilitate investments, policies and clean technologies to accelerate an inclusive and sustainable industrial development aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Francesco La Camera, IRENA Director-General said: “The world is still not on track to achieve universal access to sustainable and affordable energy by 2030. Globally, 733 million people still have no access to electricity. This is not acceptable. By partnering with UNIDO, we want a change and facilitate greater international collaboration to amplify ambition and accelerate progress. Advancing the transition to renewables and green hydrogen is a strategic choice to bring affordable energy, jobs, economic growth and a cleaner environment to the people and communities on the ground.”

“Energy is the basis for all development. It is the decisive motor,” said Gerd Müller, UNIDO Director General. “Green hydrogen is an immense opportunity, especially for developing countries. With their vast renewable energy potential, many can be green hydrogen producers. This is the chance for low-carbon industrialisation, and jobs for millions of people. The efforts of UNIDO and IRENA are complementary. We support an energy transition and must make sure that it is a just transition. Developing countries need the inputs from our two organisations to make this happen.”

Concretely, both sides agreed to facilitate information exchange amongst key stakeholders and develop effective enabling mechanisms for green hydrogen production and its industrial up-take within the framework of UNIDO’s Global Programme for Green Hydrogen in Industry, IRENA’s Coalition for Action and the Global Alliance for Industry Decarbonization.

They will also develop joint knowledge products to inform policy makers to foster the business case for green hydrogen. Cooperation on stakeholder and outreach activities relating to green hydrogen aims at supporting countries’ pathways to net zero and accelerate economic transformation.