June 2012: The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), has published the fourth issue of its newsletter. In the forward, Adnan Amin, IRENA Director-General, observes that the organization has shifted focus from legal and institutional issues to a more substantive programme implementation and strategic direction.

The newsletter highlights activities undertaken by the Director-General and organization from February to April 2012. In addition to meeting with the French Government and Renewable Energy Association, Amin took part in the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum in February, where he co-chaired the Panel on the Africa Roll-out of the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All, as well as a Ministerial Year of Sustainable Energy for All.

In March, Amin visited Tokyo to attend an international conference organized by the Japan Renewable Energy Foundation (JREF) to mark the first year anniversary of Japan’s 2011 earthquake and tsunami at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The newsletter also indicates that IRENA participated in a two-day G20 Energy and Growth Working Group held in Mexico City, Mexico. Representatives from over 20 countries, as well as the EU and various international organizations, attended the event.

In April, IRENA held the first of a series of workshops on the Technology Roadmap on Renewables in Manufacturing, invited participants included experts representing industry, industry associations and academia. The aim of the Roadmap is to identify opportunities for, and barriers to, accelerating the deployment of renewables in the manufacturing industry. In April, IRENA also hosted a workshop on Renewable Readiness Assessment (RRA) at its headquarters in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). RRA is a holistic assessment of conditions for renewable energy deployment in a country and identifies the actions necessary to further improve these conditions. The third Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM3) was held in London, UK, on 25-26 April 2012, and attended by representatives from 23 countries and observers from select organizations. IRENA was awarded observer status and invited to attend.

The newsletter indicates that Greece, Ethiopia, Yemen, Turkey, Mauritania, the UK, Uganda, Algeria, and Bahrain have ratified the IRENA Statute. Cuba has deposited its instrument of accession, while Singapore and Tuvalu have applied for membership. [Publication: IRENA Newsletter Issue 4]