WWF International praises United Arab Emirates bid to host IRENA

The UAE is proposing to house IRENA headquarters in Abu Dhabi's Masdar City, the world's first carbon-neutral, zero-waste city powered entirely by renewable energy.

"Masdar City is fast developing into a global showcase of sustainable development in action, and a driving force for the world's renewable energy sector,"

said Eduardo Goncalves, Global Manager of WWF International's 'One Planet Living' sustainability initiative.

"The City is a focal point for the global sustainability community, a place where the world's leading minds and experts meet and connect to advance renewable and clean technologies. It is hard to imagine a more appropriate location for an international agency concerned with promoting renewable energy," he added.

IRENA is the first international organization to focus exclusively on the issue of renewable energies, addressing both the industrialized and the developing world.

Its members will vote in a meeting on June 29, 2009 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt to determine the agency's Director-General and the location of its headquarters. Germany and Austria are competing alongside the UAE to host the agency.

"We are grateful for WWF International's encouragement and recognition of our bid to host the IRENA headquarters. It is an honour to have one of the world's most respected environmental conservation organizations support our renewable energy initiatives and our commitment to serving IRENA,"

said Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar.

"Developing renewable energy technologies is just one part of a larger effort being undertaken by organizations like the WWF and sovereign nations like the UAE to create a healthy, sustainable planet of us all. We look forward to continuing our work together," he added.

Housing IRENA's headquarters in the UAE would not only mark the first time an international organization chose the Middle East as its headquarters location, but would also position IRENA to engage all nations - developed and developing - and address the unique challenges that each country faces.

"Masdar City is a global hub of renewable energy research, development and production," said Goncalves. "WWF is excited to be working with Masdar City to help make it the world's first truly carbon neutral city. We are looking forward to working with Masdar Institute to advance understanding of carbon footprints and to find ways to reduce them for a more sustainable future for all."

If selected to serve as home to IRENA, Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, a joint venture with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will offer IRENA the opportunity to submit 20 students for consideration for full scholarships for post-graduate studies in renewable energy fields.

IRENA was founded in January 2009 in Bonn, Germany, where 75 nations, including the United Arab Emirates, signed the Agency's statute. Today, there are 108 member countries.