Francesco La Camera To Lead IRENA For 4 More Years

• IRENA has extended the term of its current Director-General Francesco La Camera
• He will work in the position for another 4 years after he took over from Adnan Amin in 2019
• IRENA has also announced its medium-term strategy for the next 5 years, from 2023 to 2027

At its 13^th assembly session concluded recently in Abu Dhabi, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has re-elected its current Director-General Francesco La Camera for a term of an additional 4 years.

Camera has been leading IRENA since April 4, 2019 when he took over from Adnan Amin who was honored with the honorary title of director-general emeritus (see Camera Takes Charge At IRENA).

Of his more than 3 decades of experience in the fields of climate, sustainability and international cooperation, some years were spent as the director-general of Sustainable Development, Environmental Damage, and International Affairs under the Italian Ministry of Environment, Land & Sea.

Under his leadership, IRENA's membership has grown to 168 and forced new strategic partnerships with UN organizations including UNDP, UNFCCC and Green Climate Fund among others, stated the agency.

"A renewables-based transition is a vehicle for climate-proof energy systems, improved energy security, reduced inequality and long-overdue universal access, said Camera. "I am deeply humbled to have been appointed for a new term as Director-General. I will continue to work tirelessly to realise IRENA's new global mission."

During the 13^th session, IRENA announced its medium-term strategy (MTS) for the coming 5 years, from 2023 to 2027, which lays down a 'new direction for the agency focused on urgent and targeted action, unparalleled international cooperation, and continuous innovation'.

An inter-governmental agency for energy transformation globally, IRENA drives the growth of renewable energy, including solar PV. It shares that between 2011 to 2022, the global installed solar PV capacity has grown from 73 GW to 849 GW with costs declining from $0.36/kWh to $0.048/kWh. More about the agency's MTS is available on its website.

However, founded as an advocate for renewables, IRENA's solar forecasts are rather unambitious – and for 2050 even below the numbers from IEA. While IRENA sees total solar installed capacity at 14.04 GW, IEA is a little higher at 14.46 GW in its Net Zero Emissions Scenario. And for 2030, IRENA expects a 440 GW annual global solar PV market, while the IEA NZE scenario foresees 630 GW/a.