Publication date:

Friday, September 18, 2020

Global Renewable Energy Forum 2020

Thursday, September 24, 2020 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM CEST |Virtual

The 4th edition of the Global Renewable Energy Forum (GREF) is organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, Bonn Office in cooperation with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the UN Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC).

It is supported by the Korean-German Energy Partnership of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Republic of Korea, and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Federal Republic of Germany. Partners of the conference are Eurosolar, ICLEI, World Wind Energy Association, DVGW, International Geothermal Association, EnergyAgency.NRW, UNIDO ITPO Germany, ZBT – the hydrogen and fuel cell center, and Germanwatch.

Despite an urgent need for reduction, global greenhouse gas emissions continued to rise in the pre-coronavirus period demonstrating that an even more ambitious effort is required to achieve the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement. For that goal to remain in reach, the 2020s need to be a critical decade for climate action as emissions must be reduced by 7.6% every year from 2020 to 2030.

Renewable energy plays a key role for that matter. While it has become a mainstream energy and outpaced fossil fuels seven years in a row, its deployment must speed up drastically to meet climate targets and economic stimulus programs addressing the pandemic must focus on a green recovery. Likewise, green hydrogen produced from renewables is gaining more importance as the missing link of the energy transition and can play a crucial role in further shifting the world towards a future powered by renewables.

Against this backdrop, GREF 2020 deals with green recovery programs, accelerating renewable energy action, and the future of green hydrogen. It focuses on the potentials to accelerate renewable energy expansion as well as on the key role of green hydrogen as an option for decarbonizing high-emitting industries in which a low share of renewables remains a challenge and for different forms of transport, including heavy mobility and shipping.

To participate in the online conference, kindly register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6965337302082899470

For more information, please visit: twitter.com/GREF_2020

IRENA Innovation Week 2020

05 – 08 October 2020 |Virtual

Building on the IRENA Innovation Weeks in 2016 and 2018, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) invites to the third IRENA Innovation Week – this time a virtual gathering of leading policy makers, innovators, developers and investors from across IRENA’s diverse global membership, convened to explore how systemic innovative solutions can support the use of renewables in the energy-end-use sectors of transport & industry.

Innovation Week 2020 – what to expect:

• Supported by insights from IRENA’s analysis and work on the ground, informed by the experience of recent projects and drawing on the expertise of a diverse range of speakers and attendees, IRENA Innovation Week 2020 will explore the challenges and the emerging innovations in technology, business models and system operation that can support the decarbonisation of the end-use sectors.
• With renewables now the most cost-effective option for new power generation in much of the world, the significantly increased use of renewable-electricity in the end-use sectors of transport, industry and buildings, is a viable and attractive option. IRENA’s analysis indicates that electricity will need to provide over 40% of final energy demand in end-use sectors by 2050.
• The use of biomass, green hydrogen and synthetic-renewable-fuels can all play an important role in decarbonising key industrial sectors such as the petrochemicals, iron & steel production, as well in transport and as a potential replacement for natural gas use. IRENA’s scenario shows that a five-fold increase of biofuels would be needed by 2050 and over a hundred-fold increase in hydrogen production.
• IRENA Innovation Week 2020 will showcase emerging solutions from around the world and help identify the actions needed to fully unlock renewables potential in the end-use sectors.

Please follow the link to register. To follow updates on the programme and speakers, visit innovationweek.irena.org. Contact us at innovationweek@irena.org for any other enquires.