The International Renewable Energy Agency and representatives of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently signed a memorandum of understanding. Through the partnership, the two sides carried out knowledge exchange and cooperation on initiatives to accelerate the widespread use of renewable energy to mitigate climate change.

Francesco La Camera, Director General of the International Renewable Energy Agency, and Abdalah Mokssit, Secretary of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change signed the memorandum of understanding at the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Sharm el Sheikh.

Francesco La Camera, Director General of the International Renewable Energy Agency, said that we have all the tools we need to address the growing climate challenge. For the increasingly serious global crisis, the reliability and flexibility of renewable energy power generation should be the incentive factors for governments around the world to increase their energy transformation efforts and accelerate the deployment of renewable energy. We have abundant clean energy, but time is pressing. The knowledge of the International Renewable Energy Agency is based on the valuable scientific work of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. I look forward to our continued close cooperation.

Abdalah Mokssit, Secretary of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said that according to previous commitments, we have not yet embarked on the right track of limiting the Earth's temperature rise to 1.5 ℃. However, through rapid and in-depth emission reduction by 2030, we can keep this goal within the achievable range. The power generation cost of some forms of renewable energy has now decreased, and the power generation capacity of renewable energy continues to rise. The power systems of some countries and regions mainly use renewable energy.

According to the research report of World Energy Transformation Outlook released by the International Renewable Energy Agency, to avoid the disastrous consequences of global warming, we need to fundamentally change the way energy is produced and consumed. Renewable energy is the easiest and most cost-effective way to achieve 90% decarbonization by 2050, but this requires that the power generation from renewable energy be doubled by 2030. Its progress will depend on political will, targeted investment and technology portfolios, and a package of policies to put these technologies in place and optimize their economic and social impact.

The signed memorandum of understanding provides a framework for the two institutions to improve their understanding of the risks of climate change caused by human behaviour, its potential impacts and the scientific basis for adaptation and mitigation. The two institutions will also work together to promote the widespread adoption and sustainable use of various forms of renewable energy through dialogue, expert meetings and seminars, in coordination with the relevant working groups/bureaux of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.Editor/Xing Wentao