IRENA Permanent Representatives meet virtually to discuss the role of renewable energy in the global recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
IRENA’s Director-General Francesco La Camera led the discussion by giving IRENA members an update on the Agency’s work, highlighting the relevance of IRENA’s recently published Global Renewables Outlook to the global response to COVID-19.
“The Global Renewables Outlook came at the right time,” he said, “The medium- and long-term outlook presented by the report can guide the short-term response to the economic crisis caused by the pandemic.”
Representatives from IRENA’s member countries were unified in their support of a green recovery, citing data from IRENA’s Global Renewables Outlook that shows that the renewable energy sector can employ 42 million people by 2050. The comprehensive analysis also found that transitioning towards a renewables-based energy system is a great investment opportunity that can boost cumulative global GDP gains above business-as-usual by USD 98 trillion between now and 2050.
Following the Director-General’s remarks, 11 permanent representatives offered their countries’ perspectives on the global response to the pandemic.
Original source: IRENA
Published on 14 May 2020
