IRENA & IDB to Foster Sustainable Energy Future in LAC Countries

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) have signed a partnership that will help drive the energy transition in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement.

The partnership is built around knowledge-sharing in the context of promoting regional integration, renewable energy investment, finance and risk mitigation in the Latin America and the Caribbean. In particular, the two parties will support each other’s initiatives such as IDB’s Energy Hub and the IRENA’s Climate Investment Platform – a multistakeholder initiative established at the UN Secretary General’s Climate Action Summit Climate Action Summit 2019.

Specifically, IDB and IRENA will work to enhance access to sustainable finance in the region by supporting the creation of market conditions that are conducive to renewable energy investments and that facilitate the development of renewable energy projects. Both institutions are committed to scaling up renewable energy ambition and deployment to support the realisation of economic and climate goals in the region.

“We’re thrilled to partner with IRENA to promote our region’s transition to a sustainable energy future at a critical time,” said IDB’s President Mauricio Claver-Carone. “At the IDB, we are convinced that the post-pandemic recovery must have a focus on sustainability and green growth,” he added.

“Facilitating access to sustainable finance is fundamental to the acceleration of the world’s energy transition,” said Francesco La Camera, IRENA Director-General. “Renewable energy investment needs to double if we are to align with a climate-safe path. IDB is an active investor in Latin America and the Caribbean’s energy transition, and I believe through this partnership, we can strengthen efforts to put the region at the forefront of the decarbonisation agenda,” he added.

The Climate Investment Platform is an inclusive partnership between IRENA, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforAll) and the United Nations Development Programme in coordination with the Green Climate Fund. The Platform aims to mobilise climate capital to scale up climate action and support the realisation of climate-related targets within Nationally Determined Contributions.

IRENA joins the LAC Energy Hub, a digital platform that showcases innovative data visualisations and seeks to foster energy policy innovation, research and mutual collaboration among its partners. The platform was launched in 2020 and includes partners like the Latin American Energy Organization, SEforAll, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Ibero-American Association of Energy Regulating Entities.

The IDB and IRENA have collaborated in the past, coordinating knowledge-exchange activities and technical workshops on renewable energy and energy integration and most recently, have partnered under the Renewable Energy Latin America and Caribbean initiative (RELAC). This initiative aims to promote the cooperation among the LAC countries towards a regional target of 70% of RE installed capacity for power generation by 2030. The signing of this agreement institutionalises the partnership between both organisations and marks a new phase for stronger collaboration and cooperation.