GE has signed a framework agreement with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), to collaborate on a plan which will support both climate change and energy security.
A statement yesterday said the agreement was signed by the Director-General, IRENA, Francesco La Camera, and Chief Sustainability Officer, GE, Roger Martella, at the just-concluded 27th Conference of the Parties (COP 27) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
The statement said through this collaboration, GE and IRENA have agreed to cooperate across several specific pillars, including decarbonization, thought leadership, adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy. COP27 provides the right context and platform for the agreement to move forward.
Commenting, La Camera, was quoted as saying: “Any near-term shortfall in action will further reduce the chance of keeping 1.5°C within reach. We are acutely aware that scaling up renewable energy investments and decarbonisation technologies is more important today than ever.
“Our collaboration with GE underlines how partnerships within the industry can – and must – serve our mission of supporting countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future. Together with forward-looking multinationals such as GE, we hope to accelerate progress and fuel global ambitions to achieve net zero.”
On his part, Martella said: “GE knows that partnership is critical to solving climate change and energy security. We are thus honoured to partner with IRENA as a key stakeholder to achieve the shared goal of a just and ambitious energy transition.
“As a company whose equipment helps generate one-third of the world’s electricity, GE is rising to the challenge of innovating technology to decarbonize the energy sector while making energy more reliable, affordable, and sustainable for the 750 million people who lack access.”
Through this collaboration, GE and IRENA have agreed to cooperate across several specific pillars, including decarbonization, thought leadership, adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy.
Industrial decarbonisation
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Energy Resources Assistant Secretary, Geoffrey R. Pyatt, said: “The United States strongly supports private sector-led industrial decarbonisation efforts, and we look forward to working closely with GE and other cutting edge industry players to advance these initiatives.”
Following the signing of the agreement, GE and IRENA will explore how to jointly support decarbonization efforts in critical markets and sectors, including onshore and offshore wind, bio energy with CCUS, hydro, green hydrogen, energy storage, electrification, and the latest grid modernization technologies.
The organizations plan to collaborate on identifying thought leadership, events, and knowledge exchange opportunities with strategic stakeholders and partners to promote the continued growth of the renewables sector.
Speaking on the agreement, President, GE Nigeria, Mohammed Mijindadi, said: “This agreement is a welcome development for Nigeria with its ambition to diversify the nation’s energy mix.
“GE’s Renewable Energy business is providing technology and services that can help enhance the country’s renewable energy generating capacity, improve and optimize the grid infrastructure, as well as leverage its advanced digital service offerings for cutting edge transformation.”
The partners will also consider technical cooperation, exploring collaboration on technical solutions and capacity-building that support regional and country-level stakeholders.
This agreement demonstrates GE and IRENA’s commitment to achieving climate change goals while focusing on the three pillars of the energy trilemma –reliability, sustainability, and affordability.
