Abu Dhabi's zero-emission city Masdar City was chosen despite UAE having the largest per capita carbon footprint in the world, after Germany and Austria withdrew their bids to host IRENA during the meeting of more than 130 IRENA Member States held in Sharm Al Shaikh, Egypt on Monday.
UAE state minister Reem al-Hashemi defended UAE as the host country of IRENA: "The UAE is committed to environmental issues in the first place," the minister told Agence France-Presse. The UAE said last week it was ready to spend $136 million by 2015 to fund IRENA if its bid to host the headquarters succeeded, while it estimates that the new headquarters would be ready by 2011.
Meanwhile IRENA’s innovation and technology centre will be located in Bonn (Germany) and a UN liaison office will be established in Vienna. "I'm quite happy about this agreement," said German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel in a statement. He said the agreement to include IRENA operations in all three countries would send out "the right signal."
Eduardo Goncalves, Global Manager of WWF International's 'One Planet Living' sustainability initiative, also said that his organisation were happy about the decision. "The City is a focal point for the global sustainability community, a place where the world's leading minds and experts meet and connect to advance renewable and clean technologies. It is hard to imagine a more appropriate location for an international agency concerned with promoting renewable energy", he said.
French candidate appointed as IRENA's first Interim Director-General
The IRENA Preparatory Commission also designated Ms. Hélène Pelosse as the first head of the emerging Agency during its second session in Sharm El Sheikh on 29 June 2009. Four candidates with outstanding profiles and strong backgrounds in the field of renewable energy were nominated by the Member States for the position. After a close and fair election, the French candidate Ms. Pelosse was appointed by the Signatories as the first Interim Director-General of IRENA.
Ms. Pelosse is currently Deputy Head of Staff in the Private Office of the French Minister for Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development, and Town and Country Planning in charge of international affairs. She also managed the French negotiations for the EU’s Climate and Energy package, focusing in particular on the Renewable Energy Directive, and was responsible for designing the Renewable Energy Plan for France.
IRENA, which was founded in January and aims to promote a rapid transition toward the widespread adoption of renewable energy already has over 130 members.
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