Energy Charter - IRENA Joint high-level Roundtable

Energy Charter - IRENA Joint high-level Roundtable: Enabling Environments for Clean Energy Investments

Strategies to build market confidence and regulatory stability: opportunities and technical assistance from international cooperation

19 January 2016, from 9:30 am until 12:00 pm, Capital Suite 15, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center ADNEC

The Energy Charter Secretariat and IRENA jointly organised a high level roundtable on the second day of the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) (18-21 January 2016) during the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (16-23 January 2016).

The WFES was organised back to back with IRENA’s General Assembly which took place from 16 to 17 January 2016.

The global demand for energy and associated services is increasing while global carbon emissions have to be reduced. As a result investment needs to be scaled up rapidly to ensure a reliable and sustainable provision with energy in the future. To realise the emissions-reducing potential of renewables, IRENA estimates that global annual investment in renewable energy would need to double from current levels to reach over USD 500 billion in the period up to 2020, and be further scaled up to an annual average of USD 900 billion between 2021 and 2030.

Market confidence and regulatory stability are two very important factors for attracting timely and efficient investments into renewable technologies. International cooperation for technical assistance and capacity building together with customised advice can support the development of enabling environments for investment in many countries, including the efficient management of an increasing number of international investment disputes.

Based on these premises, the Energy Charter Secretariat has established country specific and horizontal activities, such as the Energy Charter energy investment country reports and risk assessment and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has initiated the Clean Energy Corridor Initiatives as well as activities for the sustained investment into renewable technology options.

This joint Energy Charter/IRENA workshop presented the two organisations key advisory and technical support activities designed to strengthen the domestic legal and regulatory frameworks for clean energy investments.

A targeted roundtable discussion brought together international financial institutions, private sector and governments to discuss their experiences and views on the importance of good governance practices in order to overcome barriers to clean energy investment. Speakers included representatives from international financial institutions, private investors, regulatory authorities and recipient countries.

The roundtable focused on the implementation of enabling environments to clean energy investments in developing countries. Participants of the workshop shared their own experiences with removing barriers and mitigating risk in order to facilitate clean energy investment decisions. The diversity of regional experiences provided an excellent opportunity for global knowledge exchange.