The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) announced a global partnership to accelerate low-carbon energy transition and offer concrete steps to achieve sustainable development. Under the cooperation, the organisations will explore joint initiatives aimed at accelerating the implementation of the Agenda 2030 and stimulating renewable energy investments in developing countries.
“The latest evidence shows that renewable energy sources will increasingly form the backbone of our global energy system, making it imperative to better support countries in making the transition to renewable energy sources and in realising the multiple benefits they offer,” said UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner. “This partnership does just that by uniting IRENA’s technical expertise on renewable energy with UNDP.”
The falling cost of renewable energy means renewables are now frequently the cheapest source of new power generation, according to a new IRENA report. Furthermore, jobs in the sector continued to show growth in 2018. IRENA’s most recent jobs data shows due to more and more countries manufacturing and installing renewables, renewable energy employment reached eleven million people worldwide in 2018.
