IRENA Chief: KSA Key Player in Global Energy Transition

Saudi Arabia is set to deepen its collaboration with the International Renewable Energy Agency to advance sustainability initiatives, according to a senior official.

Speaking to Arab News on the sidelines of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification COP16, Francesco La Camera, director-general of IRENA, stated that Saudi Arabia is a key leader in transitioning away from fossil fuels, thanks to the Kingdom’s Green Initiative.

He also highlighted global progress in renewable energy, noting that last year saw a record increase in capacity, driven by advancements in green hydrogen and sustainable biomass.

“We are working on signing an agreement with the GCC countries, so we will see when we will be ready. We will announce that we are working more closely with Saudi Arabia on our topics and our area of interest,” La Camera said.

He added: “Just to give you an example now, ACWA Power is a Saudi company, but it is the elite company for decentralization. They invest in 12 different countries, and this is something amazing, and this is an effort also outside the country to work for the energy transition, providing water in a country that stresses all this.”

The IRENA director-general stressed the importance of all nations, including Saudi Arabia, to increase efforts, with the expectation that updated national climate contributions will be submitted before February 2025.

“Everyone has to do more, so we expect to see also the national climate contribution to be presented before February 2025. We also hope that our presence at COP will allow us to have more discussion and to increase the level of engagement of Saudi in the work of IRENA,” La Camera said.

He added: “We think that, inevitably, Saudi is a leading country on all of this. It has the potential. It has the resources. It has the leadership to go faster and scale in the energy transition.”

La Camera also outlined a strategy to address the structural challenges hindering the deployment of renewable energy at the speed and scale required to meet global energy and climate goals.

The focus is on overcoming infrastructure barriers by creating interconnected, flexible, and balanced grids that can support a higher integration of renewable energy.

This is where regional collaboration comes in, which is essential to achieving this objective.

“I emphasize the role of the infrastructure. We need groups that are interconnected, flexible, and balanced to allow more renewables. Regional collaboration is crucial,” La Camera said.

During his keynote speech at the Saudi Green Initiative, La Camera spoke about the need to design the market in a way that is more favorable for renewables.

“We need to strengthen the capacity of the distribution to deal with this through a system that is more distributed instead of centralized, and also the need to reskill the personnel that is moving from the fossil fuel to the renewable area,” he said.

La Camera concluded the interview by highlighting IRENA’s long-term planning efforts, which are essential for aligning financial investments with the needs of the renewable energy sector.