Hermann Scheer has been calling for the establishment of an International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) for years.
IRENA has now been established on 26 January 2009.

You can order the comprehensive documentation "The long road to IRENA" on Hermann Scheer’s commitment to bring about the formation of IRENA here.

 
Mandated by governments worldwide, IRENA will soon become the main driving force in promoting a rapid transition towards the widespread and sustainable use of renewable energy worldwide.

As the global voice for renewable energy, IRENA will provide practical advice and support for both industrialised and developing countries, help them improve their regulatory frameworks and build capacity. The agency will facilitate access to all relevant information including reliable data on the potential of renewable energy, best practices, effective financial mechanisms and state-of-the-art technological expertise.

In 1990 Hermann Scheer presents the „Memorandum for the Establishment of an International Solar Energy Agency (ISEA)“ in Bonn.

In 2001 Hermann Scheer as president of EUROSOLAR and of the World Council for Renewable Energy hosted and chaired the International Impulse Conference for the Creation of IRENA "Promoting Global Transfer Activities for Renewable Energy". 400 participants from countries all over the world adopted a final Memorandum on IRENA.

In 2004 the International Parliamentary Forum on Renewable Energies, chaired by Hermann Scheer, with 300 members of parliament from 70 countries present called for the establishment of IRENA.

The German Government has, in his coalition agreement dating from 2005, made the IRENA initiative its own. Two resolutions of the German Parliament supported the establishment of IRENA in 2003 and 2008.

Please find a chronology of Hermann Scheer’s past activities to promote IRENA here.

Discussions conducted with governments spanning the world’s regions since spring 2007 have demonstrated that numerous countries welcome the IRENA initiative and would like to be involved in setting up the Agency. At the invitation of the German Federal Government, representatives of 60 countries met in Berlin on 10 / 11 April 2008 to attend the Preparatory Conference for the Foundation of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). At the conference, representatives expressed their overall support for the foundation of IRENA.
Speech Hermann Scheer.

On 30 June / 1 July 2008, the German Federal Government hosted two workshops that addressed IRENA's initial working programme and its statutes & finances.
Press release Hermann Scheer.

At the Final Preparatory Conference for IRENA hosted by the Spanish Government on 23 / 24 October 2008, in Madrid (Spain), more than 50 states attended. About 150 representatives from industrialised and developing countries finalised discussions on IRENA's Statutes and thus paved the way for IRENA to be founded in January 2009 in Bonn (Germany).
Press release Hermann Scheer.

IRENA was officially established in Bonn on 26 January 2009. 125 delegations attended the Founding Conference and a total of 75 nations, both developing and industrialised, signed the Agency’s Statute. This number increased considerably in the meantime, you’ll find the current list of Signatories here.
Press release and speech Herman Scheer.

At the second session of the Preparatory Commission on 29 and 30 June 2009 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, member states elected Mrs. Hélène Pelosse as the first head of IRENA and designated Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, as the Agency’s interim headquarters.
Press release Hermann Scheer

Hermann Scheer as President of EUROSOLAR and Chair of the WCRE advanced the proposal to establish IRENA in spite of doubts that were expressed repeatedly and obstacles that turned up along the way. EUROSOLAR and the the WCRE were the first, and for many years, the only non-governmental organisations that campaigned for IRENA.
We are proud that our campaign has finally succeeded; in these 19 years, it was necessary to repeatedly push the idea forward and encourage an increasing number of supporters worldwide.

The agency is now getting ready to start its crucial work. As an International Governmental Organisation, IRENA will create a level playing field for the acceleration of the deployment of renewable energy everywhere. The agency will be instrumental in overcoming the persistent bias of international organisations in favour of atomic and fossil energies.