Here's something to pay attention to over the next couple of months. Germany has proposed creating the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), a multi-national organization whose main goal would be to promote "a rapid and widespread transition towards the widespread and sustainable use of renewable energy on a global scale." (that's a mouthful - whoo!)
This very noble cause has rallied support from 51 countries from around the world. The list includes the obvious within the UK, France, Denmark and India as well as the not-so-obvious in The Republic of Korea, Pakistan, Vietnam and Nigeria.
Countries not showing their undivided support include Canada, Greenland and, oh yeah, the U.S.
From an American's perspective, I haven't heard very much chatter about IRENA. Could be that I'm not tuned into the right source for this (which is what I'm hoping). The alternative is that American news media isn't really interested in IRENA, it's goals for global access to renewable energy or why our government isn't driving these kinds of initiatives. (Good lord, I hope this isn't it).
For any company with a global footprint, IRENA could have a major influence on your bottom line, future projects and growth. With such strong global support, it's only a matter of time before everyone starts to see the global impact that this type of organization can have.
The founding conference for IRENA will be held on January 26, 2009 in Bonn, Germany. From there, countries can choose to officially sign on as members. IRENA is both seemingly strong and determined. As we bring a new president to office during that same timeframe, it will be very interesting to see how the renewable energy and sustainability priorities of our country shift.
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