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Bonn to Host IRENA Technology Center
The offices of the fledgling International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) will be located in three cities, including Bonn, in a compromise agreed on by IRENA member states at a preparatory meeting in Egypt on June 29. The agency’s headquarters will be located in Abu Dhabi, the innovation and technology center will be based in Bonn and a liaison office to the UN and other international institutions will be based in Vienna.
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- Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety Sigmar Gabriel
- (© BMU; by Frank Ossenbrink)
German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel welcomed the compromise solution as fair and proper. “The compromise combines the strengths of all the competitors in an ideal fashion and sends the right signal: cohesion instead of division, strength in unity,” said Gabriel who personally worked very intently for the compromise.
IRENA has already been an unbelievable success for Germany, he said, with the initiative bringing together more than 130 states in just five months. Rather than jeopardize Germany’s success in launching IRENA by having a contentious vote on the headquarters location, it was important to reach a common solution, Gabriel said.
Germany will make available 4 million euros to establish the innovation and technology center in Bonn and contribute 2 to 3 million annually. “Germany as technology leader will thereby maintain significant influence on the international development of renewable energies,” Gabriel said.
