OTTAWA – Today the Green Party of Canada is questioning why Canada is alone among developed nations in its failure to sign on to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), a UN-affiliated organization dedicated to the global advancement of clean energy.
The 4th annual IRENA Assembly ran from January 18 to 19 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The meeting brought together world leaders from 167 nations to discuss the future of global renewable energy policy, with a particular emphasis on how developing African nations can make the transition to clean power generation.
“Canada’s failure to participate in IRENA is yet another example of our diminishing stature on the world stage,” said Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada and Member of Parliament for Saanich–Gulf Islands. “Here we have the opportunity to show real leadership on renewable energy and climate change, but instead we’re putting all our eggs in the bitumen basket.”
"Dirty energy is on the way out and renewable energy will power up the future," said Adriana Mugnatto-Hamu, the Green Party's Climate Change Critic. "Canada has tremendous renewable potential and could easily become a global leader in this shift but we are losing our chance."
Established in 2009, IRENA is made up of 124 member states, including the United States and the European Union, with 43 states in the process of becoming members. Canada is the only industrialized nations on earth not currently participating in IRENA.
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Media Contact:
Stéphanie Charron
Communications Coordinator, Green Party of Canada
Cell: (613) 614-4916
stephanie.charron@greenparty.ca