International agency formed on energy

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, July 31 (UPI) -- A total of 136 nations have signed on to a wide-ranging program to promote transition toward the widespread and sustainable use of renewable energy.

The International Renewable Energy Agency met recently in Egypt to announce that France's Helene Pelosse was chosen as the group's first director general and set the United Arab Emirates capital of Abu Dhabi as the site of its headquarters.

Additionally Bonn, Germany, was chosen to be the host of IRENA's innovation and technology center, while Vienna was tabbed as the agency's office to work with other renewable energy organizations.

IRENA was mandated in January to provide "practical advice and support" for industrialized and developing countries in regards to renewable energy. The agency is to serve as a clearinghouse for information on alternative energy sources, including, IRENA said on its Web site, "best practices, effective financial mechanisms, and state-of-the-art technological expertise."

Of the 136 countries that have joined IRENA, 45 are in Africa, 36 in Europe, 32 in Asia, 14 in North and South America, and nine in Oceania. Representatives of member nations will eventually put together an Assembly, Council and Secretariat.

Pelosse, 39, serves as the deputy head of staff in France's Ministry for Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and Town and Country. A release from IRENA said Pelosse managed France's negotiations on the European Union's Climate and Energy package and was responsible for France's Renewable Energy Plan. She's worked with various international organizations on energy issues.

Steps she's taken in those roles will likely help guide IRENA.

In an interview with the Worldwatch Institute, which promotes "an environmentally sustainable society," Pelosse said: "The idea for IRENA is to do the job for everybody, at lower transaction costs and to just make things happen. We have to be innovative and creative. We have to think of novel ways to get funds. We're not there yet. We should think about activities that are growing and leverage their revenue -- maybe areas that are related to information technology."

When it was announced as IRENA's base, the United Arab Emirates promised $136 million over the next six years and said it would cover the agency's operational costs "in perpetuity."

Abu Dhabi is also scheduled to be the site of a renewable energy summit Jan. 18-21, 2010. Additionally, IRENA set a third preparatory meeting for the city in October.