Speakers

Director-General International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)

Adnan Z. Amin is the Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). In this capacity, he is responsible for leading the Agency in the implementation of its mandate to promote the adoption and sustainable use of renewable energy worldwide. Mr. Amin successfully led the Agency’s transition from the preparatory stage to its establishment in April 2011 when he was elected IRENA’s first Director-General. His priorities included setting the institutional and structural foundations of the Agency and the development of a strategic programmatic agenda. Under Mr. Amin’s leadership, and with rapidly increasing programmatic and financial support of its membership and stakeholders, IRENA has become a prominent player in the field of renewable energy.

Mr. Amin, of Kenya, has over 25 years of experience in multilateral diplomacy and direct engagement in promoting the global development and socio-economic agenda, including sustainable development. Prior to joining IRENA, Mr. Amin served as Head of the UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB) Secretariat. In this function, he was responsible for supporting the CEB in its UN system-wide policy coordination, under the Chairmanship of the UN Secretary-General. He also served as the Executive Director of the Secretariat of the Secretary-General’s High Level Panel on UN System-wide Coherence, co-chaired by the Prime Ministers of Mozambique, Norway and Pakistan. Mr. Amin is a member of global initiatives and entities such as REN21 and the UN Secretary-General’s Sustainable Energy for All.