$500 Billion Global Fossil Fuel Subsidies Main Barrier To Renewable Energy

In addition to all that is involved in launching the world's first green-energy body, the organisation's new head has placed a priority on producing a map of the world's solar and wind resources.

Adnan Amin, the Kenyan economist who stepped in last month to take over as interim director general of the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), for the first time yesterday outlined some of his plans for the position. Mr Amin spoke at a meeting of journalists organised by the German Federal Foreign Office in cooperation with the Ecologic Institute, a non-profit research institute with offices in Germany, Austria, Belgium and the US.

Mr Amin took over from Helene Pelose, who had been heading the Abu Dhabi-based organisation for about a year when she stepped down in late October.

Since then he has met with a high-ranking official at the World Meteorological Organisation, which owns records with a century's worth of data on wind velocity and solar radiation levels around the world.

Summarising this information in a map that could be disseminated to countries would clarify their renewable energy potential and hopefully help them develop green ideas in a more efficient and rapid manner, Mr Amin said.

He said Irena would not implement renewable energy projects, but rather "provide the space for all the stakeholders to come to the table" to discuss energy transformation. About 60 per cent of greenhouse emissions came from the energy sector.

Irena chief wants to map energy