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An international new energy organization was established recently. The purpose of this organization (IRENA) is to expand the use of new energy across the world’s industrialized and developing countries. In 2008 alone, 12 million kilowatts of wind power capacity were installed worldwide. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) was officially established this week; it focuses on the development of renewable energy worldwide. The agency will help ** and private industry organizations increase the use of new energy through advanced **. Currently, investment in industrialization is increasing, while also helping developing countries acquire technology to establish their own new energy industries. In his speech at the conference, Germany’s Minister for New Energy said that IRENA will help remove the obstacles that have so far hindered the development of new energy sources. But the market remains distorted by subsidies for conventional energy, lacks technical expertise, and the information is not very accurate. Conference organizers said that more than 120 delegations attended the inauguration ceremony of IRENA held in Bonn on the 26th. 75 **signing parties are referred to as member states. Its founding members were Germany, Spain, and Denmark, and IRENA’s current members include France, India, the UAE, and Kenya. A treaty comes into force once it is ratified by 25 **. The number of participants at the conference exceeded what the host country had expected, but many major industrialized countries around the world did not sign the treaty; the most notable among them are the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, China, and Australia. Observers say that many **join only after the institutions have fully developed. According to an unnamed official from the UK’s Department for Energy and Climate Change*, they do support it and are interested in joining. But they want to know exactly what rights they will have once they join. These require further development of new energy projects; it’s not just about discussing policies and issuing announcements, and it is also necessary to expand the membership. According to the U.S. State Department, Germany **has asked the United States to play a role in the General Assembly, but it remains an observer country to this day. Their spokesperson said they will continue to examine and pay attention to all mechanisms that can promote the development of new energy. The participants discussed the criteria and procedures for selecting IRENA’s permanent headquarters and its first director-general. Member states will vote in June. Germany, Austria, and the UAE have proposed to serve as permanent headquarters. The UAE is an oil-exporting country; it states that by joining IRENA, it can provide technical expertise in the field of new energy sources, thereby expanding the development of its Masdar City. Masdar City is a zero-emission, pollution-free city. The CEO of Masdar said at a press conference that the leaders of the UAE established Masdar because they saw a lack of organization in the field of new energy, as well as a shortage of partners with long-term goals. IRENA is the organization needed by the world to promote the development of new energy, but it must ensure that it is first and foremost an organization that takes action. Although other organizations such as the United Nations and the International Energy Agency are also committed to expanding the development of new energy sources, IRENA is the world’s first international organization dedicated entirely to this cause. Germany’s Environment Minister said that IRENA will focus more on new energy sources than previous organizations have done, but other organizations need not worry, as there is already enough work for everyone to handle. IRENA will work in synergy with other organizations and institutions. Although the international credit crisis slowed down investment in new energy, wind power, solar power, and geothermal power still saw significant development last year. According to figures from the World Wind Energy Association, in 2008 alone wind power capacity increased by 12 million kilowatts, bringing the global total wind power capacity to 106.1 million kilowatts. In addition, there are 9.74 million more solar photovoltaic systems installed, with geothermal power plant projects accounting for at least 6 million kilowatts. Global efforts to establish new energy agencies have anticipated this widespread demand. In fact, Schülle, a member of the German Social Party and president of the World Parliament for New Energy, proposed the establishment of an international solar organization in 1990; in 2006 he persuaded Germany to join IRENA. Schulz, head of the European New Energy Association, said that IRENA has come a long way since its initial conception until it was established, which shows that there weren’t many forward-thinking ideas; persistence and determination are equally important. After 19 years of preparation, people can no longer afford to waste time. (Zhang Weijia)