To direct the President to seek to establish an international renewable energy agency to expand the availability and generating capacity of renewable energy to markets around the world in order to increase economic opportunity, drive technological innovation, enhance regional and global security, raise living standards, and reduce global warming pollution.

Summary: International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Act of 2008 - Requires the President: (1) acting through the Secretary of State and in coordination with the Secretary of Energy, to seek to establish an International Renewable Energy Agency; and (2) to direct the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations to use the voice and vote of the United States to seek to establish such an agency.

Provides that such agency should: (1) support governments in establishing policies and programs that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency measures; (2) assist in conducting country studies of the potential of renewable energy; (3) provide a global status report for renewable energy; (4) provide long-term projections and scenarios to identify market potential, barriers to deployment, and failures in markets and policies, as well as plan for future demand for renewable energy; (5) organize training programs, information campaigns, and courses relating to renewable energy for civil servants, scientists, businesses, and nongovernment organizations; (6) assist in developing and supplying curricula relating to renewable energy for schools and universities; (7) cooperate with financing institutions to develop and support innovative financing mechanisms to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency measures; (8) facilitate the transfer of knowledge and best practices gained from successful renewable energy programs; (9) develop common, nondiscriminatory international norms and quality standards including certification relating to renewable energy; and (10) draft and disseminate statistics, technology information, reports on project implementation, and progress of legislation and policy programs relating to renewable energy.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``International Renewable Energy 
Agency (IRENA) Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Renewable energy technology will be critical for the 
        United States and the world in overcoming dependence on oil and 
        reducing levels of dangerous global warming pollution.
            (2) The institutional support for renewable energy 
        technology needs to be strengthened to match this growing level 
        of importance to the United States and the world.
            (3) International agencies have been formed on two 
        occasions to address the unique problems and geopolitical 
        dynamics associated with different energy sources: the 
        International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the International 
        Energy Agency (IEA).
            (4) The IAEA, formed in 1957, represents the culmination of 
        President Eisenhower's ``Atoms for Peace'' proposal, 
        emphasizing safe, secure, and peaceful use of nuclear 
        technologies. Under the guidance and oversight of the IAEA, 
        nuclear power has grown from supplying almost none of the 
        world's electricity at the IAEA's founding to nearly 16 percent 
        in 2004.
            (5) The IEA, formed during the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo, 
        enhances energy security among oil consuming countries through 
        an oil reserve and sharing program triggered in the event of an 
        actual or potentially severe oil supply disruption. With IEA 
        helping to counterbalance the Organization of Petroleum 
        Exporting Countries, global oil consumption has surged 47 
        percent over IEA's lifetime.
            (6) Renewable generating capacity grew 26 gigawatts in 
        2005, expanding worldwide nonhydro renewable capacity to over 
        182 gigawatts. However, nearly two-thirds of this capacity lies 
        in just six countries. Meeting the world's energy demands in 
        the coming century while simultaneously reducing heat-trapping 
        emissions and growing the global economy will require actions 
        across nations to reform policy, expand markets for renewable 
        energy technologies, and gather and disseminate information and 
        best practices regarding renewable energy resources, and 
        appropriate technologies.
            (7) From 1970 to 2005, the direct cost to the United States 
        of dependence on foreign oil was $7,000,000,000,000 (in 
        constant 2000 dollars).
            (8) Oil dependence harms the economy and consumers, 
        entangles the military in foreign conflicts, and endangers 
        public health and the environment through the threat of global 
        warming.
            (9) Significant public health, national security, and 
        environmental costs are associated with the emission of 
        greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels. In the 
        United States and many other countries, these costs are not 
        currently paid by the polluters--a failure of competitive 
        markets which leads to the overuse of carbon-emitting energy 
        and the under-production of carbon-free energy.
            (10) Annual revenue of solar, wind, and biofuel energy 
        companies increased to $55,000,000,000 in 2006, a 39 percent 
        increase over 2005. Venture capital directed towards energy 
        technology has grown from less than $50,000,000 a year in 1996 
        to over $2,400,000,000 in 2006, representing nearly 10 percent 
        of total venture capital investment in the United States.
            (11) In the United States alone, over a billion tons of 
        greenhouse gas emissions could be eliminated each year at a 
        profit through energy efficiency measures by 2030, avoiding the 
        construction of hundreds of power plants.
            (12) Renewable energy tends to have higher construction and 
        maintenance costs and low or zero fuel costs, while fossil 
        energy has an opposite cost structure. This results in a higher 
        number of jobs per unit of energy generated from renewable 
        energy than conventional fossil fuels. The construction, 
        manufacturing, installation, operation and maintenance jobs 
        produced by a megawatt of photovoltaic solar, for example, is 7 
        to 11 times greater than the jobs generated by an equivalent 
        amount of coal or gas generated electricity.
            (13) The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has 
        stated that to stabilize greenhouse gases at CO&lt;INF&gt;2&lt;/INF&gt; 
        equivalent concentrations of roughly 450-500 parts per 
        million--where global temperature rise could be limited to 3.6-
        4.3F and sea-level rise due to thermal expansion limited to 
        4.6 feet--global emissions would need to peak by 2015 and 
        decline to as little as 15 percent of 2000 levels by the year 
        2050.
            (14) In 2004, carbon dioxide emissions from Organization 
        for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries were 
        surpassed for the first time by emissions from non-OECD 
        countries. Carbon dioxide emissions from developing countries 
        are projected to account for over 75 percent of global 
        emissions growth by 2030. Encouraging growth of renewable 
        energy in developing countries reduces the extent and 
        likelihood that these economies will follow a carbon-intensive, 
        fossil energy development path.
            (15) At least $20,000,000,000,000 of investment in energy 
        generation and infrastructure will be needed worldwide in order 
        to meet the world's energy needs in 2030 (in constant 2005 
        dollars). Energy generation and infrastructure typically turns 
        over every 40 years, making near-term energy investment 
        decisions instrumental in determining future emissions of 
        greenhouse gases.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INTERNATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY AGENCY.

    (a) Establishment.--The President, acting through the Secretary of 
State and in coordination with the Secretary of Energy, shall 
immediately seek to establish an international renewable energy agency 
to be known as the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). In 
addition, the President shall direct the United States Permanent 
Representative to the United Nations to use the voice and vote of the 
United States to seek to establish such an international renewable 
energy agency.
    (b) Duties.--The agency described in paragraph (1) should--
            (1) support governments in establishing policies and 
        programs that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency 
        measures;
            (2) assist in conducting country studies that analyze the 
        potential of renewable energy;
            (3) provide a global status report for renewable energy and 
        review progress on the implementation of renewable energy 
        programs and projects;
            (4) provide long-term projections and scenarios in order to 
        identify market potential, barriers to deployment, and failures 
        in markets and policies, as well as plan for future demand for 
        renewable energy;
            (5) organize training programs, information campaigns, and 
        courses relating to renewable energy for civil servants, 
        scientists, businesses, and nongovernment organizations;
            (6) assist in developing and supplying curriculum relating 
        to renewable energy for schools and universities, including 
        post-graduate education programs;
            (7) cooperate with financing institutions to develop and 
        support innovative financing mechanisms to promote renewable 
        energy and energy efficiency measures;
            (8) facilitate the transfer of knowledge and best practices 
        gained from successful renewable energy programs to interested 
        member parties;
            (9) develop common, nondiscriminatory international norms 
        and quality standards including certification relating to 
        renewable energy; and
            (10) draft and disseminate statistics, technology 
        information, reports on project implementation, and progress of 
        legislation and policy programs relating to renewable energy.
    (c) Membership.--The President shall seek to include in the 
membership of the agency described in paragraph (1) interested member 
states of the United Nations.

SEC. 4. REPORT.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the President shall transmit to Congress a report on the implementation 
of this Act.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Energy efficiency measure.--The term ``energy 
        efficiency measure'' means an improvement in process or 
        technology that--
                    (A) reduces energy inputs for an identical level of 
                service; or
                    (B) increases or enhances services for an identical 
                amount of energy inputs.
            (2) Greenhouse gas.--The term ``greenhouse gas'' means--
                    (A) carbon dioxide;
                    (B) methane;
                    (C) nitrous oxide;
                    (D) hydrofluorocarbons;
                    (E) perfluorocarbons; or
                    (F) sulfur hexafluoride.
            (3) Renewable energy.--The term ``renewable energy'' means 
        an energy supply based on--
                    (A) solar radiation,
                    (B) solar heat,
                    (C) wind power,
                    (D) tidal or wave power,
                    (E) biomass,
                    (F) geothermal energy,
                    (G) small hydropower, or
                    (H) large hydropower,
        if the energy supply is operated in accordance with the 
        recommendations of the United Nations Dams and Development 
        Project.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    To carry out this Act, there is authorized to be appropriated to 
the President $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2008.