Adnan Z. Amin
Position
Director General Emeritus IRENA, and Senior Adviser to COP 28 President
CountryKenya
Career history
Adnan Z. Amin is an experienced international official and development economist specializing insustainable development with over 20 years experience in senior positions at the United Nations.
Mr. Amin is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International
Affairs of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. There, he specializes in the“Geopolitics of the Energy Transition”. He has been recently appointed by the Secretary Generalof the United Nations as a member of his High Level Advisory Group on Climate Change inSeptember 2020, and is also serving on several Advisory Boards both in the private sector andwithin academia. Mr. Amin has also been appointed to the position of Senior Political Advisor tothe United Arab Emirates COP 28 Presidency.
Mr. Amin led a distinguished career serving the United Nations. He served as Head of the UN
System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB) Secretariat, the UN Secretary-General’s
policy coordination body comprising the Executive Heads of the UN System. Mr. Amin also led
the Secretariat for the UN Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on UN System-Wide Coherence,
which resulted in an ambitious reform programme implemented under the framework of “OneUN” and “Delivering as One”. Mr. Amin was also the Director of the United Nations Environment
Programme’s (UNEP) New York Office and led the Secretariat supporting the Intergovernmental
review of International Environmental Governance established to review and streamline theproliferation of institutional frameworks within the United Nations. Mr. Amin also served as aTrustee and Member of the Board of Directors of the Cambridge, UK based World Conservation
Monitoring Centre, considered one of the premier biodiversity information institutions in theworld.
In 2011, Mr. Amin was elected and served as the first ever Director General of the International
Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Elected for an initial four-years term, Mr. Amin was reappointed unanimously by the Assembly for a second term in 2015. During his tenure, IRENA

Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF)
9th Annual Meetingbecame the authoritative voice of renewable energy and a leading player in the global energy
transition. The Agency’s membership increased three-fold and now accounts for over 160 State
Members with 24 additional countries in the process of accession, a remarkable achievement in
the annals of multilateralism. After his second term he was granted the honorary title of Director
General Emeritus by the 2019 IRENA Assembly, in recognition of his leadership and outstanding
service to the Agency.
Mr. Amin oversaw the development of IRENA’s operations and programmatic work, directing thegrowth of the Agency’s knowledge framework, country support and regional engagement.
IRENA’s efforts played a key role in showcasing the centrality of renewables to powering
sustainable economic growth, creating jobs while meeting climate and sustainable development
objectives.
Mr. Amin also propelled IRENA on the global stage. Today, the Agency is a regular contributor to,
and a sought-after partner for, global and multilateral Organizations such as the United Nations,G7 and G20, as well as international forums such as the Clean Energy Ministerial, the Berlin
Energy Transition Dialogue and The Suzhou International Forum on Energy Transitions, amongothers.
During his tenure, IRENA actively engaged with a wide range of stakeholders, including
parliamentarians, the private sector and civil society to create an inclusive global platform forcooperation. At his initiative, the Global Commission on the Geopolitics of Energy
Transformation was established in 2018, and delivered in 2019 a ground-breaking report whichoutlines the implications of a large-scale shift to renewable energy on the global energy system,
economies and relations within and between countries.
After his tenure at IRENA, Mr. Amin has served on a number of important initiatives including:
••
•
•••
•
•

Chair of the Global Council on SDG 7, an initiative by the UAE to advance theimplementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda.
Member of the OECD High Level Advisory Group on Aligning Development Co-operation
with the Objectives of the Paris Agreement.
Distinguished Fellow of the Atlantic Council
Member of the Jury of the Zayed Sustainability Prize
Member of the Global Energy Prize International Award Committee
Member of the Stanford University Global Energy Council
Member of the Global Commission to end Energy Poverty-MIT/Rockefeller Foundation.
Awarded the title of Honorary Professor of Practice at the University of Sussex Business
School, his alma mater.
Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF)
9th Annual Meeting

Member of the International Advisory Panel on Energy of the Government of Singapore.
• Senior Advisor to the United Arab Emirates Climate Envoy.
Mr. Amin also serves on a number of Advisory Boards within the private sector including Shell
New Energy, Porsche Sustainability Advisory Board and Arctic Green Energy.
•Awards/Publications• Moran of the Burning Spear (MBS) a National Award bestowed by H.E. President of Kenya,Uhuru Kenyatta, December 2018•••

The First Order of Zayed II bestowed by the President H.H. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed AlNahyan, President of United Arab Emirates, March 2019
Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, bestowed by the President of Italy,
November 2020
Astana Medal bestowed by H.E. President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev,
September 2018.

Areas of expertiseGeopolitics of the Energy Transition

Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF)
9th Annual Meeting