GREEN PARTY LEADER and Environment Minister Eamon Ryan has been elected as co-chair of the International Energy Agency for 2024.

2024 will mark the 50th anniversary of the Paris-based organisation that provides recommendations and analysis to shape global energy policies.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has 31 member countries and 11 association countries, including the USA, China and India, and its membership represents 75% of global energy demand.

In recent years,  the IEA has opened to major emerging countries in an effort to expand its global impact.

Eamon Ryan has been elected as co-chair to the IEA for 2024, alongside French Energy Minster Agnès Pannier-Runacher.

The IEA Ministerial takes place every two years to set the Agency’s mandate and review its achievements.

The role of co-chair spans over a year, meaning that Ryan will co-chair the 2024 IEA Ministerial in Paris.

The IEA Ministerial takes place every two years to set the Agency’s mandate and review its achievements.

The agency said the upcoming Ministerial “will provide a key opportunity for countries to assess the latest developments in global energy markets and how they can advance international cooperation on energy security and tackling climate change”.

A spokesperson for the Green Party said Ryan’s election is “based on his two terms as Ireland’s Energy Minister and his internationally acknowledged expertise in renewable energy and climate change”.

Ryan was also the lead EU negotiator on “loss and damage” at last year’s COP27 climate change conference in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

“Loss and damage” refers to the impact of extreme weather on the physical and social infrastructure of poor countries, and the financial measures needed for rescue and reconstruction after climate-related disasters.

Ryan also served as co-chair of the European Councils’ North Seas Energy Co-operation last year.

The North Seas Energy Cooperation seeks to establish an integrated offshore energy grid across the northern seas of Europe by linking wind farms and other renewable energy sources.