Mr La Camera will succeed Mr Adnan Amin from Kenya, who has headed the organisation since it was officially inaugurated in 2011.

The European Commissioner for Energy and Climate Action, Miguel Arias Cañete said: "The election of a European candidate for this important organisation demonstrates our leadership in the global world of renewables. I am confident that Mr La Camera is the right person to lead the International Renewable Energy Agency in the next phase of renewables deployment worldwide".

Mr. Francesco La Camera is currently the Director of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Environment in Italy. He is expected to start as the head of the organisation in April 2019. The International Renewable Energy Agency is an intergovernmental organisation with 160 member countries. The organisation's role is to support the acceleration of renewable energy throughout the world by providing technical assistance, policy support and new data and analysis to governments.

In the European Union, the International Renewable Energy Agency played an important role in the assessment of Europe's cost-competitive potential for renewables in 2030.