Francesco La Camera is the Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). He took office on 4th April 2019 and brings more than 30 years of experience in the fields of climate, sustainability, and international cooperation.  

Mr. La Camera formerly served as Director-General of Sustainable Development, Environmental Damage, EU and International Affairs at the Italian Ministry of Environment, Land & Sea since 2014.  

In this capacity, he developed cooperation and partnerships agreements with a wide range of countries, particularly developing countries including Small Island Developing States (SIDS).  

As the national coordinator for climate, environment, resource efficiency and circular economy, he led the Italian delegation to UNFCCC’s COPs 21 to 24, and the EU delegation to COP 20. He was responsible for the organisation of Italy’s G7 Environment Presidency in 2017. He also led the Italian delegation to the G7 Environment meetings in 2016 and 2018.   

Mr. La Camera is widely credited with having spearheaded international cooperation on issues related to climate change and the environment. He played a key role in bringing together multilateral organisations such as the World Bank, the African Development Bank, UNEP, UNDP and FAO to develop joint initiatives designed to implement the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.   

He served as co-chair of the Africa Centre for Climate and Sustainable Development established in Rome in partnership with FAO and UNDP, and co-chaired the Financial Platform for Climate and Sustainable Development in partnership with the Italian Development Bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti. He has also coordinated a number of national strategies, including on sustainable development, green finance and fossil fuel subsides among other things.  

Mr. La Camera was instrumental to the support provided by Italy to several renewable energy initiatives such as the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI), the Initiative for Renewable Island Energy (IRIE) and the Global Geothermal Alliance (GGA), coordinated by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). 

The author of many publications, Mr. La Camera is a Lecturer of Sustainable Development at the University of Cosenza and of Environment & Land Economics at the University of Roma 3. He began his career as an economic analyst at the Italian Ministry of Budget & Planning.  

Mr. La Camera is a national of Italy, and a graduate of the University of Messina in Political Sciences (Economic Policy major).