DUBAI, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Federal National Council (FNC) jointly organized a legislators forum on Friday, the agency said in an e-mailed statement.

The forum, themed "Renewable Energy: the Role of Legislators in Catalysing Action to Accelerate the Energy Transformation," brought lawmakers from across the world to Abu Dhabi to discuss the policies needed to accelerate transformation of the global energy system.

Held a day before the opening of the Eighth Assembly of IRENA, the 2018 IRENA Legislators Forum is the third meeting of its kind hosted by the agency.

It seeks "to facilitate dialogue" between legislators on the deployment of renewables and the critical challenges facing the global energy transformation, said the agency.

"Legislators have a key role to play in enacting and overseeing the laws that govern the energy sector, and in widening the support for renewables through their respective constituents," said IRENA Director-General Adnan Z. Amin at the opening of the Forum.

"As the energy transformation gathers momentum, it increasingly brings with it important economic, social and environmental benefits to citizens and communities all over the world," said Amin.

Discussions at this year's forum focused on renewables deployment from the power sector to end-use sector, and on raising the level of ambition of renewable energy in Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement.

Thani Al-Zeyoudi, the UAE minister of Climate Change and Environment, also hailed the important role of legislators in the development of renewable energy.

"Legislators play a significant role in supporting the advancement of renewable energy technologies and their faster deployment by contributing to the development of enabling policy frameworks, institutional capacities and encouraging public-private partnerships," he said.

The host country UAE has "unveiled an ambitious energy strategy with targets of 44 percent renewable energy, 38 percent gas, 12 percent clean coal, and 6 percent nuclear by 2050, while reducing the country's carbon footprint from power generation by 70 percent and reducing residential energy consumption by 40 percent," said the UAE minister.

"Energy transformation is a global priority and we see a strong commitment among many parliamentarians to contribute to it," said Inter-Parliamentary Union Secretary General Martin Chungong, who delivered a keynote speech during the event.

Founded in 2009, the IRENA has its headquarters in Abu Dhabi and 154 members, with 26 states in accession, according to the agency's website.