CLIMATE POLICIES AND PARTNERSHIPS
Active engagement in the global climate agenda
We actively contribute to global action on climate change through our commitment to an ambitious climate agenda and a strong network of partnerships. We are heavily involved in the major milestones of the global climate agenda each year, including the annual summits and negotiating sessions of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Video summary of Iberdrola's participation in the COP27 Climate Summit (Spanish version, English subtitles).
Iberdrola's participation in the COP27 Climate Summit (Spanish version, English subtitles).
Iberdrola's participation in the COP27 Climate Summit (Spanish version, English subtitles).
In the current situation of energy crisis and climate emergency, the acceleration of the energy transition is presented as the necessary solution to achieve climate and energy security objectives, ensuring the decarbonisation of the economy and generating opportunities in terms of competitiveness, job creation, preservation of the environment and biodiversity as well as improving the health and well-being of society.
In this regard, Iberdrola supports the most ambitious climate goals established both at the European level, with the Green Deal and the framework of measures to reduce emissions by 55 % by 2030 (known as Fit for 55), and at the international level, with the Paris Agreement. To this end, we are very active in the main forums for debate on climate action at European and global level, and we also work with business and multi-stakeholder coalitions, establishing alliances and participating in the most relevant national, European and international climate campaigns and initiatives.
PRESENT AT COP27
COP27 was held from 6 to 18 November 2022 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt under the theme "Together for Implementation". Once again, this year, as a world leader in the fight against climate change, we were protagonists and actively participated in COP27, showing our commitment to a sustainable energy model that generates opportunities and presenting climate action as the central axis of our sustainable development strategy.
Following COP26 in Glasgow last year, participating countries were encouraged to be more ambitious and to revise their climate commitments upwards by strengthening their national contributions. However, insufficient progress on finance and adaptation, which developing countries in particular are calling for, has been a major focus of the 2022 climate agenda and has largely dominated discussions at COP27.
IBERDROLA'S COMMITMENT TO SUMMITS
At COP21, 195 countries agreed to limit the global temperature increase to below 2° C by the end of the century and to continue efforts to keep the temperature of the planet below 1.5° C. Last year, at COP26, through the adoption of the Glasgow Climate Pact
Link externo, abra em uma nova aba. , countries committed to keep the latter scenario alive in order to mitigate, to the greatest extent possible, the growing risks and impacts of climate change.
More than two decades ago, we placed the fight against climate change at the heart of our strategy. Thus, we are fully aligned with the commitments of the Paris Agreement, committing to a strategy based on:
renewable energy generation
the development of smart grids
the implementation of innovative technological solutions that contribute to decarbonisation and to a successful energy transition that generates opportunities for the economy and society.
The ambitious climate targets we have set together with the significant investments made and planned to meet these targets, as well as our active involvement in forums, alliances and international organisations advocating the fight against climate change, have enabled us to lead the transition towards climate neutrality in all areas of our activity.
This decade is critical to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement. That is why we are advancing our global growth with investments of €47 billion over the period 2023-2025 to drive the energy transition, jobs and net zero emissions with full integration of environmental and social factors.
In this way, our clean energy and grid investment strategy will lead us, by 2030, to achieve emissions neutrality in our generation, distribution and own consumption plants (Scopes 1 and 2) and to reach net zero emissions in all our activities by 2040.
Aligned with European objectives
Our support is particularly important in the context of the European Union, which, as the largest economic area committed to climate neutrality and a sustainable growth model, set the 2050 target [PDF] with the launch of the European Green Pact. As a complement to this, the Fit for 55 package was adopted in 2021, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55 % by 2030.
We strongly support the objectives of the European Union and, in this framework, we are part of the European Round Table for Industry (ERT), which brings together the leaders of some of the largest industrial and technology companies, including the Chairman of the Iberdrola Group, who support a climate-neutral Europe by 2050 and the 55 % emissions reduction target, backed by a strong industrial policy.
We are also Vice-Chair of the Corporate Leaders Group (CLG)External link, opens in new window. , the largest business coalition at European level, a leader in European climate campaigns and with strong positions on accelerating ambition towards a sustainable economy aligned with the net-zero emissions target, as of 2022.
OTHER CLIMATE AGENDA ACTIVITIES
New York Climate Week 2022
By supporting initiatives such as Climate Week in New York, we stress the need to act urgently to keep global warming below 1.5° C and mitigate the effects of climate change on the planet. This will only be possible by uniting the efforts of all agents in all geographies and sectors to multiply the effectiveness of individual commitments and find new solutions. In this respect, the electricity industry plays a fundamental role. Renewable energies, smart grids and the electrification of energy uses will be the key vectors for the decarbonisation of the economy. And we are working to remain at the forefront of this green transformation.
Announcements on climate finance and fossil fuel phase-out, as well as pathways to a sustainable energy transition, took centre stage at Climate Week 2022, held from 19-23 September and marked by the energy crisis resulting from the war in Ukraine.
António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, has advocated the need to boost renewables as the only path to real energy security. Guterres therefore argued that the share of clean energy in global electricity generation must increase from almost 30 % today to more than 60 % by 2030, and to 90 % by 2050.
António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
"Business and government leaders must stop thinking of renewables as a distant blueprint for the future. Without renewables, there can be no future”
We Mean Business
The international business coalition We Mean BusinessExternal link, opens in new window. , made up of around 7,500 global companies, aims to achieve a net zero emissions economy by 2050 and halve current emissions by the end of the decade.
We have a very active participation in this coalition, the most relevant at a global level, with a special visibility for its contribution in campaigns, declarations, alliances and activities that reflect responsible behaviour in climate policies. This year, within the framework of its 4A's (Ambition, Action, Advocacy, Accountability) campaign, launched during Climate Week in New York, We Mean Business has highlighted IberdrolaExternal link, opens in new window. , along with a small group of companies, as an example of a leading company for its contribution to a sustainable energy model and the mobilisation of climate action.
The coalition has emphasised our role as a transformative agent through our action to contribute to not exceeding the 1.5°C global temperature rise. The coalition particularly values our innovative capacity to create the energy system of the future, our investment in renewables and sustainable energy solutions, our support for a just transition, our network of alliances and our defence of the most ambitious climate objectives in the main multilateral and economic forums.
Other forums and alliances
We have been a member of the United Nations Global Compact since 2002 and have been a founding member of the Spanish Global Compact NetworkExternal link, opens in new window. since 2004. By joining, we acquired, among others, the commitment to implement its Ten Principles, and to promote the 2030 Agenda by contributing to the achievement of the SDGs and their dissemination. We have been identified as a LEAD company, due to our high levels of commitment to the principles of the Global Compact, and we have led the climate action platform of this organisation since its creation in 2016.
We are also part of the Race to ZeroExternal link, opens in new window. , a global alliance driven by Climate Champions and the United Nations, which brings together businesses, governments and civil society actors committed to achieving a net-zero emissions future by mid-century at the latest.
Among the international initiatives in which we participate, the Alliance of CEO Climate LeadersExternal link, opens in new window. is a project that forms part of the World Economic Forum Platform. This is a global community of CEOs who support and drive action to achieve the transition to a net-zero emissions economy. The Chairman of Iberdrola, Ignacio Galán, has joined this alliance along with 70 other business leaders from various industrial sectors and regions.
Among the sectoral campaigns, The Climate Group's EV100 plays a very important role, and we were the first Spanish company to join it. This initiative aims to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles, so we committed to electrify our entire fleet of vehicles and to facilitate charging for staff in Spain and the UK by 2030.
We have also established strategic partnerships to accelerate the electrification of energy with companies in different fields and with the public sector. These partnerships enhance climate action efforts by integrating resources, technology, skills, knowledge and determination to create a more sustainable economic model. In this regard, we have submitted more than 170 projects to the European Union's Next Generation programme, which could mobilise investments of 30 billion euros and involve small and medium-sized enterprises, institutions, technology partners, start-ups and the entire value chain. These actions —related to green hydrogen, innovative renewables, sustainable mobility, energy storage, smart grids, electrification of heat and recycling of clean technology components— will contribute to economic recovery, with a focus on sustainability, green and affordable energy and jobs.
Moving for Climate NOW
We have actively participated in the different climate summits, among other activities, through the Moving for Climate NOWExternal link, opens in new window. cycling route and the delivery of the Manifesto against climate change with the main lines of action in the fight against global warming. The aim of Moving for Climate NOW is to raise awareness of the importance of urgently fighting climate change.
During its six editions, the initiative has had nearly 200 participants from more than 70 organisations and has travelled more than 4,500 kilometres, with the aim of raising awareness of the importance of urgently combating climate change.
Manifesto lever 1: We need medium and long-term pathways to raise towards net-zero emissions by 2050.
Manifesto lever 2: It is key to align the climate goals with the sustainable recovery measures from COVID-19.
Manifesto lever 3: We need to accelerate the decarbonisation of all sectors of the economy to meet the climate goals.
Manifesto lever 4: Nature is our ally in keeping a healthy planet and in our fight against climate change.
Manifesto lever 5: Greatest challenges cannot be tackled alone.
We are committed to moving forward and preserving the planet.
