Vattenfall at COP26: Will the world step up to the climate challenge?

COP26 is a long-awaited and crucial moment in the global efforts to tackle the serious risks of climate change. As shown in the IPCC report in August, the global warming caused by human activity is widespread, rapid and intensifying.

The COP26 climate summit will take place in Glasgow from 1 to 12 November and Vattenfall will be there to follow the sessions and to participate in a range of side-events arranged in connection to the negotiations. Vattenfall’s CEO Anna Borg will participate in a high-level panel discussion on Thursday, 4 November, see details below.

Annika Ramsköld, Head of Sustainability, is leading Vattenfall’s activities in Glasgow:

“The climate issue is on top of our agenda, and in the beginning of October Vattenfall committed to the 1.5 degree target, the most ambitious scenario in the Paris Agreement. I am happy to see that other leading industries do the same. Now we encourage all governments and companies in the world to follow suite. Because it is with great concern we see that the combined commitments from the countries so far does not seem to come anywhere near the 1.5 degree target. The world leaders must step up in their climate ambitions, everybody knows that,” Annika Ramsköld says.

Important decisions are needed

There are many important issues to be solved at COP26. What is required above all is more ambitious individual targets for each state to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions according to a 1.5 °C compatible pathway. Moreover, a final decision is needed on the very last part of the so called Katowice Rulebook, which sets the framework on how to carry out the Paris Agreement. This would pave the way for more use of carbon pricing globally. International climate financing will also be a crunch issue at COP26, especially since the goal to collectively support the developing countries with annually 100 billion US dollars by 2020 has not been fully reached.

Shows firm action

Vattenfall is a strong and longstanding supporter of the UNFCCC, the UN:s climate organisation behind the COP sessions, as well as the Paris Agreement goals.

“For us, the COP26 summit is a good moment to show policy makers and other stakeholders how we are taking firm action, to deliver our part to the common strive to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, and how our new ambitious climate targets for 2030 and 2040 are reflected in our business strategy and everything we do,” Annika Ramsköld says.

Vattenfall’s engagement during COP26 includes a number of activities. A few examples:

On Thursday, 4 November, Vattenfall’s CEO Anna Borg will participate at the launch of the First Movers Coalition, an initiative to increase the demand from business for new climate friendly technologies and thereby also speed up technical development. Already in late September, Anna Borg met with John Kerry, the US Special Presidential Envoy for the Climate, to discuss this matter.

On 6 November, Andreas Regnell, Vattenfall’s Head of Strategy, will represent HYBRIT in a panel discussion invited by the EU Commission, while Annika Ramsköld will speak on several events, including a high-level meeting on climate change on 9 and 10 November.

HYBRIT is the Swedish initiative to create a completely fossil-free value chain from mine to finished steel by means of hydrogen. HYBRIT is owned by Vattenfall, steel manufacturer SSAB and mining company LKAB.