Vattenfall in Dubai for COP28

Vattenfall is an important player in the European energy transition. Sustainability is the core of all operations. This is the reason why Anna Borg can now be found on the recently published TIME100 Climate list as an international leader for fossil freedom.

With an ambitious plan to phase out coal by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions by 2040, Vattenfall is going into COP28 strong. Legislators in many parts of the world have started to act when it comes to combating climate change. It comes down to business leadership now to translate more ideas into action. COP28 will be an opportunity for Vattenfall to talk to partners and stakeholders, forge new coalitions, and exchange knowledge, and inspire and to urge others to act, and do that fast.

Sustainability Head Annika Ramsköld stresses the importance of taking whole value chains into consideration in the discussion around fossil freedom:

“Removing emissions from our own processes and products is one thing. The same logic should apply to the resources going in to the process and to the partners that Vattenfall relies on,” she says. “Sustainable thinking means thinking it through to the end. We need to consider whole value chains and all sustainability aspects and see how Vattenfall can contribute to making them fossil free in a just way. Fossil free steel is one important example here among many. We are taking our ideas and best practices to the world stage now to have a bigger impact, strengthen our existing alliances, and forge new ones.”

Among several high-level events, Annika Ramsköld will attend First Movers Coalition (FMC) meetings. Vattenfall is a co-founding member of the FMC, which was initiated by the World Economic Forum and the US’s special envoy for the climate, John Kerry. The aim is to drive demand for breakthrough technologies with (near) zero emissions. Taking on whole value chains presents a challenge but also an opportunity for real transformation. Discussions can become more challenging when different stakeholders are involved, and this is also especially true for COP28.

Much consideration has gone into the decision to attend COP28, explains Annika Ramsköld. As a host, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have appointed Sultan al-Jaber as president of the UN Climate Conference. It is argued that the fact he is also CEO of the state oil company, Adnoc (also of the state renewables company, Masdar), presents a conflict of interest.

There are serious allegations that the UAE are planning to instrumentalise COP28 to make oil deals. Vattenfall, like other organisations, has therefore carefully evaluated attendance at COP28. The decision, however, is to take part in COP28 and in the important discussion about the direction our joint world should take and to push for increased speed and magnitude of the transition away from fossil dependency.

You can find more information about COP28 here:
COP28 UAE - United Nations Climate Change Conference