By 2030, the company wants to be emissions neutral in its power plants and for its own consumption, and by 2040, it wants to have zero net emissions from all of its operations. By 2030, Iberdrola will also achieve a net positive impact on species and ecosystems in keeping with its commitment to biodiversity protection. Both goals are exactly in line with the company’s projections, which were made public last week in London. The European Investment Bank, the United Nations, and the We Mean Business coalition—which is made up of prominent business and environmental NGOs like CDP, WBSCD, and Corporate Leaders Group—have all expressed support for Iberdrola’s plans.
The most ambitious plan presented at the Summit was Iberdrola’s Climate Action Plan, which it unveiled at COP27 in Sharm el Sheikh (Egypt). It advances the targets of its generation plants’ carbon neutrality, its electricity distribution activity’s carbon neutrality, and its own consumption’s carbon neutrality to 2030 and 2040, respectively. As a result, the business assumes the title of energy company with the most aggressive goals in this field. The Biodiversity Plan by Iberdrola, which aims to have a net positive impact on species and ecosystems by 2030, has also been made public. The Plan takes into account the supply chain, creating environmental, economic, and social value through ecosystem services, and addressing how the group’s activities affect the environment throughout the life cycle of its facilities.
Ignacio Galán, the executive chairman of Iberdrola, brought up the current circumstance during a telematic intervention. “The need to accelerate electrification using renewable energy sources and electricity grids to achieve complete decarbonization and energy independence has been further reinforced by the current crisis. The Climate Action Plan is a fresh boost to Iberdrola’s commitment to zero net emissions as a means of protecting the environment, creating employment, and fostering industrial growth after a 20-year trajectory. We must all work together now to achieve the climate goals and protect biodiversity because the next ten years will be crucial. The International Energy Agency’s Chief Economist, Tim Gould, the European Investment Bank’s Director of Mandate Management, Christoph Kunh, Climate Champion of the United Nations Gonzalo Muoz, Birdlife International CEO Patricia Zurita, and Ovais Sarmad were among the institutions that participated in the round table “Renewed ambition in the face of the current multiple crises,” which also included Iberdrola.
The plan presented by Iberdrola was well received during the discussion, which was moderated by Mara Mendiluce, CEO of We Mean Business, as it represents an advanced step in the fight against climate change. It was made clear at the round table that Iberdrola’s new plans should serve as an example of how to continue making progress in the fight against global warming while responding to the demands from the scientific, environmental, and social worlds in the current “multi-crisis” context (climate, energy, inflation, biodiversity, etc.). The plans announced in Egypt solidify Iberdrola’s position as a commercial leader in the fight against climate change and for the preservation of biodiversity, with bold objectives supported entirely by its investment strategy. In order to reach network assets of 56 billion euros and a renewable capacity of 52,000 MW by the end of the period, the company last week in London announced a record plan of 47 billion euros up to 2025, with more than 27 billion euros set aside for networks and investments of 17 billion euros in renewable energies.