Calling all world leaders at Cop26 – we have some questions for you

CLARE FOSTER, Partner and Head of Clean Energy

Will you recommit to the Paris Agreement objectives, with the ambition to accelerate and enhance those targets? The Climate Change Committee has stated that the UK will continue to experience increasing temperatures until the middle of this century under all scenarios, even those consistent with the Paris Agreement. The UK’s experience is replicated around the world. This emphasises the imperative to go ‘beyond Paris’ and to be more ambitious. Investing in decarbonisation now will save resources in the long run due to the reduced need to adapt infrastructure for climate risk. Will you take definitive steps towards the agreement and alignment of global carbon pricing? Carbon pricing tries to place a cost on the externalities of carbon emissions that would not otherwise be incurred by emitters. There is currently no comprehensive international framework agreed on carbon pricing, although many countries operate their own frameworks. Harmonisation on this issue would level the competitive playing field on an international basis and avoid competitive pricing regimes.

JOHN MORRISON, Partner, Corporate

Will you incentivise the switch to renewable forms of heating of domestic premises?

With the recent spike in prices, renewable forms of domestic heating would appear to provide a hedge against increasing global demand and challenging supply. Some two million homes in Scotland rely on gas as their primary heating fuel, with very few having renewable or low emissions heating systems. This is by no means an issue unique to us. Earlier this month, the UK Government announced financial support and incentives to make the transition to such forms of heating more affordable and attractive. To meet net zero targets, we need to vastly increase the number of renewable heating systems installed by providing, and marketing, such incentives. Will you follow the UK in incentivising and supporting the switch to renewable forms of heating for domestic premises?

JOHN GRADY, Partner, Regulation and Markets

Will you agree to significantly increase funding for innovation?

While we must try our best to tackle climate change using the technologies we have, new tools are urgently needed. My hope is that the parties agree to significantly increase funding for innovation. Offshore wind shows the success that can flow from private and public sector support for new technology and innovation.

SUSAN SWAN, Senior Associate, Energy and Commercial Contracts

Will you establish a policy and regulatory framework to support increased private investment in public charging infrastructure for electric vehicles?

Private transport is one of the world’s biggest sources of greenhouse gases but the transition to electric vehicles will only be truly successful when finding a place to charge a car’s battery is as easy as finding a fossil fuel filling station. This will require a fundamental societal shift to provide comprehensive charging infrastructure and give consumers the confidence to switch en masse.

RICHARD LESLIE, Partner, Rural Property and Business

Will you take active measures to protect biodiversity by providing safe havens for threatened species?

Preserving wild spaces to protect biodiversity will assist with flood alleviation and act as a gene pool to assist in replenishing wildlife in areas where species have become extinct locally. The existential threat to biodiversity is a global issue and requires global consensus and action to make the changes necessary to protect our plants and animals.

SCOTT RODGER, Solicitor, Regulation and Market

Will you implement legally binding commitments towards net zero targets in domestic law?

The legislation implemented by the Scottish and UK governments shows an unequivocal commitment to net zero ambitions, consistent with Paris Agreement goals, and investors have indicated the importance of all countries and regions implementing such policies. Setting clear, legally binding, net zero targets supported by detailed implementation plans is imperative: it will send a clear message to investors and facilitate the deployment of capital to achieve net zero and decarbonisation objectives.

Will you assist developing countries in deploying low carbon and renewable technologies, supporting a just transition?

Climate change is a global problem. There is limited point in some countries decarbonising energy while others continue to build carbon-intensive power plants. Developing countries should be given as much support as possible to transform their energy systems, and to avoid the construction of new carbon-intensive, highly polluting forms of generation.

RICHARD TURNBULL, Partner, Property and Infrastructure

Will you commit to state investment or support in electricity networks and interconnectors at a level that matches your ambition for the growth of renewable energy?

We must ensure we have electricity networks in place that are capable of coping with the increase in renewable generation from a number of new technologies. Network operators also need increased funding and freedom to innovate to meet the different needs of a green power baseload and provide energy security.

Any costs passed on to power suppliers through system charges should be levelled to ensure fair competition and should not be inflated for remote locations where the potential for renewable generation is highest but demand is lowest (as is currently the case in the UK)

For more information about Shepherd and Wedderburn’s market-leading clean energy practice, contact Clare Foster, Partner and Head of Clean Energy, on 0131-473 5409 or at clare.foster@shepwedd.com.