SCOTLAND’S growing reputation as a leader in the battle against climate change will receive a huge boost next year when the COP26 conference takes place in Glasgow. This UN-sponsored gathering is set to be the most important international meeting on the environment to have taken place since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015. Some 30,000 delegates are set to attend the event at the SEC and it will attract the attention of the world.
It is difficult to overestimate the significance of COP26 and ScottishPower will be playing an important role in ensuring its legacy is both positive and lasting.
The company is committing to cutting its own emissions as well as holding a number of collaborative events and seeking to raise awareness of climate issues internally.
Dr Sam Gardner, ScottishPower’s Head of Climate Change and Sustainability, has responsibility for ensuring the company is playing its full part in tackling the environment emergency and in developing its programme around COP26.
“As a renewable energy generator, we’re making a big contribution and we have an important role to play,” he adds. “We’re tackling our own emissions and looking to demonstrate best practice in terms of sustainability and climate change.”
He adds that this means working with partners to demonstrate the transition to a Net Zero future is not just absolutely necessary, but also one that is going to be good for people and communities across the UK.
“I regard myself as a climate activist and campaigner, so it’s really important to me that the actions we take and our position are credible. We have more than two and a half gigawatts of renewable electricity generation, meaning we can make a real difference to decarbonisation – taking fossil fuels out of gas boilers to heat our homes in a warm and affordable way, for example, as well as creating jobs and rolling out electric transport.”
Sam sees COP26 as a major opportunity not only for Scotland and Glasgow, but also for ScottishPower to demonstrate its commitment and contribution to tackling climate change.
“COP is the chance to increase ambitions and accelerate efforts to tackle climate change and we want to ensure a positive legacy comes from it. It also provides the impetus for us to look at how we are tackling our own carbon footprint. Yes, we generate 100 per cent renewable electricity, but we also have a fleet of vehicles, buildings and an important supply chain.
“It’s about working across all those different assets to ensure we are walking the walk and cutting our emissions as fast as we can. That’s a big piece of work. Also, as a company, we want to show our leadership in this area.”
He believes that collaboration is key – “we can’t tackle climate change without it” – and sees this as a partnership between the private, public and voluntary sectors. Later this month, an event is planned with WWF Scotland to look at potential initiatives in the run-up to COP26. “It’s a case of combining skills, resources, experience and expertise, finding a new normal by working instinctively together. We’re also committing ourselves to our own science-based targets in cutting emissions and we’ll be setting out how we are planning to do that.
“There will be a youth conference in association with the RSPB and an internal ScottishPower programme to raise awareness and understanding, including a staff online climate course.”
It is hard, Sam adds, to overplay the importance of COP26, with only a decade to halve carbon emissions. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for Scotland to demonstrate what it’s achieved to date, which is the almost complete decarbonisation of the power sector.
“We’ve shifted away from coal and have an incredibly positive story to tell in terms of how that transition has been enabled and the jobs that have been created. We now need COP26 to accelerate the next wave of that and I look forward to seeing a Glasgow Agreement that locks that in.”
This article appeared in the recent Scottish Power "Countdown to Net Zero" publication which you can view online HERE
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