A round-up of week one at COP26

Finance, energy, youth and public empowerment, and nature have been on the agenda and we have already seen some steps put in place to help tackle climate change and sustainability.

Highlights of the week

• The UK secured a 190-strong coalition of countries and organisations to phase out coal power
• The UK Prime Minister launched a plan to deliver clean and affordable technology everywhere by 2030
• World leaders including the US, India, EU, and China have backed and signed the Breakthrough Agenda – representing more than 70% of the world’s economy and every region
• Our Patron, HM The Queen, urged world leaders to achieve true statesmanship and create a safer, stabler future for the planet
• 100 leaders have committed to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030
• The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that if you add the global methane pledge to the new net zero pledges warming could be limited to 1.8 degrees
• 23 countries make national climate education pledges including net-zero schools and putting climate at the heart of national curriculums

Our delegation has been reporting back from the event to provide us with the most exciting insights from COP26, looking at how COP26 will support long-standing goals and the role that engineering and technology will play in creating this more sustainable future for us all.

Energy

Thursday, 4 November at COP26 focused on Energy, and our delegation had the chance to attend many events across the day.

IET’s Energy Policy Panel Chair, Craig Lucas, joined Nicola Todd, National Grid’s Head of Innovation and Strategy, and Tom Howe, Head of the Energy and Environment Division at the IEA, for an informal discussion in the Green Zone on the topic of ‘What is a Green Grid.’

They spoke about the steps we need to take to ensure energy networks are ready for the global transition, how we build the skills and supply chain, how we need to scale up investment, and how we need to involve consumers and other stakeholders in the journey.

Read our recent Energy technology for Net-Zero guide which gives a detailed look at the technologies available to decarbonise the UK energy system – vital in helping the Government reach its Net Zero targets.

Members of our delegation also attended an event at COP26 with Solar Energy UK, hosted by Mott MacDonald, which included an international panel chaired by the Chief Executive of the Global Solar Council, Jose Donoso.

The event recognised that energy experts are needed across all sectors and energy should no longer be viewed as a separate sector. The rest of the event looked at how the renewable industry can address barriers to scaling its ambition and was followed by a discussion about how we build the skills and capabilities required to address the 1.5-degree challenge.

Panel member, Ben Fawcett of EDF Renewables, highlighted the need for urgent action, “We are closer to 2050 than to 1990.”

This was followed up by Jose, who said, “Renewable projects are a marriage of three things – the projects, the land, and the community.”

Listen to our Engineer a Better World podcast episode, Winds of Change: Powering the Route to Net Zero where we speak to Andrew Griffith MP, Jerome Mayhew MP and Alan Brown MP on the pathways to achieving Net Zero, and the role engineering is already playing and can play in the future.

If you have a case study, innovative tools, and techniques,  a report on work completed or nearing final stages, or efforts that have concluded with an important outcome of interest around renewable power generation, the RPG 2022 Organising Committee welcomes contributions.

Find out how you can submit a paper.

At the end of the busy first week, Craig Lucas said, “Reflecting on my week at COP, two things have struck me.  Firstly, I am heartened by the way business and industry are pushing the political class to go quicker. 

“Working in the energy industry myself, I am well aware of the key role energy plays in decarbonising the global economy, and the risks facing our businesses if we don’t adapt. 

Secondly, I hope that we are moving from an era of persuasion to an era of rapid action when our skills as engineers will be more in demand than ever before in addressing probably the greatest challenge our profession will tackle in my lifetime.”

Youth and Public Empowerment

Young climate leaders around the world are an unstoppable force and Friday 5 November focused on Youth and Public Empowerment.

Young people demanded action from negotiators, officials, and ministers from across the world in order to protect their futures.

“Stop talking and start doing,” was a key message from all of the young climate leaders on the day including 15-year-old Vinisha Umashankar, who is the creator of the solar-powered ironing cart.

If the young people in your life are wanting to be more sustainable, this year in partnership with Engineering Education Scheme Wales (EESW), we have launched a competition for young people across the UK to get involved with - My Sustainable Community.

The competition is now closed.

We look forward to seeing what this week will bring at COP26 and our delegation representing the IET will be at the heart, finding out how engineering and technology will play a part in creating a sustainable future for us all.

Upcoming topics include adaption, loss and damage; gender; science and innovation, transport; and cities, regions, and the built environment.

Keep an eye on our website for the latest COP26 updates.