COP 26 News Roundup

COP 26 has seen a slew of announcements from world leaders aimed at grabbing headlines and media inches. But how much is hot air and how much has real wind in its sails? Here’s a roundup of some of the news from Glasgow (and yes Joe, it’s pronounced Glazgo not Glasscow).

The EU is aiming to be the first climate neutral continent by 2050. Its ambitious goals will be helped by 60GW of offshore wind by 2030 and a whopping 300GW by 2050. To meet such targets, current expansion rates will have to be significantly increased. To aid in this, Denmark is leading the way in ‘energy islands’, artificial constructs that may offer cost savings over standard offshore wind substations. By bringing together infrastructure from multiple sites, they may prove the next step in the grids of the future. They may also be used as green hydrogen and battery storage sites.

The One Sun One World One Grid Group might sound like a tongue-twister but it is in fact a multinational initiative launched jointly by the UK and India at COP26. Prime Ministers Modi and Johnson announced a plan, endorsed by 80 nations, for the acceleration of large scale solar power stations linked by continental interconnectors across nations. “Thanks to the UK COP26 Presidency taking up the project, and Prime Minister Modi’s personal interest, we’ve begun to assemble a powerful coalition which could get those grids and power stations built faster than ever.” Said the Secretary-General of the Climate Parliament, Nicholas Dunlop. “By combining rooftop solar with desert solar power stations, plus offshore wind farms and hydropower, we can easily generate more than enough renewable energy to power the world. But only if we build the right grids.”

Technically announced before COP26, Boris Johnson made headlines with his announcement that the UK’s electricity production would decarbonised by 2035. Although the numbers include nuclear energy, it is still an ambitious plan to ‘go green’ in less than 15 years. It will need a massive acceleration in offshore wind projects to meet this target.

African Nations have come together and announced The Africa Green Finance Coalition (AFGC). An initiative aimed at pooling African resources, knowledge, and investment capital. The African continent is feeling the brunt of climate change while only producing around 2% of the world’s emissions. It is hoped the AFGC will accelerate the financing needed to deal with these devastating consequences.

Not to be outdone, a few of the world’s private financial giants made some waves with cash incentives. CIP, the Danish find managers, promised €100 billion for green energy investments. With at least a third ear-marked for offshore wind. The UK’s CDC Group said it plans to invest £3 billion over the next five years for green initiatives including renewable power and forestry.

Giants of industry joined forces to create The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP). The Rockefeller Foundation, Bezos Earth Fund, IKEA Foundation, European Investment Bank and many more have partnered up to push for renewable power, reduced carbon and green jobs. It hopes to provide renewable energy to a billion people by 2030, avoid 4 billion tonnes of emissions, and provide 150 million jobs.