Enel was one of the companies that participated in the “UN High-level Dialogue on Energy” convened by the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, the first meeting of leaders in more than 40 years at the UN dedicated exclusively to energy issues. The event virtually brought together heads of state and other government, business and civil society leaders who presented their «Energy Compact», a series of voluntary commitments aimed at accelerating the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 of the United Nations – ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all – and net zero emissions.
The CEO of Enel, Francesco Starace, was one of the speakers at the opening session of the event, which was attended by the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, and spoke of existing solutions to accelerate the energy transition, guided by technologies like carbon-free electricity.
“It is an honor for Enel to contribute to this high-level debate on how we can respond to the urgent need to accelerate the energy transition in a sustainable way for all, “he said. Francesco Starace, CEO and General Manager of the Enel Group. “There is no choice between what generates business value and what is good for the climate, these two objectives are now fully aligned thanks to technological evolution. Therefore, all financial efforts must be aimed at achieving the SDGs and an economy with zero net emissions. This requires ambitious commitments and strategies, as well as the tools to promote their effective development. The transition is going to happen and not only in the energy sector: in fact, it will involve many areas of the world economy. We must ensure that it happens in an orderly, decisive, fair and inclusive way.
The Enel’s “Energy Compact” includes the following commitments:
* Accelerate the phase-out of coal from 2030 to 2027;
* Tripling renewable energy generation to 145 GW by 2030, up from approximately 49 GW in 2020;
* Achieve 20 TWh of energy storage in batteries and 20 GW of demand response by 2030;
* Reduce scope 1 GHG emissions to 148 gCO2eq / kWh by 2023 and to 82 gCO2eq / kWh in 2030 from about 214 gCO2eq / kWh in 2020, according to the 1.5 ° C scenario (SBTi certified);
* Increase electric vehicle charging points to more than 4 million and electric buses to more than 10,000 by 2030, up from 186,000 and 912 respectively in 2020;
* Reach 5.6 million beneficiaries with new connections in rural and suburban areas during the 2020-2030 period, increasing the quality, reliability and digitization of the service to all users (from 74 million end users in 2020) .
The objetivo del “High-level Dialogue on Energy” was to develop a roadmap to achieve clean and affordable energy for all by 2030 and net zero emissions in 2050, providing a platform for governments, as well as businesses and civil society organizations, to show voluntary commitments in the form of an ‘Energy Compact’ to help meet those goals, as set out in SDG 7 and in the Paris Agreement on Climate change. A total of more than 150 of “Energy Compacts” from national and local governments, businesses, UN and international organizations, foundations, financial institutions, coalitions of non-state actors and civil society groups, including various youth networks, from more than 35 countries.
These “Energy Compacts” they represent a collective commitment of billions of dollars until 2030 in financing of clean energy or direct investments and the installation of several thousand more GW of clean energy, as well as a commitment to expand new electrical connections and access to clean cooking for hundreds of millions of people. More are expected to register “Energy Compacts” in the coming months, as momentum builds and partnerships expand, with the process tracked through the target year of 2030.
In his invitation to world leaders, the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, said we must accelerate the energy transition by tripling investments in renewable energy and quadrupling the pace of energy efficiency improvement and shifting subsidies from fossil fuels to renewable energy, while creating new green jobs and ensuring a transition. fair and inclusive. He pointed out that without a deep energy decarbonization, the 1.5 ° C target of the Paris Agreement will quickly be out of reach.
The Secretary General also affirmed that decisive action should be a political priority to achieve access to clean energy for the 760 million people who currently live without electricity and for the 2.6 billion people who still depend on harmful solid fuels for cooking.
Held less than two months before the Climate Conference that will take place in Glasgow next November, el “High-level Dialogue on Energy” It represented an important step in mobilizing commitments and defining actions that will help countries reduce their emissions by 45% by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by mid-century, in accordance with the Paris Agreement.
