Ashraf Aboarafe
22 Sept 2020, CAIRO – UK COP26 President and Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Alok Sharma announced a series of new climate commitments at the launch of Climate Week NYC yesterday, which runs alongside the UN General Assembly (UNGA).
He confirmed that major new companies have joined the Race to Zero campaign to accelerate net zero commitments from businesses, cities, regions and investors. The list includes Ford, the first US automotive company to join; LafargeHolcim, the world’s largest cement company; and global social media company Facebook. Their decision demonstrates the momentum behind the shift towards a decarbonised economy.
UK Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Lord Callanan, also spoke at a special event about the next decade of clean energy cooperation. He announced the launch of the COP26 Energy Transition Council, which will bring together leaders in the power sector from politics, finance and technology to speed up the transition from coal to renewables in developing countries.
The UK will co-chair the Council alongside Damilola Ogunbiyi, the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL). Together, members will drive the shift to green energy ahead of COP26.
The launch of the Energy Transition Council comes as the UK Government announces a £50 million investment in a new Clean Energy Innovation Facility (CEIF) under UK International Climate Finance.
This funding will help developing countries more easily access innovative clean energy technologies to foster clean growth, focusing on key sectors such as industry, cooling, smart energy and storage.
Ahead of the launch, Sharma said: “Climate change affects every single one of us and we all have a part to play to champion climate action ahead of COP26.Through the Energy Transition Council and the UK’s ambitious climate finance commitments, I hope to drive the transition to cleaner energies, and I urge all businesses, cities and regions to join the Race to Zero coalition.”
The COP26 Energy Transition Council will play a leading role in supporting countries to move away from fossil fuels and unleash a prosperous, equitable and clean energy transition as they recover better from the pandemic.
Egypt, participating at UNGA’s 75th session, is one of the countries that has seen the potential for economic recovery packages to focus on clean energy technologies. Last month, Sharma and Egyptian Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad held a phone call to discuss their collective ambitions for COP26. They also welcomed the positive collaboration that resulted in the recent creation of the UN ‘Group of Friends on Climate Adaptation and Resilience’, launched jointly by the UK and Egypt in June.
