Today, at the company’s headquarters in Bilbao, Iberdrola presented its Manifesto against Climate Change which will be delivered to the COP21 Climate Summit, scheduled to take place in Paris between 30 November and 11 December.

The Chairman of Iberdrola Spain, José Luis San Pedro Guerenabarrena, explained the content of the document describing the Group’s strategy to combat climate change.

The Manifesto warns of the need to take immediate action against this global challenge affecting all of society. Action should include a binding agreement for all parties with the goal of keeping the increase in global temperature below 2ºC by the year 2100.

Iberdrola believes that the electricity sector - which accounts for 28% of CO2 emissions worldwide - has a crucial role to play in achieving the agreement by promoting the use of renewable technologies that are sustainable and efficient. 

In order for the support towards clean generation sources to be effective and sustainable, as Iberdrola explains in its Manifesto, the right CO2 price signal needs to be applied to all sectors of the economy and not just to the generation of electricity. 

Iberdrola believes that if these signals are conveyed properly, climate policies will not only provide solutions for combating global warming; they will also be an opportunity for economic growth and prosperity.

In addition to the main themes of Iberdrola’s Manifesto against Climate Change, José Luis San Pedro Guerenabarrena also described the company’s specific contribution to COP21.

In this regard, with emissions per kilowatt hour (kWh) already 30% lower than the average for the European electricity industry, the company backs the international negotiation process on climate change and believes that the private sector has an essential contribution to make.

With the goal of becoming a benchmark in combating global warming, Iberdrola will be reaffirming at the Paris Climate Summit a commitment to reducing the intensity of its emissions by 50% by 2030, compared to specific emissions levels from 2007, and becoming carbon-neutral by 2050.

After his speech, the Chairman of Iberdrola Spain presented the Iberdrola Manifesto to a group of employees from the company’s climate change team that will ride all the way to Paris on electric bicycles. They will then present the document at the French capital on 1 December. 

The event was also attended by the Provincial Minister of Sustainability and the Natural Environment in Biscay, Elena Unzueta; the Consul General of France in Spain, Fabrice Delloye; and Bilbao Mayor, Juan María Aburto.

Journey towards a sustainable future: #Just2Challenge

The route started today at the Iberdrola Tower in Bilbao has as final destination the French capital, where the company will be presenting its Manifesto against Climate Change on 1 December.

With the motto #Just2Challenge, a group of company professionals will be completing 12 stages on electric bicycles, passing through iconic cities, including San Sebastián, Biarritz, Royan, Tours and Orléans before arriving at their final destination, Paris. 

The goal of IBERDROLA’s #Just2Challenge initiative is to raise awareness of the need to reach a binding agreement at COP21 to keep the increase in global temperature below 2ºC by the end of this century, a limit set by the  Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Also, the employees taking part in this journey want to convey that the electricity sector should be involved in a solution that will require the participation of all stakeholders: public administrations, the corporate sector and the general public.

Iberdrola also launched a website www.just2challenge.com/en, where it will be posting daily updates on the journey, as well as articles to raise awareness of the need to overcome this major global challenge.  Additionally, all the material will be available on http://multimediaprofesionales.iberdrola.es/JUST2CHALLENGE,71.

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