The president of Iberdrola, Ignacio S. Galán, believes that it is “feasible” to triple renewable energy between now and 2030 if around 2.2 billion dollars are mobilized annually. During his participation in the XXVIII UN climate summit (COP28) to be held in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Galán highlighted that in addition to this investment to triple renewables it is necessary to have regulatory stability, with adequate financing and institutional commitment.
In an event organized within the framework of COP28 by the European Round Table of Industrialist (ERT), Galán also highlighted the role of green hydrogen in the energy transition.
“Tripling renewable capacity until 2030 is possible, in the same way that we already achieved in 2020 that more than 20% of Europe’s energy consumption was with clean energy,” he stated.
In the first days of the summit, which began last Thursday, 120 countries, including Spain, have committed to the objective of tripling installed renewable capacity between now and 2030, as well as doubling energy efficiency, increasing electrification and reduce methane emissions and the use of fossil fuels. This proposal seeks to help meet the goal of the Paris Agreement of limiting the increase in global temperature to 1.5ºC at the end of the century.
The president of Iberdrola participated this Monday in the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) Forum, where he stated that action to achieve the objective must be immediate.
With a forecast that the demand for electricity will multiply by 2.5 times to achieve zero net greenhouse gas emissions, Galán considers that to satisfy this demand, investments in the global electrical system will have to increase “from 800,000 million dollars annually to 2.2 trillion (2.2 billion) dollars annually in 2030.”
Beyond financing, he has stressed the importance of having clear, predictable and stable energy policies to generate confidence and sufficient incentives, which is why he has advocated for regulations that allow for the acceleration of obtaining permits, which facilitate energy contracts to long term (known as PPAs) and adequately remunerate the regulated assets.
“We need to accelerate the expansion of electrification through renewable energy to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Likewise, investments in networks must grow exponentially, since, in the next 20 years, it will be necessary to add or replace nearly 80 million kilometers of networks,” Galán assured, in line with the guidelines indicated by the International Energy Agency.
On the other hand, in another event organized by the ERT on the future of climate, sustainability and clean energy, the president of Iberdrola highlighted the relevant role of green hydrogen in the energy transition.
In that sense, he pointed out that this technology “is now a reality” and has shown Ibedrola’s commitment to new technologies to achieve a safe, clean and competitive energy industry.
The ERT brings together in Dubai 60 presidents and CEOs of European industrial and technology companies that operate around the world and are committed to the goal of zero emissions and act on a large scale to achieve the EU’s climate goals. ERT members have a combined income that exceeds two billion euros.
This same Monday, Ignacio Galán met with young climate activists at COP28 to discuss the professional opportunities offered by the energy transition and the best way to attract the green talent of the future.
He has described them as “a necessary accelerator” of the energy transition. “We are focused on creating the best pathways for them to build future green careers and benefit from a sustainable and prosperous green economy. The conversations we are having today are more important than ever to understand the expectations, needs and hopes of young people, of so that we can continue to improve access to our sector for future generations,” he concluded.
