The five key takeaways from the panel were
Five key takeaways from COP26
Friday 12 November 2021
As COP26 comes to an end, we look back at UniCredit’s participation at the World Climate Summit during the UN Climate Change Conference held in Glasgow. Our panel focused on innovation as a key accelerator of the energy transition.
2:00 min
Today marks the final day of the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow where Roberta Marracino, Head of Group ESG Strategy and Impact Banking at UniCredit, spoke at the World Climate Summit side event on Monday 8 November about the importance of clean energy innovation in helping the world reach its climate goals.
Other speakers on this panel included experts from the Danish Export Credit Agency (EKF), Spirax-Sarco Engineering, and Cathay Financial Holdings. They shared different perspectives on the crucial role of innovation in transforming industries in line with a low carbon future, discussing solutions for efficient energy storage, the importance of cross-sector collaboration, and how the more mature renewable energy markets can use their expertise to support renewable energy implementation elsewhere.
1
Diverse and inclusive workplaces
Companies must firstly create diverse and inclusive workplaces to truly engage their people on sustainability.
2
Leaving no-one behind
Making it a just transition for all means leaving no-one behind, including industries, businesses and people.
3
Implementation at scale
The success of sustainable energy innovation relies on implementation at scale.
4
Holistic approach
A just transition means taking a holistic approach that considers not only penalties, but also positive incentives to accelerate the pathway to Net Zero.
5
Collaboration is key
Cross-sector collaboration is key to identify the right solutions and unlock the potential of innovation to transform industries and create new business opportunities.
Roberta further highlighted the important role of the financial sector in reaching the EU’s energy transition goals over the next decade that will require around two-thirds of the necessary total of 1 trillion-euro funding to come from the private sector. “This is a challenge, but we must also recognise the significant business opportunity here, and collaborate with our clients and industry partners accordingly,” she commented.
UniCredit is involved in several cross-industry partnerships aimed at facilitating industry transformation. This includes the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance that looks at the barriers to the large-scale rollout of hydrogen to propose suitable mitigation measures as well as exploring the sector’s financing and bankability. UniCredit is also a member of the Steel Climate-Aligned Finance Working Group, part of the Net Zero Steel Initiative, aimed at defining common standards of action for steel sector decarbonisation.
“It is our goal and responsibility to collaborate with our clients, regulators and other players to drive necessary innovation to meet target emission levels in all sectors, including those that are harder to abate” concluded Roberta.