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ACCIONA present at the ratification of the Paris agreement

Corporate
22 of April, 2016
  • The signing ceremony to commence the process of ratification of the Paris Agreement is scheduled today, Earth Day, 22 April, at the UN Headquarters in New York.
  • ACCIONA played an active role at COP21 and is represented at today's signing ceremony by its Director of Sustainability; the ceremony is being attended by over 65 heads of state and representatives of at least 130 countries.

The Paris Agreement,achieved at the last Climate Summit (COP21), has been made available to the countries for ratification starting today, 22 April, Earth Day, and continuing until 21 April 2017. Prior to signing, each country must announce its plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or its commitment to achieving the agreed goal of limiting global warming.

In order to enter into force, the Agreement must be ratified by at least 55 countries representing at 55 % of global emissions. Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said this could happen in 2018, two years earlier than planned.

 

ACCIONA is present at the signature of the Paris Agreement

The Company played an active role at COP21 and it is represented at today's ratification of the Paris Agreement.

During COP21, ACCIONA announced its commitment to achieving carbon neutrality in 2016. This means that the Company will minimise CO₂ emissions associated with its operations, and will use carbon offsets for those that it cannot reduce.

ACCIONA's commitment to carbon neutrality in 2016 came after it concluded its 5-year Sustainability Master Plan, in which it achieved such goals as a 46 % reduction in CO₂ emissions and avoided 85.7 million tons of CO₂ (since 2009) due broadly to renewable energy generation.

 

COP21 and the Paris Agreement

At the Paris Climate Summit (COP21), 195 countries plus the European Union adopted the Paris Agreement, with the goal of keeping the increase in the world's average temperature well below 2 °C with respect to preindustrial levels, and continuing efforts to limit that increase to 1.5 °C.