GSC joins COP26 cornerstone energy event with winning card for accelerating the energy transition: solar energy

The Global Solar Council will be present at the COP26 summit in Glasgow, Scotland, to reinforce the call for urgent climate action, pressing the case for the major contribution that can come from the solar power industry.

The GSC will join the cornerstone energy event organized by the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action (MPGCA): the Energy Action Event scheduled on Thursday November 4 in cooperation with IRENA, The Climate Group, GWEC, ICC, IEA, REN21, SEforAll, UNEP and WBCSD.

José Donoso, Chairman of the Global Solar Council, will address the opening session aimed at showcasing ambitious action and initiatives to accelerate the shift to a decarbonised power system, en route to a 2030 breakthrough. He will stress the Global Solar Council’s efforts to promote the deployment of solar PV worldwide as the go-to technology for governments looking to raise their climate ambition, accelerate their NDCs and align with the 1.5C target, asserting the competitiveness of PV in economic and reliability terms with respect to fossil sources.

The Council’s global experience in mature and emerging markets (with task forces in Africa, Latin America, South East Asia) highlights the need for a just and equitable transition, a truly sustainable energy sector and a level playing field with fossil sources. Mr Donoso will provide relevant messages about how solar PV can be the gateway to the UN SDGs at all scales and off-grid, highlighting the key role of distributed solar generation for the development of smart cities and energy communities. However, solar PV still faces significant barriers which, if not properly and timely addressed, can hinder its full potential, essential to meet net-zero by 2050. This means permitting and other bottlenecks addressing also key actions needed from policy makers.

The Energy Action Event will showcase the MPGCA’s updated Climate Action Pathway on Energy, share ambitious initiatives driving the energy transition and convene discussions on how to overcome the barriers to deliver 2030 milestones, while keeping the 2050 vision in sight. In fact, despite progress under way in the transition to renewable power, the world is not on track to limit global warming to 1.5°C, as stipulated in the Paris Agreement. Among the participants will be policy-makers at local, national, and regional levels; innovators; investors and financial institutions; business and service providers; and civil society.