Governments of the G7 group of countries, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US are meeting from June 26 to 28th in Germany in the context of both an energy crisis and a narrowing window of opportunity to deliver on the commitments made under the Paris agreement. With the right policies, the G7 can lead a rapid transition away from fossil fuels and support business and industry transformation on the way to a broader transition to a net-zero society.
“We encourage G7 leaders to set 1.5C aligned targets and policies that scale renewables, phase out fossil fuels, and increase energy efficiency and electrification to solve the immediate energy crisis and at the same time accelerate the long-term transition. To succeed with that, we need collaboration across all sectors,” says Jesper Brodin, CEO of Ingka Group.
“We are halfway through the 6.5BN EUR investment that we committed to, being owners and investors in renewable energy and are continuing to address every part of our value chain. We need business to continue to innovate and transform to go all in for clean energy,” he says.
Through additional policy measures, it is hoped G7 governments will send clear signals to business on the speed and direction of travel, remove barriers and ensure the most effective and efficient private sector investment and transition pathways.
IKEA is committed to climate action and has already made progress. Since 2016, the Ingka Group business has grown by 17.6%, while the company has achieved a 6.5% climate footprint reduction across the value chain over the same period.
Since 2009 Ingka Group has invested EUR 2.9 billion into renewable energy projects in wind and solar power, enabling the company to generate more renewable energy than it consumes across its global operations. Entering a critical decade for climate action, it has committed to accelerating its investments in renewable energy and has recently invested in more renewable energy projects in Germany, Poland and Spain.
Today, Ingka Group owns and manages 575 wind turbines in 17 countries, 20 solar parks and 935,000 solar panels on the roofs of IKEA stores and warehouses. Together, our total renewable energy power totals more than 2.3 Gigawatt, equivalent to the annual consumption of over 1.25 million European households. By 2025, Ingka Group is aiming for the electricity consumption in its operations to be 100% renewable. To achieve this consumption target, Ingka Investments, the investment arm of Ingka Group, continues to expand its renewable energy partners in Europe and North America plus targeting more key countries like Australia, Japan, South Korea, and India.
“This is the most important decade of humankind, and the biggest challenge is climate change. It is our responsibility not to hand it over to the next generation, but to address these challenges with actions. For IKEA it is clear – we are committed to the Paris Agreement and IKEA has a solid plan to become climate positive* by 2030 through reducing more greenhouse gas emissions than the total IKEA value chain emits, while continuing to grow the business,” Jesper Brodin concludes.
*IKEA climate positive means to reduce more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than the IKEA value chain emits by 2030, while growing the IKEA business. IKEA is committed to the Paris Agreement and to contribute to limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. This includes a commitment to halve the absolute net GHG emissions from the total IKEA value chain by 2030. We will achieve this by drastically reducing GHG emissions through science-based targets and by removing carbon from the atmosphere through natural processes and storing it in land, plants and products through better forest and agriculture management within the IKEA value chain. We will contribute to further greenhouse emission reductions in society by going beyond IKEA, such as enabling customers to generate renewable energy at home. Read more about the IKEA commitment here.
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