IEA-COP26 Net Zero Summit

Watch top international energy & climate leaders from around the globe meet for vital discussions on turning net zero ambitions into reality.

Top international energy and climate leaders from countries representing the vast majority of global GDP, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions will take part in the IEA-COP26 Net Zero Summit on 31 March to accelerate the momentum behind clean energy and examine how countries can work together more effectively to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to net zero in line with shared international goals. 

Following the IEA’s inaugural Clean Energy Transitions Summit in 2020, this year’s edition will be co-hosted by IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol and COP26 President-Designate Alok Sharma, and will act as a critical milestone on the road to COP26 in Glasgow in November.

The Summit will bring together representatives from energy and climate Ministries from more than 40 countries. This includes official Ministerial representatives from the United States, India, China, the European Union, Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa, France, Germany, Italy, Colombia, Australia, and many others, who will take part in 5 Ministerial panel discussions.

In addition, participants from a broad cross section of civil society groups, private companies, and governments have been invited to the Summit. The full list of confirmed participants is below, with others still to be confirmed:

• Amani Abou-Zeid, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, African Union
• Børge Brende, President, World Economic Forum
• Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation
• Claudio Descalzi, CEO, Eni
• Claudio Facchin, CEO, Hitachi ABB Power Grids
• Yetunde Fadeyi, Founder and Director, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Services Africa (REES Africa)
• Christiana Figueres, Founding Partner, Global Optimism
• Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, European Commission
• José Ignacio Sánchez Galán, CEO and Chairman, Iberdrola
• Rafael Grossi, Director General, International Atomic Energy Agency
• John Kerry, Presidential Special Envoy for Climate, USA
• Surabi Menon, Vice President, ClimateWorks Foundation
• Damilola Ogunbiyi, Special Representative of UN Secretary General and CEO, SEforALL
• Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, World Trade Organisation
• Stephanie Pfeifer, CEO, Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC)
• Rémy Rioux, CEO, Agence française de développement
• Kadri Simson, Commissioner for Energy, European Commission
• Gurdeep Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, NTPC
• Stephan Singer, Senior Climate Science and Global Energy Advisor, Climate Action Network
• Francesco Starace, CEO, Enel
• Gunther Thallinger, Chair, Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance
• Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President, European Green Deal, European Commission
• Chiagozie Udeh, Global Focal Point SDG 7 Youth Constituency, United Nations Major Group for Children and Youth

The Summit will be a critical opportunity to take stock of the growing list of commitments from countries and companies to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement, and to focus on the implementation actions necessary to start turning the growing number of net zero goals into reality. Participants will share insights on what has worked in the real world to help identify policies and measures that can deliver concrete results to achieve climate, security and affordability goals. This event will build momentum towards COP26 and inform preparation of the IEA’s upcoming Special Report “The World’s Roadmap to Net Zero by 2050”.