COP26 President visits Whitelee Windfarm near Glasgow to urge action on climate change

COP26 President visits Whitelee Windfarm near Glasgow to urge action on climate change

Posted by

Kevin Blackmore

May 2021

The President of COP26, Alok Sharma, visited the largest onshore windfarm in the UK to urge further action on reducing climate change.

With less than six months to go before the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow, President Sharma was at Whitelee Windfarm south-west of the city, where he set out the four goals the UK, as hosts, will be prioritising in the run up to the summit. These are:

  • securing global net zero;
  • protecting communities and natural habitats from the impacts of climate change;
  • mobilising finance; and
  • working together to accelerate action.

Mr Sharma said:

“It is not a choice between cleaning up our environment and growing economies.

“We can do both at the same time. Indeed we have done both at the same time. The UK is a beacon of green growth. As a whole, the UK will completely phase out coal power by 2025 at the latest.”

Fleet Alliance has been following the build up to COP26 as it is headquartered within minutes of the SEC where the conference will take place. The aim of COP26 is for the UK and the world to take responsibility and work together to limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5C.

For its part, Fleet Alliance is undertaking to reduce the impact the vehicle has on the environment. It has committed to change all the 30,000+ vehicles it manages to zero emission electric by 2030.

“We’re a business and we want to be profitable like every other business, but we want to do it sustainably,” said Managing Director Martin Brown.

“In fact we believe that by acting with environmental diligence, businesses can be more profitable, and more sustainable in the long run. We’ve already made a significant start to decarbonising our managed fleet. And it is all possible, despite the enormity of the task. In 2012, for example, 40% of the UK’s electricity came from coal. Today that figure is less than 2%. And by 2025 coal power will have been completely phased out. If it can be done with coal, we can make that change from polluting cars to zero emission vehicles by 2030, even though the time frame is challenging.”

COP26 will take place at Glasgow’s SEC between 01-12 November 2021.


You also might like…

If you liked this article then check out our posts about similar topics

Chancellor cuts National Insurance, extends fuel duty freeze and fully expenses leased assets

In the last Budget before the General Election, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveiled a series of headline-grabbing initiative...

2024 will be the year of the EV with greater supply and lower prices, says Fleet Alliance

2024 will be the year that companies look to accelerate down the electrification route, as they seek to meet their own E...

Automotive transmission specialist Xtrac opts for EV salary sacrifice scheme from Fleet Alliance

Xtrac, the world’s leading supplier of high-performance transmissions for top level motorsport and high-performance au...

Fleet Alliance reports strong uptake in EV salary sacrifice

Increasing numbers of businesses are adding the employee benefit of leasing an EV through a salary sacrifice scheme to t...

Edwin James Group targets carbon reduction with electric vans from Fleet Alliance

Edwin James Group has taken delivery of its first electric vans from Glasgow-based fleet management specialist, Fleet Al...

IBMG halves its carbon footprint with Fleet Alliance

The Independent Builders Merchant Group (IBMG) has seen a reduction of more than 50% in the carbon footprint of its flee...

Fleet Alliance offers new tool to help businesses assess EV readiness

Fleet Alliance, the Glasgow-based leasing and fleet management specialist, has introduced a new solution to help busines...

Spring Budget brings a welcome cut to fuel duty

Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, brought some cheer for fleet operators when he confirmed that the 5p cut in fuel duty, announce...

Ready to make the management of your fleet more efficient?

Request a call back


Or Call Us On: 0345 601 8407
Schedule a call back