Global carbon emissions inched higher last year but the increase was less than what had been feared thanks in part to the booming demand for renewable energy.

“Without clean energy, the growth in CO2 emissions would have been nearly three times as high.”
Fatih Birol, Executive Director, International Energy Agency (IEA).
WSJ.com Business, 2 March 2023, and published in The Wall Street Journal print edition on 3 March 2023

The universal urgency surrounding climate change and the solutions offered by the transition to renewable energy is a high-level priority for the international business community, policy-makers and investors. But a question remains…

“How fast should firms go? We need to go as fast as possible”.
Gonzalo Sáenz de Miera, Global Director of Climate Change and Alliances, Iberdrola
Speaking at a panel discussion on The Global Framework Needed to Eliminate Carbon Emissions at The Wall Street Journal’s inaugural Journal House COP27, Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, 8 November 2022

The Spanish-based global energy corporation Iberdrola has been committed to clean energy, renewables and combating climate change for more than twenty years. Having first collaborated on an award-winning custom podcast series, Power to Change, during the height of the pandemic, Iberdrola and WSJ had already established a highly credible foundation in this important, informative and crucial topic.

Thought leadership on climate change and renewables is ongoing and requires a trusted steady hand, so for 2022/23, Iberdrola and WSJ joined forces again on a new The Power Playbook video series, and this time also integrating speaking moments now that in-person global events were returning.

Our aim for this campaign was to:

• Engage and equip an international audience of business leaders, policymakers and investors on renewable energy
• Reinforce Iberdrola’s role in this global issue and in its solutions

Our creative approach for The Power Playbook video series was to demonstrate how business leaders are using renewables, right now, by showcasing the technology, context and policy practicalities behind some of the most powerful and achievable renewable energy solutions. Combining science and business analysis, each episode consistently followed a three-part explainer format; 1) The News, 2) The Context and 3) The Playbook.

• Ep1: Winds of Change
• The News: A $3BN project along the Massachusetts coast is the first commercial-scale offshore wind project in the US
• The Context: It is changing minds about what is possible by not just supplying clean energy to over 400,000 homes and businesses, but also helping to revive local manufacturing and transforming an industrial coal-dependent community
• The Playbook: US federal goals and tech innovation that could make a 10x difference
• Ep2: Why Green Hyrdogen Matters
• The News: In just a few years, the scale of planned green hydrogen projects has grown 1MM fold and is essential for tackling the toughest challenges in decarbonization.
• The Context: Green hydrogen isn’t just a dream. These are real plants, in real industries, with real customers, as green hydrogen takes on carbon-intensive jobs such as the production of fertilizer and steel.
• The Playbook: The policies that are needed to promote the green hydrogen industry.
• Ep3: At the Speed of Light
• The News: We need renewable energies now, and increasing efficiencies by digitalizing them also helps reduce costs.
• The Context: Handling the increasing amount of data flow in the energy grid requires sophisticated digital technology, fast.
• The Playbook: Why policy-makers need to accelerate consumer adoption of digital technologies.
• Ep 4: Bringing Smart Grids to Life
• The News: The electrical grid remains one of humanity’s most important inventions, but it needs redesigning so clean energy can be distributed to end users
• The Context: Transitioning to cleaner energy is driving remarkable innovations in transmission and storage networks worldwide
• The Playbook: The innovations that are fueling investment in building a modern grid.

Expanding our solution to presenting sponsor thought-leadership moments at our in-person events, Iberdrola Group executives took part in the following energy panel discussions and interviews:

• How Venture Mindsets Must Drive the Energy Transition at WSJ’s Future of Everything Festival, New York / Hybrid
• Decarbonizing the Power Industry at WSJ’s CEO Council Summit, Washington DC
• The Global Framework Needed to Eliminate Carbon Emissions at WSJ’s inaugural Journal House at COP27, Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt