Lower Saxony–Scotland
Joint Forum

The Glasgow Climate Pact agreed at the 26 th United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in November 2021 reaffirmed the international commitment to close the gap between existing emission reduction plans and what is required to scale down on emissions, so that the rise in the global average temperature may be limited to 1.5 degrees.

The Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019 sets legally binding targets to reach net zero emissions of all greenhouse gases by 2045. The cities of Glasgow and then Edinburgh set the target to become carbon neutral by 2030. In 2020, the Lower Saxonian state government has included the topic of climate in its constitution.

After setting targets for climate neutrality by 2050, the German Bundestag passed a new edition of the Climate Protection Act in 2021, which sets out the national goal of reaching climate neutrality by 2045, with greenhouse-gas emissions to be reduced by at least 65 percent by 2030 compared with 1990 levels. This is also reflected in the Lower Saxonian Climate Protection Strategy from 2021.

Reaching the net-zero goal requires transformational, whole-system change, and clear pathways to accelerate the transition to clean, affordable and resilient energy systems.

The main objective of the event is to discuss the ongoing energy transformation: the Scottish and Lower Saxony perspectives post-COP26, in the wake of rising energy prices and geopolitical unrest. It shall lay the foundation what may become a strategic energy partnership between both of our regions, extending far beyond the purely academic sphere.