Earlier this month, leaders from around the world gathered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for the UN Climate Change Conference, or COP28. EEI Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President of Public Policy and External Affairs Brian Wolff led a delegation that included EEI Chair Pedro J. Pizarro, president and CEO of Edison International, Avangrid CEO Pedro Azagra, AES Corporation President and CEO Andrés Gluski, NextEra Energy Resources President and CEO Rebecca Kujawa, and several other member company executives.

EEI’s delegation participated in six official side events highlighting our clean energy leadership and our efforts to partner with key stakeholders. Among our activities at COP28, EEI was proud to join with the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy to host one of the few private-sector events in the U.S. Department of State’s U.S. Center Pavilion.

Read on for highlights from EEI’s official COP28 side events. Find more information, including recordings of each event, on EEI’s COP28 webpage.

• Technology Triumphs: How U.S. Policy Is Accelerating Business Development
  EEI member company CEOs and executives joined industry and government partners at the U.S. Center to discuss how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act are catalyzing new and additional investments in manufacturing, infrastructure, operations, and next-generation technologies. Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation John Podesta delivered opening remarks for the event.
• Charging Ahead: How Electric Companies Are Powering a Net-Zero Future
  Global electric company CEOs and executives joined a panel discussion to highlight the next-generation technologies on which they are focused and the opportunities and challenges facing the global electric power sector as it works to reach net zero.
• Turning Promise Into Reality: Ensuring a Clean Energy Transition for All
  EEI member company CEOs joined a discussion on near- and long-term opportunities and challenges regarding the clean energy transition, including how to scale up clean technology development and ensure that all customers in all communities are benefitting from the investments being made to accelerate the clean energy transition.
• Building a Resilient Future: How Public and Private Efforts Are Making a Difference
  This event explored what has changed in the resilience landscape since COP27, including the impact that the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are having on private sector resilience efforts, especially those related to the energy grid.
• Charging Ahead: The Latest Developments in Electric Transportation
  EEI member company CEOs joined with leaders from Amazon, General Motors, and the U.S. Department of Energy to discuss exciting developments in electric transportation, including the National Electric Highway Coalition and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program. Panelists also discussed the growing role of fleet electrification and how electric companies are partnering with customers and with automakers to ensure that sufficient energy grid capacity is available to meet anticipated vehicle charging needs.
• Public-Private Partnerships: Working Together to Advance Long-Duration Energy Storage
  This event highlighted a new initiative to advance the commercial deployment of long-duration energy storage (LDES) technologies. Participants included officials from the U.S. Department of Energy, EEI, EPRI, and the LDES Council, which all signed a memorandum of understanding earlier this year to advance LDES.

Stay tuned for more from COP28 in the Winter 2024 issue of Electric Perspectives.