The UK has today revealed its first sponsors for COP26 as it drives climate action in the run up to the international climate change summit in Glasgow.

SSE, ScottishPower, NatWest Group and National Grid are the first Principal Partners who will support the delivery of a successful and ambitious COP next November.

The Principal Partners represent some of the leading lenders, investors and energy companies in the UK.

These partnerships demonstrate the COP26 Presidency’s commitment to working with businesses who have credible science-based carbon emission reduction plans that are in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

ScottishPower, SSE and National Grid are investing in low-carbon assets and infrastructure as part of the UK’s drive for a decarbonised economy by 2050 at the latest.

Today, the three energy firms confirmed they are developing ambitious plans to develop a multi-billion pound underwater super-highway that will see the North Sea become the hidden power house of Europe, supporting the UK supply chain and delivering hundreds of green jobs throughout construction and operation

NatWest Group is one of Britain’s largest lenders to the renewable energy sector in the country, and has committed to provide an additional £20 billion of funding for Climate and Sustainable Finance (2020-2022) to help accelerate the transition to a low carbon economy.

COP26 President Alok Sharma said:

I am delighted to announce our first sponsors for COP26, who have all shown ambitious climate leadership through setting net zero commitments and Science Based Targets.

When it comes to climate action, we all have an important role to play. Only by continuing to come together can we build the zero carbon, climate resilient future that is essential for our people and our planet.

Keith Anderson, CEO of ScottishPower, said:

Tackling climate change and delivering the infrastructure that will support Net Zero is a huge opportunity for the UK . At ScottishPower, we have recognised the opportunity this challenge holds and seized it, leading us to make the major decision two years ago to remove all coal and gas generation from our portfolio to focus solely on renewables.

For Glasgow, our operational headquarters, COP26 offers a fantastic opportunity to showcase what has already been achieved in the UK on the journey to Net Zero and to learn from others the steps needed to ensure we meet our climate change targets. We’re very proud to be able to play a part in it.

The next five years are absolutely critical and we will be investing £10bn in the clean energy generation and networks infrastructure needed to help the UK decarbonise.

Alison Rose, CEO NatWest Group, said:

NatWest Group is committed to being a leading UK bank helping to address the climate challenge. We will do this by driving material reductions in the climate impact of our financing activity and making our own operations net carbon zero in 2020.

But we want to do more than play our part – we want to lead on the collaboration and cooperation that is so critical to influencing the transition to a low carbon economy – which is why I am so proud that NatWest Group will be the COP26 lead banking sponsor.

Alistair Phillips-Davies, SSE Chief Executive, said:

The world faces twin crises with coronavirus and climate change and we must work together if we’re to combat both.

Strong leadership and international ambition will set the course, but it is businesses like SSE that will provide the solutions and infrastructure to decarbonise and deliver economic recovery for the long-term.

Climate ambitions can feel a long way off, but we are acting now by investing £7.5bn in vital low-carbon infrastructure for the UK and Ireland – supporting jobs and creating opportunities. As the eyes of the world fall on Glasgow at this pivotal moment, we’re proud to partner with the UK Government to play our part in delivering a net zero future.

John Pettigrew, Group CEO of National Grid said:

Tackling climate change and reaching net zero is at the top of National Grid’s agenda.

To transition to net zero, we are connecting more renewables to the electricity grid, we’re creating the right charging infrastructure in the US and the UK to enable an increase in electric vehicles and we’re continually developing and deploying new decarbonisation technologies.

It is crucial that every country, every government, every industry and every one of us works together to find ways to cut the carbon we produce. If we don’t, we will put the planet in jeopardy.

For press queries contact COP26media@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

• Principal Partners are the top tier of sponsorship for COP26. The four announced today are the first in a number of organisations that will be working with COP26.
• These include the three energy sector Principal Partners for COP26
• We will release information on the details of sponsorship agreements after the event.
• We are ensuring that COP26 provides value for money for the taxpayer.
• All sponsors have committed to the Science-Based Targets initiative, this requires them to set ambitious targets for emissions reductions including having a credible action plan. All in line with what the latest climate science says is necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.

ScottishPower

• In 2018 ScottishPower became the first integrated energy company in the UK to generate 100% green electricity from its nearly 3GW of renewable assets with a further 7GW in the pipeline.
• Earlier this month the company outlined its £10bn investment strategy in clean energy generation and networks infrastructure over the next five years.
• ScottishPower is committed to delivering a green recovery through £10bn of investment in the UK’s green energy infrastructure over the next 5 years.

SSE

• SSE is a leading generator of renewable electricity in the UK and Ireland and one of the largest electricity network operators in the UK. The company is committed to meaningful action on climate change and supporting the net zero transition
• It employs 12,000 people across the UK and Ireland and develops, owns and operates low-carbon infrastructure, including onshore and offshore wind, hydro power, electricity transmission and distribution grids, efficient gas and energy from waste, alongside providing energy products and services for businesses.
• SSE is also building the world’s largest offshore windfarm in Dogger Bank, off the coast of Yorkshire, Scotland’s largest offshore windfarm in Seagreen off the coast of Angus, and the UK’s largest onshore windfarm in Viking on the Shetland Islands.

Natwest Group

• Natwest Group is the leading lender to UK renewables sector by number of transactions in the past decade (2009-2019)
• With £9.9bn to sustainable energy funding and financing provided to the sustainable energy sector between 2018-20.
• Emissions from our operations reduced by 61% since 2014
• Market leading policies on reducing the most harmful activities, including on prohibitions on project financing for coal power plants, thermal coal mines, oil sand or arctic oil projects.
• In February, they announced further changes their policy to prohibit project financing for fracking or oil and gas exploration

National Grid

• National Grid is investing in the clean energy transition, developing skills for the future, with a focus on lower income communities, committing to providing access to skills development for 45,000 people by 2030. National Grid has made significant commitments to achieve net zero by 2050.
• In its recently announced Responsible Business Charter, it set out its plan on how to do that with reducing Scope 1 and 2 greenhouses gasses, reducing Scope 3 emissions and reducing SF6 emissions.

The Science Based Targets initiative

• SBTi mobilizes companies to set science-based targets and boost their competitive advantage in the transition to the low-carbon economy.
• It is a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and one of the We Mean Business Coalition commitments.
• The initiative defines and promotes best practice in science-based target setting, offers resources and guidance to reduce barriers to adoption, and independently assesses and approves companies’ targets.

-ENDS

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• Phase three clinical trials for Janssen’s Covid-19 vaccine to begin across the UK
• 6,000 volunteers from across the UK will take part in Janssen’s trials to test its effectiveness
• Researchers urge the public to keep volunteering for vital studies to ensure people in the UK have access to different types of vaccines that work for them

Global pharmaceutical company Janssen will begin clinical trials of its potential vaccine in the UK from today (Monday 16 November), involving 6,000 volunteers across the country.

The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies, part of Johnson & Johnson, is the latest study in the UK, jointly funded by the UK government’s Vaccine Taskforce, to test the safety and effectiveness of a potential Covid-19 vaccine. It is the third potential vaccine to enter clinical trials in the UK, alongside US biotech company Novavax and University of Oxford / AstraZeneca whose studies are currently ongoing.

6,000 UK volunteers, some from the NHS Vaccines Registry, will take part in the Janssen studies at 17 National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) sites, including in Southampton, Bristol, Cardiff, London Leicester, Sheffield, Manchester, Dundee and Belfast. Recruitment into the study will complete in March 2021 and the trial will last for 12 months.

To date, over 300,000 people have signed up to the NHS Vaccines Registry to take part in vital coronavirus vaccine studies.

Experts have cautioned that no one vaccine is likely to be suited for everyone, and that a wide range of types are needed to ensure people across the UK have access to one that works for them, so they are urging more people to sign-up to ensure clinical trials that test the safety and effectiveness of potential vaccine candidates continue. The NHS vaccine registry particularly needs volunteers who are most vulnerable to the effects of coronavirus, including frontline health and social care workers and people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds.

Business Secretary, Alok Sharma, said:

The start of further clinical trials in the UK is yet another step forward in the race to discover a safe and effective vaccine, and comes alongside recent news that we could be on the cusp of the first major breakthrough since the pandemic began.

While we are optimistic with the progress being made, there are no guarantees and it is possible there will be no one-size-fits-all vaccine. That is why it is absolutely vital that while our scientists are cracking on with the job, we continue to follow the guidance to control the virus, protect the NHS and save lives.

The UK Government has developed a portfolio of six different vaccine candidates and secured access to 350 million doses to date, putting the UK in the best position for a vaccine. Of this, 30 million doses of the Janssen vaccine could be made available to the UK if it is safe and effective by mid-2021.

Professor Saul Faust, Director of the NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Facility and Chief Investigator for the Janssen Phase 3 trial, said:

Finding an effective vaccine with a good safety profile is a top priority in helping to protect us all more quickly against COVID-19. While the news of a potential vaccine is tremendously exciting, our ambition in the scientific community is to ensure we leave no stone unturned in the search for a solution to help end this pandemic.

All the vaccines that are being trialled work by generating immune responses to the same part of the coronavirus as the RNA vaccine that has announced some interim early results.

Chair of the Government’s Vaccine Taskforce, Kate Bingham said:

The recent news about progress on the search for a vaccine is enormously exciting for the whole world, but we must not take our focus off continuing the important research to work out which vaccines work best for different people to provide long lasting, effective protection against Covid-19.

Many vaccines are needed both here in the UK, and globally, to ensure we can provide a safe and effective vaccine for the whole population. That is why the launch of this trial to establish the safety, effectiveness, and very importantly the durability, of the Janssen vaccine is so significant, and I would continue to encourage people to sign up and take part in vaccine trials.

By co-funding this study we are helping generate data for future regulatory submissions internationally as well as for the UK.

Black, Asian and minority ethnic Clinical Champion at NIHR Clinical Research Network North Thames, and consultant in Sexual Health and HIV at Barts Health NHS Trust, Dr Vanessa Apea, said:

COVID-19 still poses a significant threat to our health and our communities and many of us are still vulnerable to it. One of the ways we can reduce the threat and impact of this disease is a vaccine.

The topic of vaccines divides communities. For many, and in particular, Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities, the word vaccine generates a lot of anxiety, rooted in mistrust, which can understandably lead to reluctance in taking part in a trial.

We know that these communities are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and this makes it even more important that any outcomes from research, including new treatments and ways to prevent the disease, work for all communities. Only by doing this can we truly take control of COVID-19, so we really need people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to sign up to learn more and be part of research. Entering a clinical trial or receiving a vaccine is entirely a personal choice and should always be supported by accurate information.

Paul Stoffels, M.D., Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee and Chief Scientific Officer, Johnson & Johnson said:

We are delighted to be initiating our global Phase 3 trial in the UK to study the safety and efficacy of a two-dose regimen of our investigational COVID-19 vaccine candidate. This collaboration with UK researchers and the NIHR demonstrates our continued commitment to working together with partners around the world, and marks another positive step forward as we strive to find solutions to this global health crisis.

The UK public can support the national effort to speed up vaccine research and receive more information about volunteering for clinical studies by visiting this page to join the NHS Vaccine Research Registry.

The Registry was launched by the UK government in partnership with the NIHR, NHS Digital, the Scottish and Welsh governments and the Northern Ireland Executive in July. It aims to help create a database of people who consent to be contacted by the NHS to take part in clinical studies, to help speed up the development of a safe and effective vaccine.

Notes to editors

Janssen’s phase three clinical trials will involve 30,000 people worldwide.

Volunteering for COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials:

People wishing to volunteer to support clinical trials can sign up for information on Covid-19 vaccine trials with the NHS Covid-19 vaccine research registry, developed in partnership with NHS Digital. It is helping large numbers of people to be recruited into trials rapidly over the coming months – potentially meaning an effective vaccine for coronavirus can be found as soon as possible.

The service was commissioned as part of the UK Government’s Vaccine Taskforce in conjunction with the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the Northern Ireland, Scottish and Welsh Governments.

Anyone living in the UK can sign up online to take part in the trials through the NHS, giving permission for researchers to contact you if they think you’re a good fit. Once you sign up, you can withdraw at any time and request that your details be removed from the COVID-19 vaccine research registry. The process takes about 5 minutes to complete. More information can be found here.

About the Vaccine Taskforce

The Vaccine Taskforce (VTF) was set up under the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in May 2020, to ensure that the UK population has access to clinically effective and safe vaccines as soon as possible, while working with partners to support international access to successful vaccines. This is to place the UK at the forefront of global vaccine research, development, manufacture and distribution.

The Vaccine Taskforce comprises a dedicated team of private sector industry professionals and officials from across government who are working at speed to build a portfolio of promising vaccine candidates that can end the global pandemic. It is chaired by biotech and life sciences expert Kate Bingham, who was appointed by the Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The Vaccine Taskforce’s approach to securing access to vaccines is through:

• procuring the rights to a diverse range of promising vaccine candidates to spread risk and optimise chances for success;
• providing funding for clinical studies, diagnostic monitoring and regulatory support to rapidly evaluate vaccines for safety and efficacy; and
• providing funding and support for manufacturing scale-up and fill and finish at risk so that the UK has vaccines produced at scale and ready for administration should any of these prove successful.

The 4 different vaccine classes that the government has secured to date for the UK are:

• adenoviral vaccines (Oxford/AstraZeneca, Janssen)
• mRNA vaccines (BioNTech/Pfizer, Imperial)
• inactivated whole virus vaccines (Valneva)
• protein adjuvant vaccines (GSK/Sanofi, Novavax)

In addition the UK has secured rights to AstraZeneca’s antibody treatment to neutralize the virus which can be used both as a short term prophylactic for those people who cannot receive vaccines (e.g. cancer and immunosuppressed patients) and front line workers exposed to the virus, as well as a treatment for infected patients in hospitals.

• Thousands of new jobs to be created and retained as part of Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan to drive UK’s green ambitions
• New national parks and greater protections for England’s iconic landscapes
• Plans come ahead of publication next week of wider blueprint for UK green industrial revolution, creating thousands of jobs and making progress on net zero targets

Even more new jobs will be created and retained under new plans to kickstart a green economic recovery, the government announced today (Sunday 15 November), alongside greater protections for England’s iconic landscapes and the creation of new national parks.

Following the initial success of the first round, £40 million additional investment into the government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund will go towards creating and retaining thousands of jobs, with funding being awarded to environmental charities and partners across England to restore the natural environment and help make progress on the UK’s ongoing work to address the twin challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change, as part of our green recovery from Covid-19.

After a competitive process, a wide range of projects to be announced shortly will receive funding to enhance our natural environment and create and support thousands of jobs. These may include action towards the creation or restoration of priority habitats, preventing or cleaning up pollution, woodland creation, peatland and wetland restoration and actions to help people connect with nature. This will in turn create and retain a range of skilled and unskilled jobs, such as ecologists, project managers, tree planters and teams to carry out nature restoration.

The government has also announced today that more of England’s beautiful and iconic landscapes will be turned into National Parks and Areas of Natural Beauty, in order to increase access to nature for communities and better protect the country’s rich wildlife and biodiversity.

10 “Landscape Recovery” projects will also be launched across England over the next four years to restore peatlands, woodlands and create wilder landscapes. These projects will help restore the equivalent of over 30,000 football pitches of wildlife rich habitat.

The commitments come ahead of the publication of the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan next week, which will set out his steps for a green industrial revolution to boost green jobs whilst invigorating plans to achieve net zero by 2050.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:

As we build back greener we’re taking new steps to expand and enhance our landscapes – creating and retaining thousands of green jobs in the process which will be crucial to my Ten Point Plan for delivering a green recovery.

Britain’s iconic landscapes are part of the fabric of our national identity – sustaining our communities, driving local economies and inspiring people across the ages. That’s why with the natural world under threat, it’s more important than ever that we act now to enhance our natural environment and protect our precious wildlife and biodiversity.

These measures mark the next steps in delivering on the government’s 25 Year Environment Plan commitments and its pledge to protect 30% of the UK’s land by 2030.

Combined, the new plans to safeguard the natural environment will extend protections of land by 150,000ha in England towards the government’s goal of protecting and enhancing an additional area of over 400,000ha.

Environment Secretary George Eustice said:

As we build back greener from the coronavirus pandemic, we are committed to shaping a cleaner and more resilient society to protect and restore our natural environment and diverse ecosystems.

Today’s announcement illustrates how we are leading the world in protecting the natural environment and combating climate change.

By starting the process for designating more of our beautiful and iconic landscapes as National Parks and AONBs, and through the new Landscape Recovery projects, we will help expand and protect precious wildlife habitats and, vitally, increase people’s access to our treasured landscapes.

The new Landscape Recovery projects will help expand wildlife habitats in England, restoring wilder landscapes and taking forward our ambition to establish a Nature Recovery Network, which will bring together representatives from across England to drive forward the restoration of protected sites and landscapes. These projects could give a home to species that we have seen flourish in similar initiatives across the country, which include the curlew, nightingale, horseshoe bat, pine marten, red squirrel and wild orchids.

The projects will be established over the next four years through the Government’s Environmental Land Management scheme, which will be centred around support aimed at incentivising sustainable farming practices, creating habitats for nature recovery and supporting the establishment of new woodland and other ecosystem services to help tackle challenges like climate change. This follows the landmark Agriculture Bill passing into law this week.

The plans will also help protect the country’s natural infrastructure by expanding a variety of habitats, such as trees, peat and grassland which are central to capturing and removing CO2 from the atmosphere, helping to improve air quality for our communities.