Itaipu shows practical actions in water, energy, and climate

  • ESG

Itaipu Binacional presented this Thursday (10), in two debates held at the Brazil Pavilion, at the World Climate Conference (COP 27), effective actions for the advancement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 6 (clean water and sanitation), 7 (clean and affordable energy) and 13 (action on global climate change).

In the morning, the theme was “Brazil and the Sustainable Development Goals: Contributions to SDGs 6, 7 and 13”. The representative of Itaipu, Lígia Leite Soares, explained how integrated actions in water and energy have a positive impact on several of the goals of the 2030 Agenda.

“SDGs 6 and 7 play a central role in the 2030 Agenda, contributing to several objectives, including tackling climate change. And as water and energy are also at the center of Itaipu’s business, the company develops actions related to all SDGs in its area of influence”, she said.

Based on this experience, Itaipu launched with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) a project for the territorialization of the SDGs, which allows municipalities to have an X-ray of the goals of the 2030 Agenda, facilitating the elaboration of public policies to meet the main local demands in the social, environmental and economic fields.

“This project demonstrates Itaipu’s commitment to SDG 17 (partnerships and means of implementation)”, said Lígia. “For companies, especially large ones that promote changes in the territories where they are installed, the 2030 Agenda represents not only an important tool for planning actions, but also a risk analysis matrix, in which any non-compliance must be be seen as a threat to the sustainability of the business”, added Lígia.

She also highlighted Itaipu’s partnership with the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (Undesa) which resulted in the Global Network of Sustainable Water and Energy Solutions. The case studies containing the binational’s contributions to each SDG are available on the company’s and partnership’s website.

The panel had the participation of the special secretary of Social Articulation at the Government Secretariat (SeGov), Marcos de Araújo, and the General Coordinator of Articulation with International Organizations at SeGov, Gabriela Antunes. SeGov presented the Agenda Brasil + Sustentável, which proposes to prioritize goals of the 2030 Agenda, communicate and facilitate access to financing. It also functions as a portfolio of over 800 initiatives.

Get to know more about Itaipu’s 17 case studies on the goals of the 2030 Agenda.

Renewable energy

During the afternoon, the superintendent of Environmental Management at Itaipu highlighted, in the panel “Sources of Renewable Energy”, the actions aimed at conserving biodiversity and the relationship with hydroelectric generation. The preservation of ecosystems, with the conservation of more than 100,000 hectares of Atlantic Forest, is directly linked to the company’s business, protecting and extending the life of the reservoir, which today has an estimated useful life of 184 years. The strategy also contributes by promoting resilience and adaptation to climate change.

Ariel Scheffer da Silva, Itaipu Binacional. “The actions prevent silting up and contamination of the reservoir, which is permanently monitored. For each year that we manage to extend the useful life, it guarantees the maintenance of electricity supply to Brazil and Paraguay. So, it is an investment that returns to the company”, said Ariel.

The debate also included the participation of the president of E+ Transição Energética, Rosana Santos, the special advisor of the Ministry of the Environment, Roberta Cox, and the consultant of the Federation of Industries of Ceará (Fiec), Jurandir Picanso.

While many countries present at the COP are discussing how to reduce their emissions, the panelists highlighted the advantages of Brazil having a clean matrix, with 84% of electricity generation from renewable sources. And the need to take care to maintain this strong presence of clean energies. It also signaled the great potential of the country in the exploration of green hydrogen in a cheaper and competitive way in relation to other countries.

The panel also highlighted the role of hydroelectricity as a stable source, ensuring energy supply when demand cannot be met by intermittent sources such as solar and wind. And the complementarity between renewable sources, especially between hydro and wind sources (the increase in generation from wind normally coincides with the period of less rainfall in the reservoirs in the South and Southeast).