SDG 13: Climate action

SDG 13: Climate action - what is it and why is it so important?

SDG 13 focuses on the need to take urgent action to end climate change, which affects every country in the world. According to the UN, climate scientists have already shown that people are responsible for global warming over the past 200 years. Human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, loss of forests, or agricultural and livestock activities using fertilisers and other chemicals, have been the main drivers of climate change. 

As revealed in the 2025 Sustainable Development Goals ReportExternal link, opens in new window. , the current climate outlook is critical. The year 2024 was confirmed as the hottest ever recorded, with temperatures approximately 1.55°C above pre-industrial levels, while global greenhouse gas emissions reached a record high of 57.1 gigatonnes of CO₂ equivalent in 2023.

The report published by the UN also indicates that efforts to reverse this situation remain insufficient. To keep warming within the 1.5°C limit, emissions would need to fall by 7.5 % annually until 2035. However, current policies are projected to lead to an increase of up to 3.1°C, with serious consequences for people, the planet and economies. This is compounded by already irreversible effects such as glaciers melting at record rates and ocean warming reaching its highest level in 65 years of observations, as well as a 75 % increase in the number of people affected by climate-related disasters, averaging 124 million people each year.

Reversing this trend is only achievable via worldwide action and by tackling the problem forcefully from all angles. It is for this reason that taking urgent action to combat climate change was made SDG 13 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals adopted in September 2015 as part of Agenda 2030.

SDG 13 Targets: Climate Action

Within SDG 13, the specific goals from here to 2030 are as follows:

• Strengthen the resilience and capacity to adapt to climate-related risks and natural disasters in all countries.

• Incorporate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and plans.

• Improve education, awareness and human and institutional capacities relating to climate change, mitigation and early warning.

• Promote mechanisms to enhance the capacity for effective climate change planning and management in the least developed countries.

In this regard, communities must work towards a low-carbon economy, where renewable energies and the electricity sector have a crucial role. Decarbonisation of the economy is vital to halt climate change, and this can only be achieved with clear investment in electrification and clean energies.

 SEE INFOGRAPHIC: Keys to understanding climate change [PDF]

Our contribution to SDG 13: Climate Action 

At Iberdrola, we are committed to the fight against climate change, aware that the electricity sector plays a key role. That is why we have established ourselves as a global benchmark in climate action, with more than €170 billion invested in networks, renewable energy and storage over the last two decades.

Thanks to a combination of investment and planning, we are leading the transition towards a more sustainable energy model. Discover the key milestones that reflect our commitment in line with SDG 13

• Our Climate Action Plan sets more ambitious targets to achieve carbon neutrality for scope 1 and 2 carbon equivalent emissions by 2030 and net zero carbon equivalent emissions by 2040 for all scopes, including scope 3 (expressed in CO2eq). 
• 85% of the Group's own installed capacity comes from emission-free sources.
• We promote the planting of 20 million trees by 2030, capable of capturing approximately 6 million tonnes of CO2 in 30 years, which will occupy an area equivalent to 25,000 football pitches.
• Iberdrola is the first Spanish company to join The Climate Group's EV100 initiative to electrify its entire vehicle fleet in Spain and the UK and provide charging facilities for its workforce by 2030. We are also working to meet these targets in Brazil, Mexico and the United States.
• In the UK, through our subsidiary ScottishPower, we have launched the Zero carbon communities project, an initiative to help local communities achieve Net Zero targets as part of the country's commitment to be carbon neutral by 2050.
• We created the company Carbon2Nature (C2N)Enlace externo, se abre en ventana nueva.  with the aim of reducing the global carbon footprint through nature-based solutions, enhancing biodiversity and promoting a sustainable economy in which nature is a key driver of sustainable value creation.
• In Brazil, our subsidiary Neoenergia has received validation from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) for its goal of achieving net-zero emissions across its entire value chain by 2039.