• Joins UN COP26 Race to Zero Campaign

Derby, UK. 05 June 2020. Rolls-Royce joined the UN COP26 Race to Zero campaign with a bold ambition to play a leading role in pioneering a resilient, inclusive, net zero carbon future.

This will see Rolls-Royce become net zero carbon in its operations by 2030 and, more fundamentally, set an ambition to play a leading role in enabling the sectors in which we operate to reach net zero carbon by 2050 through the development of new products and technologies. Today Rolls-Royce affirms that position in joining the UN Business Ambition for 1.5oC campaign.

As part of this commitment, Rolls-Royce will:

  • Align its business to the Paris Agreement goals, to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C;
  • Use its technological capabilities to play a leading role in enabling vital parts of the economy to get to net zero carbon by 2050, including aviation, shipping, rail, and power generation;
  • Continue to, and seek to accelerate, progress against stated company and industry carbon reduction targets and goals;
  • Continue our investment in research & development (R&D), prioritising pursuing technological solutions to the climate challenge;
  • Publish a clear roadmap later this year, setting out a pathway to enabling net zero carbon emissions by 2050, including interim milestones.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has brought immediate and obvious pressures to our industry and to us as a company, but the long-term challenges our world faces have not gone away,” said Warren East, CEO, Rolls-Royce. “The world on the other side of this pandemic will need the power that we generate to fuel economic recovery. I absolutely believe the call for that power to be more sustainable and net zero will be stronger than ever. Answering that call is a big, complex challenge and few companies on the planet are better placed than Rolls-Royce to help. We will use our capabilities to play a leading role in enabling the vital sectors in which we operate achieve net zero emissions by 2050. I believe this ambition will drive our competitiveness for the future.”

Rolls-Royce will focus on advancing key technologies, including:

  • Driving step changes in the efficiency of engines, as well as working together with the fuels industry to significantly ramp up the availability of lower carbon alternative fuels.
  • Leading an ambitious consortium to build small modular nuclear power stations that can provide competitive, clean, low carbon power at scale.
  • Accelerating the development of disruptive new technologies and capabilities for future low emission products, including pioneering the electrification of flight.
  • Continuing to deploy hybrid electric systems today in the rail and marine markets and to transition those capabilities into aviation.
  • Delivering microgrid solutions to provide vital stability and back-up power, expanding the uptake of renewable energy by removing the challenge of volatility.
  • Achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions from our operations and facilities by 2030, by using 100% renewable energy, pioneering closed loop manufacturing techniques on high value metals, and deploying our cutting-edge microgrid capabilities to support our estate.

Nigel Topping, UN High Level Climate Action Champion for COP26 added: “With 2.6 billion people and over half of global GDP now covered by net zero goals, Rolls-Royce is positioning itself to meet huge growth in demand for net zero transport and power. As a company operating in some of the hardest to abate sectors, this a big act of industrial technology leadership.”