During the plenary sessions of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28), Nornickel’s experts highlighted the company’s innovative projects and extensive environmental initiatives. They discussed strategies for assessing risks and seizing opportunities related to global warming, as well as engagement with indigenous minorities of the North.
As global temperatures soar to unprecedented levels and extreme weather impacts lives globally, the UN Climate Change Conference emerges as a crucial platform for policymakers, NGOs, and businesses to intensify and expedite climate crisis solutions.
“This year’s summit, hosting delegations from 200 countries, including a significant Russian presence, offers a unique chance for major corporations to form new partnerships, particularly with nations in the Global South”, said Svetlana Komrakova, General Counsel of Nornickel.
At the climate summit, politicians and experts are focusing not only on decarbonisation, but also on adaptation to climate change. For industrial giants like Nornickel to adapt effectively, they need to assess the risks and opportunities associated with climate change competently.
“In addition to degradation of permafrost in the Arctic, availability of water resources also deserves attention”, said Alikhan Avarskiy, Climate Change Adaptation Lead. “We assume that the frequency of abnormal droughts and floods may increase over time. Today, together with scientists we try to predict the probability of such events. This will help us to develop the necessary adaptation measures and thereby ensure stable water supply to residential infrastructure and our production facilities”.
Nornickel contributes to the fight against climate change from different angles: as a reliable and sustainable supplier of metals for the energy transition to the carbon-free economy of the future, as a responsible large business with a minimal carbon footprint, and as a scientific centre for the development of new technologies for the green industry: hydrogen and solar energy.
“We focus on developing new products with palladium,” said Dmitry Izotov, Head of New Product Development at Nornickel. “Nornickel’s Palladium Centre has already developed catalysts for electrolysis and fuel cells used in hydrogen power generation, which demonstrate a 2-3 times increase in activity compared to existing products on the market. We are convinced that the products of the Palladium Center will significantly improve the efficiency of green technologies and thus provide an additional contribution to the achievement of global climate goals”.
Nornickel’s approach to climate change risk management is based on the TCFD (Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures) methodology covering strategy, corporate governance, risk management, metrics and targets. The company has established a Sustainability and Climate Change Committee under the Board of Directors, developed a Climate Change Policy and a roadmap to comply with TCFD recommendations.
“The problem of climate change cannot be solved by decarbonisation of industry alone,” said Irina Fitzgerald, Environmental Support Lead at Nornickel. “The climate is formed not by greenhouse gases or industrial emissions, but by nature. Recognising this, Nornickel conducts extensive research on biodiversity and invests in ecotechnologies to restore it, such as guanthrophication”.
Another central theme at the conference was engagement with indigenous minorities. “Summit participants show a keen interest in everything that Nornickel is doing to honor the rights of indigenous peoples of the North and in our programmes that are aimed at supporting and developing indigenous peoples,” said Alexander Shaburkin, Head of Analytics at Nornickel’s Federal and Regional Programmes Department. “Nornickel is developing a new, improved policy focused on three key principles: respecting indigenous viewpoints and interests, fostering traditional crafts, and maintaining ongoing dialogue ”.
