Climate
On the road to climate neutrality in 2035
If we want to keep the planet livable for future generations, we have an important task: not to let the earth heat up more than 1.5°C. The challenge we face as a society is urgent and its scale much greater than many realise. Read the detailed explanation of our climate ambition, the targets we have set to achieve it and our justification here.
Accelerating efforts
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2021), at the current rate of global warming we will reach 1.5°C around 2030. Without strengthening current policies, the global temperature increase is projected to rise to about 3.2°C by 2100 (IPCC, 2022). If temperatures continue to rise, the frequency and intensity of heat waves, extreme precipitation and droughts will increase and serious effects on ecosystems, plants, animals and people can no longer be avoided.
Current efforts by the energy sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050 are no longer sufficient. The International Energy Agency (IEA) announced in 2021 that the electricity sector in developed countries needs to achieve 'net zero' emissions as early as 2035 in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
Eneco and customers climate neutral by 2035
The energy sector has an important pioneering role in the energy transition. Especially now that we know that climate objectives and actions must be much more ambitious in order to still achieve the 1.5°C objective. Eneco is taking responsibility for this and is advancing its existing ambition to become climate neutral by 15 years to 2035.
"We have the ambition to be climate neutral as early as 2035. Not only in our own activities, but also in the energy we supply to our customers."
We are going faster than the scientifically substantiated 1.5°C path prescribes. We have chosen to do this because it seems possible to reduce our emissions more quickly and to stay below the 1.5°C path in the event of any setbacks to our reduction efforts. We also want to set the pace for the entire energy sector.
Accelerating together
Acceleration is only possible if we do this together with customers, the local environment and local partners such as local residents, municipalities, housing corporations and energy cooperatives. Together with them, we are working on affordable solutions, social innovations and new participation models to distribute the benefits and burdens of energy transition fairly and make them more transparent.
Climate actions
We want to achieve our climate ambition through three climate actions:
- Radical electrification: large-scale electrification of industry, mobility and the built environment with exclusively renewable electricity from new wind and solar farms.
- Phasing out natural gas: by converting or closing our gas fired power stations and making natural gas fired homes and buildings with home insulation, (hybrid) heat pumps and heat networks more sustainable.
- Accelerating sustainable heat: through innovation and investment in sustainable sources such as geothermal, aquathermal, electrode boilers, heat and cold storage, green gas and green hydrogen.
Climate roadmap
We have developed a roadmap with concrete steps to actively shape a sustainable future. The climate roadmap contains the most important interim goals, milestones and planned actions. We periodically update it based on developments in the field of social readiness (support and market acceptance), tightening of climate policy and technical and economic feasibility.
Eneco's climate roadmap with concrete steps towards 2035.
The underlying assumptions of our climate roadmap have been externally validated by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to determine whether the resulting choices are logical to contribute to achieving our 2035 ambition.
For an explanation of the terms used on this page click here.
The story behind Eneco’s climate ambition
With its One Planet plan Eneco is taking an important and ambitious step in becoming climate neutral in 2035 together with its customers. What is the story behind the One Planet plan? Why is it so important to act now? As Tempelman, CEO of Eneco, spoke with Christophe Brognaux, Senior Partner & Managing Director at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), about the One Planet plan and Eneco's climate ambitions.
Interview As Tempelman, CEO Eneco, and Christophe Brognaux, Senior Partner & Managing Director BCG
Climate action: a source of inspiration
"The Netherlands has walked into the energy transition. That's better than sitting still, but for a livable planet we now need to run. With this plan, Eneco is going to run. Running hard, in fact. By bringing forward the existing ambition to become climate neutral from 2050 to 2035. This is a source of inspiration for everyone who is concerned about the climate and everyone who is enthusiastic about the opportunities that clean energy offers us. For this we need not only climate talkers, but above all climate doers, like the people at Eneco. The NVDE greatly appreciates this and is happy to work together to make it happen."
Olof van der Gaag, Director of the Dutch Sustainable Energy Association (NVDE)
Clear and ambitious plans
'While governments have the greatest ability and responsibility to move the world onto a net zero pathway, the private sector will need to mobilise most of the investment that is required. I hope to see more energy companies announcing clear and ambitious plans that align with the milestones of our Roadmap.'
Dr Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA)
