Sweden's Vattenfall, which owns a large Nordic hydro portfolio, has announced plans to cut emissions of carbon dioxide from its generation fleet by half that of 1990 levels by 2030.
Revealing the move at the company’s 2007 annual general meeting, Vattenfall’s president and chief executive Lars G Josefsson said: ‘Vattenfall wishes to take the lead on the climate issue,’ adding: ‘We have already achieved a reduction of 30% since 1990, and our goal will thus be to cut emissions by a further 20% by 2030.’
Vattenfall’s climate strategy is based on a three tiered approach including a global agreement on the reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions, increasing its efforts to help consumers save energy and continuously reducing CO2 emissions by upgrading existing power plants, ensuring that future plants are highly efficient and employing forms of emission free energy production.
Over the next four years, the company will also invest a total of SEK 134B (US$19B) in the development of its energy production and distribution systems with a large proportion going towards the long-term objective of reducing emissions of carbon dioxide from Vattenfall?s plants to zero.
‘This is a radical change, but it will pay off if a global price is set for carbon dioxide. Staying ahead of the demands set by society will also give us an advantage over our competitors,’ Josefsson concluded.