E.ON backs EU plan to cut carbon emissions by 55 percent by 2030.
As the EU Commission prepares to present its “Fit for 55” legislative package, the European CEO Alliance has issued policy recommendations supporting a progressive and ambitious push to achieve climate neutrality. Tackling climate change requires strong collaboration between the public sector and industry, the Alliance announced after its meeting in Paris.
The Alliance would welcome a review of the EU’s major regulatory instruments, in particular subsidies for technologies with high CO2 emissions. The CEOs’ proposals include sending a strong carbon pricing signal, accelerating measures to decarbonize mobility and transport, facilitating the transformation of the buildings sector and speeding up the restructuring and renewal of the energy system in all EU member states.
The CEO Alliance for Europe’s Recovery, Reform and Resilience was formed in 2020 against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic and the historic European Green Deal. The Alliance’s shared goal is to make the EU the world’s leading region for climate protection while unlocking investments, fueling innovations in new technologies and creating future-proof jobs.
The Alliance brings together 12 top executives from the energy, transport and technology industries: Björn Rosengren (ABB), Thierry Vanlancker (AkzoNobel), Francesco Starace (ENEL), Leonhard Birnbaum (E.ON), Börje Ekholm (Ericsson), Henrik Henriksson (H2GreenSteel), Ignacio Galán (Iberdrola), Frans van Houten (Philips), Christian Klein (SAP), Christian Levin (Scania), Jean-Pascale Tricoire (Schneider Electric) and Herbert Diess (Volkswagen). McKinsey & Company is serving as a knowledge contributor for the CEO Alliance and is providing additional research and data.
E.ON CEO Leonhard Birnbaum stated, With the unique cross sector and cross country CEO Alliance we are able to make a difference. Our project within the CEO Alliance aims to establish European-wide markets for green hydrogen and its derivates, that makes green hydrogen the second energy carrier of the energy transition. With renewable energies in particular, in addition to the non-electrifiable applications, we are often faced with the fundamental challenge, They are available only when wind and sun allows.
With hydrogen as an energy carrier, we can store green energy and transport it to places where it is needed in hard to abate sectors, for example for the production of climate-neutral, so-called “green steel.” Green hydrogen can also contribute to decarbonization in the heating sector, distributed via the widely ramified gas network. By using hydrogen, we are giving the process of decarbonization a significant boost.
