Energy companies in Europe have pledged not to build new coal-fired power plants after 2020 and deliver a carbon neutral power supply in Europe by 2050.
By taking the pledge, Eurelectric, which represents around 3,500 utilities with a combined value of more than €200bn, has reiterated its commitment to deliver on the Paris climate agreement.
Eurelectric intends to deliver carbon neutral power supply in Europe by 2050 while ensuring a competitively priced and reliable electricity supply.
Eurelectric president and Portuguese energy group CEO EDP António Mexia said: “The power sector is determined to lead the energy transition and back our commitment to the low-carbon economy with concrete action.
“With power supply becoming increasingly clean, electric technologies are an obvious choice for replacing fossil fuel based systems for instance in the transport sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
Eurelectric said that the achieving the decarburization objectives as agreed in the Paris Agreement would guarantee the long-term sustainability of the global economy.
The new initiative was agreed by national energy companies from every EU nation except of Poland and Greece.
Eurelectric secretary general Kristian Ruby has urged policy makers to consider a balanced, market-based approach to the energy transition.
Ruby added: “The challenge for policy makers in the next two years will be to target the political instruments, ensure that they are complementary and advance decarbonisation and electrification at the same time."
Image: European energy companies intend deliver carbon neutral power supply by 2050. Photo: courtesy of John Kasawa/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.