The role of EDP
As a leading company in the energy sector, EDP has responsibilities to its various stakeholders (investors, customers, employees, and local communities) and toward the planet and the environment. After all, building a low-carbon future is not the responsibility of a single country, company, or person. It is a collective task that requires teamwork. We at EDP took on this commitment a long time ago.
For this reason, we have clear strategic objectives - in line with UN Sustainable Development Goals - which allow us to gauge EDP's contribution to tackling climate change.
In 2016, the Paris Agreement set out a series of ambitious, global-reaching climate goals: "To keep the global temperature rise well below 2°C compared to preindustrial levels while pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C," as well as to achieve a balance between greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and GHG removals by sinks in the second half of the 21st century.
Simultaneously, the UN launched a challenge called 'Business Ambition for 1.5ºC —Our Only Future'. EDP was one of 87 major global companies committed to reducing emissions to limit global warming to 1.5°C. But we did not stop there.
As part of the Science-Based Target Initiative (SBTi), EDP has committed to reducing specific direct emissions by 75% and indirect emissions by 40% until 2030, compared to 2015. This objective, approved by SBTi as a science-based target, is aligned with a decarbonization trajectory well below 2ºC.
Moreover, we have committed, through the EURELECTRIC Declaration, to achieving carbon neutrality in Europe by 2050; we have adopted an internal carbon price; we have adopted the recommendation to disclose data about the impact of our business on climate change; and we have signed a commitment, along with over 150 major European companies and investors, that calls on EU officials to support the goals set out in Europe's Green Deal and champion the ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% until 2030.
To achieve all these goals, however, we must increase the current global decarbonization rate by about five times. The electric power sector will play a key role in this transition by implementing renewable energies and driving electrification in other sectors, particularly transport, buildings (heating/cooling), and industry. We at EDP have long accepted this challenge.
Even before climate change became a major concern, the EDP believed the future would be renewable. For this reason, the company has always been at the forefront of research and technological development, investing substantively in innovation and renewable energies—even when they were not as mature as they are today. This ongoing investment makes EDP one of the world's largest wind power players. This investment motivates EDP to be at the forefront of the global decarbonization and energy transition processes.
Browse through our articles to learn about EDP's initiatives and commitments in the fight against climate change.
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