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For E.ON, a uniform global carbon trading system and carbon pricing mechanism is the most powerful and market-oriented tool for effective climate protection. ‘If a climate agreement was to help us come closer to establishing a single carbon market, then that would be a huge success for the Copenhagen Climate Conference,’ said E.ON CEO Wulf Bernotat. Prerequisites would be clear emission caps, a common carbon trading system and a phased scheme for auctioning carbon allowances that is equally applicable to all industrialised countries and emerging economies as well as all major greenhouse gas-emitting sectors of industry. Bernotat: ‘A uniform global carbon pricing system would allow efficient technologies to reduce carbon emissions where they achieve maximum benefits for the climate. Investment in climate protection should be as effective as possible; in other words, we have to succeed in achieving the maximum in terms of CO2 avoidance for each Euro or dollar spent.’
For this reason, E.ONs expectations for the Copenhagen climate treaty, which are currently being published as part of the companys Corporate Responsibility (CR) Reporting, mainly stress the need for sound, consistent international rules. Bernotat: ‘The Copenhagen climate treaty must keep the global perspective firmly in sight and must not be determined unilaterally by national economic interests. This is also the only way to prevent carbon-intensive industries from shifting their production to countries without carbon caps.’
Revenues generated from national auctions of carbon allowances should be used specifically for promoting climate-friendly investments, technology transfer, energy efficiency measures and energy tax reductions. In addition, the opportunities for Joint Implementation (JI) and Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects should be significantly simplified, strengthened and expanded because they are today the most effective mechanisms of cutting greenhouse gases. This includes a greater recognition of new technologies, such as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), and an unlimited quantitative use of reduction allowances as part of the carbon trading system.
E.ON has set itself the target of cutting specific carbon emissions from its own generation units by half to 0.36 tonnes of carbon per MWh by 2030 compared with 1990 levels. The core subjects of the new CR Reporting therefore reflect E.ONs efforts in climate protection and energy-efficient power generation along with its measures to ensure a secure and reliable supply of energy and promote efficient energy use by customers and society as a whole. Bernotat: ‘Following on from last years report question Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution?, we want to show what E.ON is doing to push for change in our energy world and develop responsible solutions for the future. However, the report also shows the conflict of objectives we are facing when striking the balance between climate protection, security of supply and competitive prices. This is why E.ON advocates an open debate across society in which these issues are included as equally important goals. A discussion without ideological barriers, and with a clear view of the challenges we face, is the only way for us to secure widely accepted concepts for a sustainable energy supply
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