THE EUROPEAN – SECURITY AND DEFENCE UNION
Photo: © Reinhard Tiburzy, stock.adobe.com
The energy providers’ commitment to climate protection
EnBW is playing an active and progressive role in the German energy transition
by Andreas Renner, Director of Public Affairs, Energie Baden-Würtemberg (EnBW), Karlsruhe
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nBW’s commitment to climate protection is primarily determined by a combination of incentives derived from a) opportunities for new business models and the development of new markets to b) the increasing sensitivity of investors towards sustainable corporate strategies and investments. Both factors result from consumers’ attitudes and customers’ expectations that have changed discernibly over the past 30 years as well as international, European and national climate legislation and regulation which in turn is a result of peoples’ increasing awareness towards consequences of uncontrolled man-made climate change.
Fundamental adaptations are crucial to survive Having relied on conventional and nuclear power plants as well as oligopolistic market structures for decades, German utilities had to undergo fundamental adaptations to both market liberalisation and the “Deutsche Energiewende” (German energy transition). With the irreversible political decision in 2011 to phase-out nuclear energy in Germany by the end of 2022, falling wholesale electricity prices due to an increased power generation from renewable energy sources and European and national climate goals that would lead to a phase-out of most conventional power units in mid-term a new strategy was key to survive. EnBW was the first of the former big four utilities to initiate a process that led to a fundamentally new corporate strategy: by 2020, EnBW’s profits (Adjusted EBITDA) will stem
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from grids (1 billion euros, +25% compared to 2012), renewable energies (0.7 billion euros, +250% compared to 2012) and sales including new energy services like e-mobility (0.4 billion euros, +100% compared to 2012). Generation from conventional and nuclear power plants, as well as trading, will decrease by 80% from 1.2 billion euros to 0.3 billion euros.
Climate goals need to be more ambitious EnBW plays an active and progressive role in the German energy transition. As the only vertically-integrated utility, – meaning that it covers the entire power and gas supply chain from generation via transmission to sales – EnBW positions itself politically as a reasonable voice balancing the security of supply, competitiveness and climate protection. With regard to the latter, the company calls for more ambitious goals, especially at European and national levels. Among companies from different sectors and NGOs, EnBW signed various declarations supporting climate protection goals derived from the 2015 Paris Agreement and United Nations Climate Change conferences. Part of the endorsement is a call for an improved, ambitious Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) as the key instrument for a cost-effective way of reducing GHG emissions without significant government intervention. Ideally, such a scheme includes as many countries as possible. However, the reality is that international agreements on far-reaching instruments such as an ETS will most likely not be implemented in time to serve the climate goals appropriately. Therefore, it is advisable to either reform the European ETS or, if politically unattainable, to form a coalition of willing. EU Member States like e.g. Germany, France, the BENELUX countries and Austria could simultaneously implement national pol-
