Only four of the world’s fifty most influential utilities have defined a clear target to provide green energy aligned to the Paris Agreement, according to a new report.
The World Benchmarking Alliance’s second ‘Climate and Energy Benchmark’ study found Orsted, Enel and EDP as well as the US company AES Corporation are the leading power players that are focusing on renewables.
The Danish offshore wind giant leads the ranking, according to the research, thanks to its “rapid whole business transformation” that “has radically transitioned its power plants” by decommissioning coal plants and ramping up renewables.
There is still a strong fossil fuel dependency from the 50 companies assessed, added the report, which found that only 12% of installed capacity is from solar and wind, with 60% relying on coal, oil and gas.
In addition, 35 out of the 50 companies are locked-in to exceeding their carbon budget by 2033 unless they cancel some of their plans to build further fossil fuel power plants or decommission early.
Ten of the 35 companies, for example CHN Energy and China Huaneng (China) and NTPC (India), account for 97% of excess emissions of the 50 companies. These big emitters are based in China, India and Egypt.
Forty-five companies tie executive incentives to fossil fuels, which is further preventing the sector from decarbonisation, said the study.
“This sector is often seen as the ‘great enabler’ to cleaner green energy use across transport, real estate and industry,” said Charlotte Hugman, researcher for the Climate and Energy benchmark at WBA.
“But for too long the sector has been content with making small reductions in the carbon intensity of electricity production. This could mean lights out for the Paris Agreement.”