German Energy group E.ON SE has submitted a commitment to set science-based emissions reduction targets that are consistent with keeping global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. E.ON chose to commit via the SBTi Business Ambition for 1.5°C, as the company wants to demonstrate leadership on the path to a sustainable and climate-friendly future. At the same time E.ON is also joining the “Race to Zero” ahead of COP26. Race to Zero is a global campaign that seeks to build momentum around the shift to a decarbonized economy. COP 26, this year’s UN climate change conference, is scheduled to take place in Glasgow in November. Its outcome will be crucial for successfully tackling climate change.

„In the fight against climate change and global warming, this year is particularly crucial. The UN climate change conference taking place in November must be a success in order to meet the commitments of the Paris Climate Agreement and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. E.ON set itself new ambitious climate targets, which are in line with the Paris Agreement. I am very pleased that we are now taking the next logical step and have made a commitment to the Science Based Target Initiative in order to have our climate targets validated according to scientific criteria,” says Leonhard Birnbaum, Member of the board of E.ON.

The submission of the commitment is the first step in a process that takes several months. In the next step, E.ON will further develop and specify its climate targets in line with the SBTi’s criteria. The target is then submitted to the SBTi for official validation.

With the strategic focus on customer-centric energy infrastructure, E.ON is driving the decarbonization in Europe and the sustainable transformation of the energy world. This focus is also being reflected by E.ON’s ambitious climate targets that were updated last year: by 2040, E.ON wants to reduce the emissions it can influence (Scope 1 and 2) directly by 100% and become carbon-neutral, by 2050 E.ON also wants to reduce its Scope 3 emissions by 100% versus the baseline 2019.

E.ON’s climate targets are aligned with the Paris Agreement and well in line with climate science. E.ON is more committed than ever to the fight against climate change. Thus, the company wants to put its climate targets on an even more solid basis than before and seek official validation for a 1.5°C science-based emissions reduction target by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). The SBTi is a partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) with the objective of driving ambitious climate action in the private sector by enabling companies to set science-based emissions reduction targets. The Business Ambition for 1.5°C campaign is an urgent call-to-action for companies to set emissions reduction targets in line with a 1.5°C future. It is backed by a global coalition of UN leaders, business organizations and NGOs uniting behind one message: We urgently need to step up ambition for the best chance of tackling the climate crisis.