E.ON is actively committed to climate protection and is the first energy company to join the LEAF coalition (Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance). The global initiative aims to mobilise more than one billion US dollars in funding for the protection of tropical forests in the run-up to the COP26 climate conference.
“Climate change and ecosystem degradation are two of the greatest challenges of our time. The LEAF Coalition brings together governments and leading companies to pursue ambitious climate action and take decisive action against the loss of tropical and subtropical rainforests. The initiative is an important contribution to achieving the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement, protecting biodiversity and realizing sustainable development. I am proud that E.ON is part of the LEAF Coalition and that we are thus consistently continuing our path towards Net Zero,” says Leonhard Birnbaum, CEO of E.ON.
The World Climate Conference COP26, which will take place in Glasgow this November, is by climate researchers regarded as an important step towards limiting the effects of climate change. Climate change can only be combated through joint action, which is why, in addition to national climate contributions, cross-sectoral partnerships are indispensable. The initiative is a step in exactly this direction. Ambitious climate targets based on scientific criteria, as well as the obligation to avoid emissions are basic prerequisites for joining the LEAF coalition.
“E.ON has set itself new climate targets for 2020 which are in line with the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement. We are currently further developing these goals and will have them validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative. In order to achieve our climate goals, reducing our emissions is our top priority. Joining the LEAF coalition therefore does not replace the significant reduction of our emissions but supports and complements our decisive action for carbon neutrality,” also says David Radermacher, Vice President Sustainability and Climate.
E.ON is convinced that healthy and stable ecosystems are an important building block for curbing global warming because they store CO2. As a pioneer in the energy industry, E.ON is also supporting the United Nations Environment Programme Decade on Ecosystems Restoration. In order to make an active contribution to more environmental protection and biodiversity, E.ON is creating valuable biotopes under 13,000 kilometres of high-voltage power lines in forest areas. To this end, E.ON is investing a double-digit million sum and is committed to establishing ecological route management throughout the Group by 2026.
