Enel to phase out coal investments
Italian energy giant has pledged to phase out its investments in coal and aims to lead the power industry's efforts to combat climate change
Enel, the Italian energy giant, has pledged to phase out its investments in coal and aims to lead the power industry's efforts to combat climate change.
In a joint statement released with Greenpeace, Enel outlined its target to achieve "carbon neutrality" before 2050.
The statement also said that the company will promote an industrial strategy focused on boosting investment in renewable sources, energy efficiency, smart grids and storage systems, as well as "gradually phasing out further investment in coal".
In 2014 Enel announced plans to cut off 13GW of its fossil fuel capacity in Italy by 2020 and the company also cancelled two planned coal plants in Italy and Chile.
Since 1990 Enel Group has slashed CO2 emissions by more than 36 per cent and the company also achieved a 15 per cent cut between 2007 and 2013.
In the statement, Enel said: "the medium- to long-term vision of an energy system largely based on renewable sources and energy efficiency is now a shared view [...] when it comes to assessing the Group's definitive withdrawal from coal generation in Italy."
The company said that it shared the concern on climate change expressed by many scientists and is focused on the target of keeping the global temperature rise below 2°C.
Kumi Naidoo, the international executive director at Greenpeace, has said he will write to the top 20 energy chief executives outlining the change in the group's relationship with Enel to spur further action.
