Eurelectric - Electricity industry remains committed to delivering sustainability values, EURELECTRIC report shows
The fifth edition of EURELECTRIC's Environment and Sustainable Development Report (ESDR) demonstrates the electricity sector's continued commitment to improving its sustainability performance and to meeting the climate change challenge. The report will be officially unveiled at a EURELECTRIC event taking place tomorrow as part of this year's EU Sustainable Energy Week.
The document covers all three pillars of sustainability: economic performance, well-being of workers and environmental protection. Building on the legacy of the previous editions, it details best practices from the electricity sector that show clear contributions to sustainability, such as energy efficiency schemes or investments in renewables and smarter power grids.
Main findings reveal that the power industry has considerably improved its environmental performance over the past three decades. Although electricity generation increased by 75% between 1980 and 2009 in the EU-27, the sector reduced its emissions of SO2 and NOx by 80% and 57% respectively. CO2 emissions fell by 48% in the same period. The reductions were mainly due to the use of carbon-reduction techniques, low-sulphur fuels and fossil fuel switching.
In addition to environmental achievements, the electricity industry is tackling a host of other challenges: developing innovative energy alternatives, raising awareness among customers, and ensuring health and safety for its employees and society at large. For this fifth edition, a special chapter focuses on biodiversity, which has moved to the forefront of EU priorities over the last years.
While the report highlights the progress already made in meeting the 2020 targets, EURELECTRIC will also use the event tomorrow to discuss outstanding challenges and the industry's long-term vision on energy and climate change policies up to 2050. Establishing the EU Emissions Trading Scheme as the key driver of decarbonisation will be central to this debate.