Contact Energy working to reduce emissions

09/10/2018

Contact Energy working to reduce emissions in fight against Climate Change

Contact Energy has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions as well as supporting customers and other sectors to reduce theirs.

As a major sponsor of the Australia – New Zealand Climate Change and Business Conference in Auckland today, Contact Energy is using the opportunity to make its position on the subject very clear.

Contact Energy has committed to reducing its 2018 emissions from energy generation by 30% by 2030. This is in line with the 2 degrees Celsius goal and is in the process of being verified with the Science Based Targets Initiative. It has also pledged to convert 1PJ of fossil fuel to renewable energy by 2022

Contact Energy’s Chief Generation and Development Officer, James Kilty, said the company believed that human activity was accelerating climate change and, as such, had committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.

“The transition to low carbon solutions is important to us and aligns with our commitment to maintaining affordable, sustainable and reliable access to energy.”

“We would also welcome open, honest and productive partnerships to provide solutions to climate change.”

Mr Kilty acknowledged that Contact Energy’s activities produced greenhouse gas emissions.

“For this reason, Contact Energy is focused on reducing these emissions in line with the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting the global temperature increase to 2 degrees Celsius, while also supporting our customers to reduce their emissions.”

He said that Contact did not presume to have all the answers on transition, which was challenging and would take time and collaboration from many parties to advance.

There are genuine challenges confronting New Zealand’s industries as they seek to adopt lower carbon fuels.

“Much of our industry in New Zealand is trade exposed so has to compete with businesses from other countries that continue to burn low cost fossil fuels. We need to find answers that are sustainable economically and environmentally. We think this will require all parts of the supply chain to work together to provide the best possible solutions to customers.”

“We think there is a role for efficiency, innovative funding models, and new technologies to enable adoption of lower carbon fuels more rapidly.”

The main points of Contact Energy’s position on Climate Change, which can be found at https://contact.co.nz/aboutus/sustainability/emissions, are:

• We know that climate change is a real global challenge that will have significant impacts on our communities, our economy and our environment so we’re committed to taking real steps to address it.
• We believe that human activity is accelerating climate change so we are putting our energy where it matters by focusing on reducing our own emissions while supporting our customers and other sectors to reduce theirs.
• We recognise that energy resilience is what matters most to our customers so in leading New Zealand to a decarbonised energy system we will maintain affordable, sustainable and reliable access to energy for our customers.
• We appreciate that the transition to a low carbon economy is a challenge for everyone and will take considerable effort and time, so we’re in it for the long haul.
• We believe that how we do things is just as important, if not more, than what we do so we are committed to open, honest and productive partnerships to provide solutions to climate change.
• We know that the transition to a low carbon future will have long term benefits for everyone, including us.

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