21 September 2021

Scania joins The Climate Pledge

Scania joins Amazon and Global Optimism in The Climate Pledge, thus committing to a net zero carbon emissions target by 2040 – 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement target. The initiative aims to create a low-carbon economy and by joining, Scania agrees to three principles of action presented in their press release (Press release).

• Measure and report greenhouse gas emissions regularly.

• Implement actionable and innovative decarbonisation strategies.

• Neutralise remaining emissions to achieve net zero annual carbon emissions by 2040.

Vattenfall increases its emission reduction targets: Net zero by 2040 

Vattenfall commits to increasing emission reduction targets and aligns to a 1.5°C trajectory of the Paris Climate Agreement. The new targets are presented in a press release by Vattenfall, showcasing their intended pathway to;

• Reduce emissions intensity in internal operations by more than 77% by 2030 compared to 2017.

• Reduce absolute emissions from use of products sold by 33% by 2030 compared to 2017.

•  Reach net zero by 2040.

Underlying these ambitions are comprehensive measures that Vattenfall needs to reach including the phasing out of coal, increasing wind- and solar capacity to the grid, increasing electric charging points and helping partners in electrifying their industrial processes (Press release).

Vattenfall set to launch low-carbon heat network in UK

Vattenfall to launch a low-carbon heat network in London in order to help decarbonise household heating, commercial- and public facilities. Currently, heating is responsible for a third of UK greenhouse gas emissions, and Vattenfall is targeting this segment with zero- or low emission heat sources in order to save 26 million tonnes of carbon emissions over 20 years. The aim is to commence construction by 2022 and connect more than half a million homes to the network by 2040 (Reuters). 

SCA and St1 enter refinery JV

The forest company, SCA entered a joint venture with the energy company St1 to supply demand for biofuels. To this end, a new biorefinery in Gothenburg will be constructed in connection to St1’s oil refinery, projected to start production in 2023 (Q2) as a result of a SEK 2.5 billion investment. “We are counting on having a production capacity of 200,000 tonnes of liquid biofuels,” said Henrikki Talvitie, CEO of St1 Nordic Oy in a press release. The partners are 50% shareholders in the new venture in Gothenburg, which SCA will supply raw material (tall ‘pine tree’ oil) for. Additionally, the venture makes St1 a 50% owner of SCA-owned Östrand Biorefinery, a development project which recently received environmental permits to produce 300,000 tonnes of biofuels based on black liquor and solid biomass (Press release, press release) 

Stena Line and Frederikshavn sign agreement: Two fossil free ferries between Sweden and Denmark by 2030

The Swedish ferry operator Stena Line has signed an agreement with the Port of Frederikshavn in Denmark to launch two battery powered Stena Elektra vessels by 2030 making Gothenburg-Frederikshavn the world’s first fossil free ferry line, according to Stena Line’s press release. The ferry line is projected to reduce CO2 emissions linked to the Gothenburg port by 70% by 2030, marking an important step in the direction of Stena Line’s target of reducing its total carbon emissions by 30% by 2030 (press release).   

Debate on reducing lead times for expanding electricity network ongoing in Sweden 

Two authorities in Sweden, the Swedish Energy Markets Inspectorate (Ei) and Svenska Kraftnät (the grid operator) propose a three-point programme to reduce lead times in the expansion of the national electricity network. The plans for 2020-2040 include deploying 5,000km power lines while Svenska Kraftnät increases its annual investments from SEK 3.5 billion to SEK 10 billion p.a.. The proposal aims to counter criticism about the current 10–12-year lead time for investing in the national grid for electricity, where the application and inspection process alone takes on average 4-5 years, thus inhibiting the expansion targets of power lines. The three-point programme aims to reduce the lead time by executing processes in parallel between the two authorities, recruiting competence for the expected increase in workload, and enhancing dialogues with the county administrative boards that are key factors in the permission process (Dagens industri).  

Equinor ramp gas production to moderate European energy crisis

Equinor has received permission to increase production from two fields on the Norwegian continental shelf to export gas to the tight European energy market. The production permits an increase of 1 billion cubic meters (bcm) for the Troll (36bcm to 37bcm) and Oseberg (5bcm to 6bcm) fields respectively, starting 1 October 2021 (Press release).  

European Energy positive to Biden’s blueprint for solar energy

Danish European Energy is positive to the new blueprint from Biden that pursues 50% solar energy in the nation’s electricity mix by 2050. European Energy, already present in US solar farms, is positioned to partake in the expansion plans and has recently purchased 1,276 acres of land in Texas as well as establishing a joint venture company with a US-based renewable energy developer (Kongressen, Press release)     

Ørsted and Uniper explore strategic partnership: Offshore wind in Germany

The strategic partnership is based on visions of decarbonising the industry to reach German climate targets. In a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the companies have committed to jointly developing offshore wind and hydrogen production with the support of system operator TenneT. The expectation is to power electrolysis plants in Uniper’s Wilhelmshaven Green Hydrogen project with offshore wind energy from Ørsted. The electrolysis plant will be installed in 2025 with a capacity of 70 megawatts (MW) and expanded to 410 MW in 2030, thus requiring a reliable source of renewable energy which Ørsted is able to supply (Press release).  

Reduction of emissions from Finnish road traffic exceeds expectations: Electric vehicles the reason

CO2 emissions from road traffic in Finland are projected to reduce at a faster rate than expected. According to a forecast from the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, greenhouse gas emissions from road traffic will reduce by 40% (compared to the expected 37%) between 2005-2030 with the current measures. The primary contributing factor to the reduction is believed to be due to an increase of electric vehicles (EV), while the share of fossil-fuel vehicles is decreasing. A roadmap with the purpose of halving CO2 emissions from road traffic by 2030 compared to 2005 (12.5 Mt) has revealed that Finland is 1.25 Mt off the mark which requires further measures such as increasing the responsibility of distributing renewable fuels according to Timo Harakka, the Minister of Transport and Communications. However, as the forecast has several uncertainty variables, the focus is to be on having zero emissions in road traffic by 2045 instead, he continues (LVM).

What we’re reading

• Oil Companies to Be Sidelined at U.N.’s Climate Conference (Wall Street Journal)

• Investors call for governments to toughen climate accounting - letter (Euronews)

• Paris Aligned Asset Owners group grows to USD 2.35 trillion with new additions from Australia and Europe (press release)

• 10,000 green hydrogen generators per month (Yahoo Finance)

• Lightsource bp further accelerating growth, now targeting 25GW solar developments by 2025 (press release)

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