RWE Targets Climate Neutrality by 2040 as Sun Sets on Coal

  • Company plans to convert Dutch coal plants to biomass
  • RWE expects to cut emissions by 70% in 2030 versus 2012
Solomon, Modi, Ardern, Paulson, Corbat: GBF Climate Debrief
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RWE AG, Europe’s biggest carbon-dioxide emitter, plans to become climate neutral by 2040 as the German utility shutters its remaining coal-fired power plants.

Chief Executive Officer Rolf Martin Schmitz on Monday said the utility would cut its carbon emissions by 70% by 2030 compared with 2012 levels. It will decommission its last U.K. coal plant next year and convert two facilities in the Netherlands to burn biomass. It will still operate 6 coal-fired plants in Germany, but has earmarked 1.5 billion euros ($1.64 billion) per year to expand in renewables.