National Grid has revised its target for reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions, to now match the UK’s net zero by 2050 goal.
Its previous target was to deliver a 70% reduction by 2030 and an 80% reduction by 2050 for direct emissions from a 1990 baseline. A 68% reduction has already been delivered to date, it said, but it needs to be “bolder and more ambitious”.
In response to the shifting target, National Grid is now reviewing its pathway on how to reduce its emissions, but pointed to several measures currently being explored, including the electrification of its fleet of vehicles and the reduction of leakage in its gas pipelines through the use of robots.
John Pettigrew, chief executive of National Grid, said: “The decarbonisation of the energy system is one of the biggest challenges facing our world, and National Grid has a critical role to play in the acceleration towards a cleaner future.
“We don’t have all the answers yet, but we are working hard on the pathway and I’m inspired every day by the passion, commitment and unwavering determination of our people to play their part in a net zero future.”
National Grid is also supporting the reduction of emissions that aren’t directly within its control through initiatives such as energy efficiency programmes to help customers reduce energy consumption in their homes, as well as incentivising its supply chain to reduce the carbon impact of construction projects by including carbon weighting in its competitive tenders.
It is also helping create a market for green finance, it said, through the publication of a Green Financing Framework to support sustainable financing across the Group.
National Grid is also committed to working with government and regulators in all the markets it serves to help meet their carbon reduction emission targets, it said.
It owns the electricity transmission network in England and Wales, and also has the National Grid Electricity System Operator as part of its group as well as National Grid Ventures, and also works in the US.
Its change of target for reducing its emissions now lines up with the decarbonisation goal for the UK as a whole, which now has a legally-binding target of net zero by 2050.
