Foreword
Of all the transitions that are needed to curb climate change, the energy transition is one of the most important ones. As the operator of the main natural gas transmission network in the Netherlands and part of Germany, Gasunie has the crucial task to steer that energy transition in the right direction in our part of Europe.
Over the coming years, we will be investing heavily in infrastructure for hydrogen, CO2, heat and green gas transmission and storage. Having the right infrastructure in place will make it easier for society to switch to renewable energy, while also interlinking energy networks for renewable electrons and renewable molecules into one single jointly operating whole.
This Climate Action Plan is a transparent summary of the actions that Gasunie is taking to combat global warming and protect our assets against the impact of this heating up of the Earth’s surface. Compared to our first climate plan (July 2023), this second climate plan provides a clearer picture of our efforts and results.
We have taken into account the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive in compiling the document (CSRD). For investors, we are publishing our very first Sustainable Finance Report shortly after this Climate Action Plan to set out how our green bonds and sustainability-linked bonds are performing.
Successes and setbacks
We do not only have successes. There have also been setbacks in the energy transition that have occasionally caused renewable infrastructure projects to be delayed. On top of that, the Russian war in Ukraine has changed the gas landscape in Europe, with one effect of this being an increase in our total carbon emissions.
At the same time, however, the outlook for the longer term is good. We are confident that Gasunie infrastructure users will be able to achieve climate neutrality sooner than the Dutch government’s target year of 2050. And we are also putting our own house in order. In this plan, we describe the 28 ways in which we are reducing our scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions and state our ambition to cease to be a net contributor to global warming by 2045.
Gasunie is taking the lead to bring parties together, making plans and, quite literally, rolling up its sleeves. We are doing this because new energy opens up a wealth of opportunities. With new energy, together we can bring about a clean future for generations to come. We have no time to lose.
Hans Coenen, Willemien Terpstra, Bart Jan Hoevers and Janneke Hermes
Executive Board of N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie
October 2024