Towards carbon neutrality

The future will be different from the past and this journey has one sole direction and destination, the only issue being the speed of the process, which depends on the economy of each country. The risks and opportunities are increasing and are unpredictable. These were the words with which Nicolette Bartlett, director of Climate Change for the CDP - Carbon Disclosure Project, began her lecture at the event on energy transition held in Lisbon, promoted by the Ministry for the Environment project RNC2050 (The Path to Carbon Neutrality by 2050). This specialist in climate change came to talk about the prevention of stranded assets in the coal and gas sectors and drew attention to the risks and opportunities energy transition represents to nations, companies and populations. If the process fails, she says, “it is they who will pay the bill”.

Portugal is striving to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and is currently ranked second, just behind Sweden, as the European country with the greatest ambitions in this area. According to data from the RNC2050 programme, a disassociation between energy consumption and economic growth due to structural changes in the Portuguese economy, increased energy efficiency and changes in the use of fuels has been occurring in recent decades. The strategy is based largely on the development of renewable energies, the aim of which is in line with the Paris Agreement, within the scope of which Portugal has committed to helping limit the increase in the average overall temperature of the planet to no more than 1.5 ºC.

“Portuguese companies are doing a good job to neutralize the greenhouses gas emissions, but there is plenty of room to improve”

However, the route to achieving “neutral” emissions is a long one. The decarbonisation of society represents a huge step to be taken by 2050 or before. This seems like a long time, but the future will be here tomorrow and we are not exempt of challenges. These include, according to Nicolette Bartlett, the mistakes that continue to be made in many countries, modeling the future based on past assumptions and placing an insufficient focus on the risks, and the increase in the consumption of products and services, among others, which demands serious thought on the path to be taken.

Furthermore, highlights the CDP director in declarations made to Energise, “each country has its own speed and specific characteristics”, specifying a number of critical issues on which Portugal should focus in order to achieve its goals, the most noteworthy of which are the sustainability of forests, agriculture, transport, industry and the heating/cooling of buildings, indeed, everything that consumes large amounts of resources such as water, energy and fossil fuels and emits greenhouse gases and other pollutants. “Portugal needs to make certain decisions, such as with regard to the use of the land and forests, specifically the question of eucalyptus trees, and transport, investing in a multi-purpose system comprising different means in order to ensure traffic in the cities is easier and cleaner, with no cars. Otherwise, achieving carbon neutrality will be difficult”.
The availability of resources – energy, water and food - will be a critical and crucial factor for life on the planet, the specialist further stresses: “Once interconnected, they need to be thought of as a whole, as they are going to compete amongst themselves in the future”.

THE ROLE OF COMPANIES

If there are key players in this process, then companies, both public and private, are at the top of the list. They are the driving force behind the economy, play a major social role by employing people, but, on the other hand, many of them are responsible for pollutant emissions. The scenario needs to be changed in order to stem climate change. The director of CDP underlines the vital role of organisations in energy transition and the quest for a cleaner planet, while not forgetting to highlight the role of consumers. “They are the customers of these emissions”, she says, explaining that when we look at these companies we see they are focused on their supply chain. Or in other words, there really is a direct link between these emissions and consumption”.

In relation to the contribution of Portuguese companies to the urgently required change in paradigm and the elimination of greenhouses gas emissions, Nicolette says that “they´re doing a good job”, although she acknowledges that, as is the case with most companies from other countries, “there is plenty of room to improve”.

THE EXAMPLE OF GALP

Galp has been making great efforts to reduce its CO2 emissions and to manage and rationalize consumption of water, and was awarded, one of only 25 companies in the world, the maximum CDP-Driving Sustainable Economies rating in 2017. This places our organisation on the Climate ‘A’ and Water ‘A’ lists (see the full report), the only company in the energy sector and the only Portuguese entity with acknowledged environmental initiatives geared to reducing the risks inherent to its activities, involving both climate and water resources. “We are aware that our future is associated with sustainable and well-balanced energy transition,” states Carlos Gomes da Silva, Galp´s CEO. “Hence, the efficient and sustainable management of natural resources is an essential part of our operations.” As far as CDP is concerned, “it is inspiring to see so many companies taking bold measures to mitigate environmental risks and grasping the opportunities available for the transition to a sustainable economy,” says Paul Dickinson, the CEO of this international organisation, the biggest and most comprehensive global system for the disclosure of environmental information. “These companies lead the transition process as we reach the point of no return in relation to the protection of the environment”, he concludes.

THE NUMBERS THAT MADE THE DIFFERENCE (2017)

• A 17.6% reduction in the consumption of water
• Over 400,000 tons of emissions prevented