PG&E outlines plans to be “climate-positive” by 2050
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) released a new report that outlines its strategy to reduce carbon emissions and reverse the impacts of climate change.
PG&Eʻs Climate Strategy Report lays out the company’s path to become “climate positive” by 2050 – which means going beyond net zero emissions and actively removing more greenhouse gases from the environment than it emits. It also details the plan to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, five years ahead of California’s current carbon neutrality target.
“At first glance, meeting these milestones may look to be an extraordinary challenge. But extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures,” Patti Poppe, CEO of PG&E Corp., said. “As recent events have made clear, California is not just on the frontline for acting on climate change but also on the frontline of its destructive effects. We can no longer be content with merely adapting to those harms. We need to put the climate machine into reverse and begin undoing the damage. This report represents PG&E’s bold plan to do just that and will be our guiding document in the years ahead.”
The commitments are also designed to ensure equity and inclusion remain at the forefront of California’s energy transition. The company will partner with a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including customers, coworkers, and community organizations, to create plans to help ensure equity and deliver on these climate commitments with minimal incremental impact on customer bills.
In the interim, PG&E also laid out plans to dramatically reduce emissions attributable to the company and its customers by 2030. Specifically, it plans to have 70 percent of its electric power mix consist of state-eligible renewable resources such as wind and solar. It will also accelerate electric transportation by fueling at least 3 million electric vehicles (EVs) in its service area by 2030. Also, PG&E plans to achieve 48 million metric tons of lifecycle carbon emissions reductions by 2030 through an increased focus on energy efficiency and building electrification. In addition, the plan reiterates PG&E’s overall efforts to build an energy system that is resilient to the physical impacts of climate change.
“We’re excited about the opportunities to co-create this future together with our many stakeholders,” Carla Peterman, PG&E’s executive vice president, Corporate Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer, said. “Importantly, PG&E is focused on making this transition in an equitable and viable manner that leaves no one behind. We will continue to look for ways to prioritize support for disadvantaged and vulnerable communities and the workforce in a just transition to net zero and beyond.”
PG&E provides natural gas and electricity to more than 16 million people in Northern and Central California.
