Greenpeace: Research reveals energy companies massively investing in climate change

Based on SOMO research Greenpeace Netherlands today published a ranking of major energy companies. The result is alarming: Six out of the seven companies continue to invest primarily in dirty coal and/or dangerous nuclear power plants.

Like last year, E.on comes in last place. The Dutch company Delta has tumbled to a second-to-last position due to their new plan for a 2.5 GW nuclear plant in the Netherlands. Today Greenpeace presents them a trophy consisting of bubbling nuclear champagne, kept cold in a nuclear waste barrel, to ‘celebrate’.

For the ranking, each company could acquire 1,000 points: 250 for current projects in Europe, 250 for future investment plans in Europe, 200 for their current capacity in Europe, 200 for their current energy supply mix in the Netherlands, and 100 for customer support for energy efficiency and clean energy in the Netherlands. Companies received full points for clean energy, about half points for gas-fired power plants, and no points for coal (incl. CCS) or nukes. Only the Dutch company Eneco scored "in the green". The other six companies all scored in the red.

A visualisation of the ranking can be found on the website of Greenpeace(opens in new window) . The ranking is based on the SOMO report Sustainability in the Dutch power sector.

Greenpeace calls on Dutch consumers to buy their power from a green energy supplier, and to write the other energy companies to encourage them to shift their investments to clean energy.