In BNR Nieuwsradio ‘s ’Frontrunners in ESG' programme, Marinus Tabak, Country Chair RWE Netherlands and COO RWE Generation, talks to Donatello Piras and Ruth Oei about RWE's sustainability ambitions. The company's goal in 2040 is clear: to be carbon neutral at all three emission levels (scope 1, 2 and 3). This means that both purchased products and its own production and services must no longer cause any CO₂ emissions. This is quite a challenge. Marinus: ‘So many people, so many opinions and wishes. Very often those opinions and wishes do not match up. We have to work our way through that and ultimately deliver what is right for the world. This is not easy, no."

Best sector become carbon-free is the electricity sector

For example, there are organisations pushing for the rapid closure of the Eemshaven power plant. According to Marinus, this is unwise because of the security of supply and affordability of energy and the increasing demand for power. He stresses that the power sector can make the biggest strides in reducing carbon emissions by investing in offshore wind and solar power. Yet there remains a gap in energy demand at times when the wind does not blow or the sun does not shine. That is why he advocates flexible, controllable power in the form of the power plants. Marinus: "You can shut down, but what will that solve? It is better to make the power plant more sustainable by converting it to biomass, combined with Carbon Capture Storage (CCS)."

More information on making the Eemshaven power plant more sustainable can be found here. You can listen back to the interview as a podcast.