General Motors claims it will achieve 100% renewable-energy sourcing by 2025, five years earlier than previously forecast and 25 years sooner than the target set initially, in 2016. The automaker added that accelerating the renewable-energy goal will mean it avoids 1 million metric of carbon emissions that otherwise would have been produced during 2025-2030.
“We know climate action is a priority and every company must push itself to decarbonize further and faster,” stated GM chief sustainability officer Kristen Siemen. “That’s what we are doing by aiming to achieve 100% renewable energy five years earlier in the U.S. as we continue to advance on our commitment to lead an all-electric, carbon-neutral future.”
Sourcing renewable energy is an important part of GM’s plans to decarbonize its products and operation by 2040, with a four-part strategy for its efforts: 1) Increasing energy efficiency; 2) Sourcing renewable energy s energy through direct investment, green tariffs, and power-purchase agreements; 3). Addressing intermittency by developing technology to store renewable energy over the medium and long term; and 4) Policy advocacy.
GM announced that it is collaborating with PJM Interconnection, a regional transmission organization, and TimberRock, a technology-enabled energy company, to track the real-time carbon emissions at GM’s plants.
Earlier this year GM stated its plans to become ‘carbon neutral’ in its global products and operations by 2040, as well as to to eliminate tailpipe emissions from new light-duty vehicles by 2035. It has committed to invest $35 billion in electric and autonomous vehicles and plans to introduce more than 30 electric vehicle models globally by 2025.
