AGL offers carbon-neutral option on all electricity offers
It won’t happen overnight but Australia’s coal and gas giant has set course to go carbon-neutral. It’s giving customers an option to come along for the ride.
SA News
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Leading energy retailer AGL will offer a carbon-neutral option on all its electricity products from Wednesday.
“Many of our customers share our interest in shaping a more sustainable future,” AGL chief executive Brett Redman said.
“We accept the science of climate change; the more difficult aspect that needs to be addressed is how we manage the transition in a way that reduces emissions and supports our customers and the community.”
AGL, which has formalised a target of being at net zero emissions by 2050, pledged that the carbon-neutral options would be certified by the government-backed Climate Active group.
Households will typically pay $1/week extra and small businesses $4/week for the option.
Carbon-neutral options will be added to gas before the end of the year.
Top management at AGL will now have about a third of their long-term incentive bonus tied to climate goals. This will include emissions intensity of AGL’s generators, the proportion of energy coming from renewables and the share of sales to customers from green energy products.
AGL is Australia’s biggest single emitter of carbon dioxide but is phasing out coal and investing in renewables.
“Not only do our coal and gas fired generators ensure Australia’s lights remain on, they provide the financial strength for AGL to progress the transition,” Mr Redman said.
Its coal plants were wearing out.
“When we go to replace them, we won’t look to the technology of the past, we’ll look to the technology of the future.”
AGL invested $295 million in the highly efficient gas-fired Barket Inlet Power Station in Adelaide.
It is spending $850 million on the Coopers Gap Wind Farm in Queensland, Australia’s biggest wind farm.
In South Australia, AGL has a 38 per cent share of residential electricity customers and 29 per cent of gas.