Science Based Targets Initiative Confirms Volkswagen's Climate Protection Targets

Volkswagen Group received confirmation from the Science Based Targets (SBTi) initiative  that its climate targets meet the conditions to limit global warming to " well below 2 degrees Celsius". 

Support organizations SBTI include the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the Covenant Mundia l of the United Nations , the World Resources Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) .

The SBTi is dedicated to evaluating genuine carbon dioxide (co2) reductions over a 10-year period, without taking into account any CO2 offset climate projects .

The automaker plans to reduce emissions during the production and use of its vehicles by 30% from 2018 levels by 2030. 

Oliver Blume, CEO of Porsche and member of the Volkswagen AG Group Board of Directors for Production and Environment, emphasized that they are determined to be climate neutral by 2050 . 

“To that end, we have now set ourselves an ambitious interim target. The key levers are our electric mobility offensive and the shift from our plants to green electricity, ”he said. 

For fleets of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, the objective of the automaker it is that by 2030 the CO2 emissions per kilometer driven they are a 30% lower than in 2018 . This includes emissions from driving and from the production of fuel and electricity. 

Only the passenger car brands of Volkswagen AG are responsible through the use of their vehicles for 1% of global CO2 emissions .

Two factors that have a positive impact on reducing emissions are the growing share of electric vehicles in the Group's vehicle mix and the fact that Volkswagen will have green electricity on the grid for its operation. 

The German company's mission is to reduce CO2 emissions in the production process by 30% in absolute terms. Therefore, the plan is to increase by 2030 the proportion of externally obtained electricity that comes from renewable energy step by step to 100%.

Initially this strategy will be across Europe by 2023, then globally by 2030. Volkswagen also continues to advance thousands of energy efficiency projects at its 125 production facilities around the world. In 2019 alone, 1,500 environmental and energy measures were implemented throughout the company.

In 2018, Volkswagen Group became the first car manufacturer to commit to the   Paris Climate Agreement and now groups all environmental measures under its ' goTOzero' mission statement.