Climate change, Shell and EV charging
As news from the BBC comes in of 200 climate change activists, part of 'Extinction Rebellion' being arrested for blocking roads in central London, five of who were reported by the BBC as being held on suspicion of criminal damage at Shell's HQ, we look at plans by the company to combat damage to the climate from its products.
In reaction to the protests, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy said the UK had cuts its emissions by 44% since 1990, stating 'we've asked our independent climate experts for advice on a net zero emissions target and set out plans to transition to low emission vehicles and significantly reduce pollution through our Clean Air Strategy.'
The group Extinction Rebellion is reported to have said it wants honesty from the government about the scale of world climate crisis, that the UK enact legally binding policies to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2025 and the formation of a Citizens' Assembly to oversee changes that will be needed to achieve that goal.
This month, Shell announced a programme to invest in natural ecosystems as part of its strategy to act on global climate change, including addressing carbon dioxide emissions generated by customers using its products.
Shell says it is making a wider range of transport solutions available to customers, enabling 100,000 charging points for electric vehicles across Europe, It says it is also investing in 200 new rapid electric vehicle charge-points, powered by renewable energy on its forecourts in the Netherlands, on top of 500 ultra-fast chargers on forecourts across Europe in partnership with IONITY.
For non-electric vehicles, the company is helping them to reduce their carbon footprint through low-carbon biofuels and carbon neutral driving. Shell is currently enabling customers to fill up at service stations in the Netherlands through the use of nature-based carbon credits, for those choosing V-Power petrol or diesel. The company will roll out similar choices to other countries starting with the UK later this year.
The company says it is planning to invest at scale in forests, wetlands and other natural ecosystems around the world to reduce emissions and capture more carbon dioxide while benefiting biodiversity and local communities, starting with the planting of more than five million trees over the next 12 years in the Netherlands and around 300,000 trees in the Castilla y Leon region of Spain by the end of the year.