Greenko aims to become net carbon zero by 2040

Hyderabad-based Greenko aims to become a “Net Zero Carbon Company” by 2040 and inked the “The Climate Pledge” thereby joining more than 200 companies to aim for the same.

This comes at a time when climate change is a clear and present danger as articulated by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report which stated that extreme weather events will impact lives, livelihoods and businesses in India and South Asia, and called for immediate steps to mitigate climate change.

“Today’s announcement responds to the findings of the latest report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which underscores the need for increased urgency in addressing the climate crisis. Unless there are immediate, rapid, and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to close to 1.5 degrees Celsius or even 2 degrees Celsius will be out of reach,” Greenko said in a statement on Monday.

With an operational portfolio to 7.5 gigawatt (GW), Greenko has India’s largest operational clean energy portfolio. Greenko is also building power storage projects with total capacity of 8 GW across six states in India as part of its plan to provide on-demand power from wind and solar projects and is also partnering with state-run NTPC Ltd to develop "round-the-clock" power supply.

“Businesses have long contributed to the effects of climate change, but deep cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases could stabilize increasing temperatures. This is why urgent, ambitious action by companies around the world is needed. The 200 plus Climate Pledge signatories, which have committed to net-zero carbon by 2040 or sooner, are uniquely positioned to rise to the challenge of addressing climate change and helping to create the low-carbon economy of the future,” the statement added.

In what may strengthen India’s climate commitment credentials, its emissions have been reduced by 28% over 2005 levels, against the target of 35% by 2030. According to the Union government, India is the only major economy with actions in line to keep global warming below 2°C of pre-industrial levels and the only G20 country whose energy transition is consonant with this goal. This comes against the backdrop of India resisting the pressure of declaring a net zero emission goal. Instead, India has called out nations on their carbon neutral intent announcements and termed its as ‘meaningless’.

“The current Climate Pledge signatories are expected to collectively mitigate 1.98 billion metric tons (BMT) of carbon emissions from a 2020 baseline, representing 5.4% of global annual emissions—demonstrating the collective impact The Climate Pledge is having in addressing climate change and prompting more action to tackle the climate crisis (and to n)eutralize any remaining emissions with additional, quantifiable, real, permanent, and socially beneficial offsets to achieve net-zero annual carbon emissions by 2040—a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement’s goal of 2050,” the statement said.

Hyderabad-based Greenko is promoted by GIC Holdings Pte. Ltd, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Japan' ORIX Corp. While GIC Holdings Pte. Ltd and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority currently hold 56% and 14%, respectively, in Greenko, Japan’s financial services firm ORIX Corp. has a 17.5% stake. Greenko founders Mahesh Kolli and Anil Kumar Chalamalasetty own the remaining stake.