The climate protection movement #fridaysforfuture around Greta Thunberg makes important demands. The Volkswagen Group is also convinced that all those responsible owe it to future generations to reduce CO₂ emissions vigorously. Volkswagen is already making its contribution.
When Berlin schoolchildren demonstrate at their #fridaysforfuture rally this Friday for immediate measures to comply with the Paris Climate Agreement, the young movement will cause more sensation in Germany than ever – Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old climate protection activist and founder of „School Strikes 4 Climate“, has announced her participation. Together with her, thousands of young people on the streets of Berlin City will call on politicians to intensify their climate protection efforts.
The fear of the striking students for our planet is all too understandable
- With its demands, the movement has triggered a broad discussion. Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess is sympathetic to the striking schoolchildren who are concerned about the future of the planet: "They are dissatisfied with us, with politics and companies. We owe it to our children and future generations to find the right answers", Diess recently said at the Volkswagen Works Meeting in Wolfsburg. In the TV program "hart aber fair" he added: "The young people have brought a new wind into the climate debate. That pleases me, they have every right to blame and to challenge us.“
- According to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), the transport sector accounts for around 14 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions – and this figure is rising. Automobile manufacturers are therefore particularly called upon to do their bit. The Volkswagen Group has followed up its understanding of more climate protection with action, particularly in recent times. In order to limit rising global temperatures and reduce man-made CO₂ emissions as quickly as possible, the Group is expressly committed to the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, which provides for a climate-neutral society by 2050. And it is already drawing the necessary conclusions.
Not least of all due to climate change, Volkswagen relies on e-mobility in its drive technologies. From today's perspective, e-mobility is the best and most efficient way of achieving climate-neutral, clean mobility, but it requires that the energy revolution be consistently driven forward, and sufficient amounts of renewable energy be available. Over the next few years, the company will launch the automotive industry's largest e-offensive. The models of the ID. family are specially designed for electromobility and optimally exploit the possibilities of this technology. They offer long ranges, plenty of space, dynamic driving behavior and a whole new level of digital networking. The first model to start production at the Zwickau plant at the end of 2019 is the compact ID*., which will be launched at the beginning of 2020. The SUV ID. CROZZ* will follow shortly afterwards, followed by the ID.* BUZZ and the ID. VIZZION* sedan. In the future, Volkswagen will offer attractive electric cars across all segments – from the compact sector to a large lifestyle Bulli. The brand aims to sell at least one million electric cars worldwide per year, by 2025.
CO₂ emissions are consistently avoided right from the start
What is crucial is that Volkswagen not only builds electric cars, but also monitors the complete life cycle from raw materials to recycling. For the electric car is only as clean and green as the electricity used to build and charge it. Cell production, in particular, is still very energy-intensive, and charging cars with coal-derived power is a burden to the overall environmental equilibrium. In order to tailor electric cars sustainably towards climate protection, it is precisely these areas that have to be addressed. That’s exactly what Volkswagen is doing: With the new ID., already set for production this year, the brand will be putting a climate-neutral car onto the road. CO2 emissions will be avoided or reduced from the beginning, and currently unavoidable emissions will be offset by investments in climate protection projects.
In summary: Volkswagen is taking action in order to reach the Paris Agreement’s goal of a climate-neutral society by 2050. With the ID., the brand is demonstrating that clean, climate-neutral mobility is possible. At the same time, there is also a great economic opportunity in all this. “The strategic goal of becoming the leading worldwide provider of e-mobility can make the focus on consistent decarbonization a strong competitive edge,” says Georg Kell, spokesman for Volkswagen’s independent sustainability advisory board. “In any case, it offers the best way for setting a common course for a secure and economically successful future on a planet worth living on.”
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