10/02/2005 - After the
launch of WWF’s Ranking Power report late
2004, Sweden’s Industry and Trade Minister
called on Vattenfall, Europe’s third largest
CO2 polluter, to invest a greater share of
its profits in renewable energy.
The Swedish government is also debating whether
to make Directives for Vattenfall even stricter,
according to the German newspaper die tageszeitung.
This would mean Vattenfall would not be allowed
to build or buy any new coal or nuclear power
plants in or outside Sweden.
WWF’s Ranking Power report gave Vattenfall
a ranking of 0.6 out of 10 for its poor level
of investment in renewable and clean energy.
The report triggered a discussion in the
Swedish parliament, and the Minister for Industry
and Trade, Thomas Östros, had to face
tough questions about Vattenfall’s “dirty
reputation”.
Speaking about Sweden’s goal of increasing
renewable energy production by 2010, Minister
Östros said, "Vattenfall should
be able to cover half of this production.
I am glad about the decision recently taken
by Vattenfall to further develop wind power
production. But the company has not contributed
enough."
WWF Sweden will be watching the Minister’s
future performance on this matter. To make
encouraging statements about more renewable
energy is great. But WWF would like to see
more concrete actions in the spirit of PowerSwitch!
