Utilities beyond fossil fuels CASE STUDY: ENGIE

The report argues that ENGIE's transition strategy is not aligned with the Paris Agreement due to the lack of confirmed shutdown dates for 70% of its remaining coal fleet and a reliance on converting coal plants to fossil gas and biomass. While ENGIE aims for renewables to provide 58% of its power by 2030, the document identifies significant financial and regulatory risks associated with its gas and biomass assets, including the potential for stranded assets and high methane emissions from shale gas procurement.

• ENGIE lacks a comprehensive coal phase-out schedule, with approximately 70% (nearly 3GW) of its global coal-fired electricity generation currently without confirmed shutdown dates.
• The company's renewable energy target is for renewables to provide 58% of total power generation by 2030, up from 27% in 2019.
• ENGIE's strategy involves converting coal-fired plants to fossil gas and biomass, which the report identifies as a risk for stranded assets given the falling costs of wind and solar and tightening EU regulations.
• The report highlights environmental risks from ENGIE's potential procurement of shale gas from the US or Argentina, noting that US LNG can be significantly more methane-intensive than other sources.
• ENGIE's Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) accreditation is for 2°C, which the document states is not aligned with the Paris Agreement's objective of keeping warming well below 2°C.
• The use of biomass for power generation is identified as a high-risk strategy due to potential carbon emission increases and regulatory shifts in the EU regarding biomass carbon neutrality.
• ENGIE continues to invest in new-build gas assets, such as an 870MW CCGT plant in Belgium and LNG terminals in France, Australia, and Chile, despite global trends toward decarbonization.

APA

Brown, S. (2021). Utilities beyond fossil fuels CASE STUDY: ENGIE. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/11/Report-Utilities-Beyond-Fossil-Fuels.pdf

Chicago

Brown, Sarah. Utilities beyond fossil fuels CASE STUDY: ENGIE. Ember, 2021. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/11/Report-Utilities-Beyond-Fossil-Fuels.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Brown |first1=Sarah |title=Utilities beyond fossil fuels CASE STUDY: ENGIE |publisher=Ember |date=February 2021 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/11/Report-Utilities-Beyond-Fossil-Fuels.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{brown2021utilities, author = {Brown, Sarah}, title = {{Utilities beyond fossil fuels CASE STUDY: ENGIE}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2021}, month = feb, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/11/Report-Utilities-Beyond-Fossil-Fuels.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }