NG. National Grid Plc

By Dieter Holger

Britain's National Grid PLC set new greenhouse-gas-emission targets on the oil and gas its customers burn for the first time, as the U.K. pressures companies to meet its 2050 net zero goal.

The London-based power provider, which also operates in the Northeast U.S., said Thursday that by 2030 it would cut 20% of emissions from the fuels and electricity it sells, known as scope 3 emissions. It also will target an 80% cut in emissions from direct operations and power purchases, known as scope 1 and 2 emissions, by 2030 and 90% by 2040 as it aims for net zero emissions by 2050 compared with 1990 levels.

Part of the plan involves switching its fleet of light-duty vehicles to all electric and its medium and heavy vehicles to zero-emission fuels, which is often achieved through biofuels.

"We must make significant changes to curb harmful emissions," John Pettigrew, chief executive of National Grid, said in prepared remarks.

The scope 3 emissions are more elusive since they are contained in supply chains and the lifecycle of products. These indirect emissions make up most of the greenhouse gas pollution from companies, according to the World Resources Institute. The WRI said that most large corporations have already pledged to slash emissions from their direct operations and energy purchases.

National Grid said its combined scope 1 and 2 emissions stood at about 6.4 million metric tons of carbon-dioxide equivalent in the 2020 fiscal year, compared with 29.8 million tons for scope 3.

"The vast majority of our scope 3 emissions are from customer emissions in the U.S., so we're focusing there to start with," a spokeswoman said, adding that would be achieved through converting oil to gas, electric heating and efficiency upgrades.

Analysts say another way to lower emissions in pipelines is to mix natural gas with hydrogen, which has drawn heightened interest from investors this year.

In August, National Grid said it would join a 10 million pound ($12.9 million) project to test whether hydrogen can heat and power factories and homes.

Write to Dieter Holger at dieter.holger@wsj.com; @dieterholger

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 30, 2020 20:15 ET (00:15 GMT)

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