Mercedes-Benz plans to halve CO2 emissions by 2030

Mercedes-Benz plans aims to halve its CO2 emissions by 2030, the automaker said on Monday, providing a halfway goal to its present target of becoming CO2 neutral by 2039.

The automaker will also work towards covering 70% of the energy it requires for production with renewable energy by 2030, increasing from 45-50% at present, it said.

Around 15% of this energy will come from solar and wind plants or it would be linked to Mercedes-Benz’ own sites, said production chief Joerg Burzer.

The remaining will be sourced through the Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), where power producers are paid for generating a particular amount of energy over a number of years at a set price.

The automaker is in advanced discussions to buy additional wind energy through PPAs worth a billion euros ($1.09 billion) by 2025, Burzer said.

For now, Mercedes-Benz continues to rely on gas as a back-up supply source. “We obviously still need the gas,” Burzer said.

“We are working on minimizing that.”