The World Wildlife Fund conservation group accused power companies on Tuesday of insufficient efforts to produce clean, renewable energy.
BRUSSELS, Belgium − The World Wildlife Fund conservation group accused power companies on Tuesday of insufficient efforts to produce clean, renewable energy.
In a WWF report ranking 72 power companies worldwide based on commitment to clean energy, only five scored more than a three on a 10-point scale.
"The companies analyzed are completely unprepared for fundamental change in the way they invest in clean energy," said Jennifer Morgan, director of the WWF's climate change program.
Without these changes, worldwide temperatures will increase, along with acid rain, floods and health problems, Morgan said.
To draw attention to the coal-based industry's role in climate change, the WWF ranked large energy companies in the 18 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries and Russia.
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Spanish power company Iberdrola came out top of the list with a 4.3.
Morgan said the survey showed that the electric power sector was "the world's biggest polluter" of greenhouse gases.
European power consortium Eurelectric defended its members' performance.
Spokesman John Scowcroft said members "have consistently reduced the amount of emissions per megawatt hour" of electricity.
Companies have cut carbon dioxide emission levels by 2 percent while producing one-third more power than they did 15 years ago, Scowcroft said.
Scottish Power came in third with 3.7. RAO UES of Russia was fifth with 3.1.
In North America, only two of the 31 major power companies earned a score higher than two out of 10. Florida energy company FPL Group ranked second with a score of 4.1, while Canadian firm Hydro Quebec came in fourth with a 3.1 ranking. Three-fourths of U.S. and Canadian companies earned less than a 1.
The 19 European companies fared slightly better. None had a score of zero and most scored higher than a 1.
The survey assessed current use and any future plans for energy sources like clean gas, smaller hydroelectric plants or wind power. If the WWF was unable to obtain information either from a company's public information or from repeated survey requests, the company scored a zero.
The group is pushing for stronger U.S. laws capping carbon emissions and no new construction of coal-powered energy plants in Europe.
Source: Associated Press
