WEBVTT

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- We are here today with As
Tempelman, the CEO of Eneco.

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Eneco has just announced
its One Planet plan

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to become carbon neutral by 2035.

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As, thanks a lot for hosting me

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in your office in Rotterdam.

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Can you outline what are the main elements

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of this One Planet plan?

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- We set ourselves the ambition

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to be climate neutral in 2035

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and that means that we want

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to bring all our emissions to zero

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within the next 15 years.

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And that is not just the emissions

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of our own operations,

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but also the emissions
associated with the use

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of our energy products by our customers.

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And we really focus on
three main climate actions.

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First one is radical electrification.

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We need to electrify
whatever we can electrify

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in the mobility, the industry,

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but also the built environment.

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That's number one.

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And number two is we
need to phase out gas,

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and of course, that concerns
our own gas-fired power plants

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that we want to bring to zero emissions.

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But more importantly,

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we need to help our customers
transition away from gas.

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And that requires a rapid increase

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in the usage and the
applications of heat pumps,

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connectivity to heat networks,

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and of course, also a
major effort on insulation,

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yeah?

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And thirdly, speaking
about the heat networks,

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we have to make sure these heat
networks become sustainable

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and that means that we
need to start investing

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and developing new heat sources.

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And then you can think of geothermal,

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aquathermal, e-boilers,

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heat-cold solutions, but
also sustainable gases,

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like hydrogen and green gas.

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- Why is it so important
to do this plan now?

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- Why this was so important to us

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because this is really
what Eneco is all about.

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We have this deep intrinsic motivation

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with all 3,000 colleagues here in Eneco

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that really are motivated

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to make a meaningful contribution

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to basically combating climate change

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and making that energy transition happen

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on a much faster path.

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It's also much needed

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because I think most
of us are well familiar

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with the Paris Agreement.

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That of course, also
aims for a global warming

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below the one-and-a-half to two degrees.

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But many many of the countries

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have set this target of 2050,

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or China even 2060, to get to
this carbon-neutral society.

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And what we see from more recent
scientific research is also

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that if we continue on that path

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of the pace of society,
IPPC says this as well,

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is we will actually surpass

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that one-and-a-half
degrees already in 2040.

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So we have to move much faster.

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And lastly, it's good business.

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To transition from fossil energy systems

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towards sustainable energy systems

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is a major effort,

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comes with lots of work

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and lots of investment,

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and we consider that an
opportunity for Eneco.

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- You mentioned that you will close

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or convert gas-fired power plants.

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Gas-fired power plants are
what keeps the lights on

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when there is no wind or no sun.

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How will you do to make sure
that we still have power

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when we need it?

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- For the time being we are okay,

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because like you said,

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we still have a lot of
gas-fired power connected

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to the grid.

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But for the future, indeed

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we need alternative solutions.

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And then you really need to think

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around the very short-term solutions,

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the intra-day solutions,

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so you talk within minutes or hours,

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where of course, batteries and flexibility

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in terms of storage can
really play an important role

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but also demand steering.

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So in a surplus situation,

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you switch on demand

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and when there's a shortage,

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you switch off demand.

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And that will become
increasingly important.

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It's also something we are investing in.

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When it comes to the longer-term balance,

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this is still where there
are many open questions,

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and it's also where we have a dialogue

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with the government on
what are the best policies

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to incentivize businesses

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to make the right choices and investments.

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- The bulk of the emissions of Eneco

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are the emissions that
your clients are making

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with the energy you sell them.

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Why did you include the Scope
3 emissions in your plan

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while most other energy
companies are just speaking

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about emissions from their own operations?

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- Yeah indeed, Christophe,

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I think many people stop at Scope 1.

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For us that was never an option

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because like you said, 90%
of the emissions associated

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with Eneco are directly related

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to the energy products
that our customers use.

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So if you want to make an impact,

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you have to include those.

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And if you think about the planet

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and the atmosphere,

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you can only put so much carbon molecules

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into the atmosphere

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and the planet really couldn't care less

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whether it's Scope 1, 2, or 3.

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So really Scope 3 is, if
you want to make an impact,

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Scope 3 needs to be part of it.

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And we do believe that we have solutions

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for customers to move away from fossil

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towards more sustainable solutions.

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So the real complexity
is more on the heat side

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where you need to make a
change behind the front door,

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and this is where we need to recognise

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that the energy transition is
not just a technical challenge

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but very much a social transition

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because houses are different,

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energy levels are different,

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different households have
different buying power.

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Now ideally what you would want

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is that people start with insulation,

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making sure their homes
are more energy efficient,

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and they immediately make a big step

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towards connecting their
homes to a heat network

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or a full electric heat
pump as a solution.

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- What are the policies that need to change

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to help you, help your clients
change the way they consume energy.

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- The right climate and energy polices are a
really important success factor

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for the delivery of our plan.

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That said, when you look at the cost side,

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wind and solar are so much cheaper

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that electrification
already pays off today.

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But there are still
barriers for customers.

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For example the upfront
investment in a heat pump.

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And that stops them from
actually making the change.

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And we want to take those barriers away

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and help customers

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through a solution on funding

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or we do a leasing concept.

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There are different ways to go about that.

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But to your point, indeed,

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we also need the government

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to keep incentivizing the markets

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to change towards sustainable solutions.

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That means we need to put
a fair price on carbon

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and we have to really move energy taxes

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from electricity towards gas and oil.

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So really start to tax fossil a lot more

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than we do today.

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- You have many business
leaders in your industry

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or in other industries,

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which are also facing
this type of challenge

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how to steer their company
through these climate challenges.

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What would be your
personal advices to them?

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- Well, twofold.

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Firstly, I would say join us
on an accelerated journey.

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I see too many companies
saying we follow the pace

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of society, and that is
just not fast enough.

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And we run the risk that we are waiting

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for one another to move.

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And I would say take leadership

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and step up and just accelerate your pace.

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That's the first one.

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The second one, I see
many of my colleagues

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who basically perceive
the energy transition

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as a threat to established interests,

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as opposed to a space full

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of new business opportunities.

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And I think if you change your mindset,

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you'll find new ways, new business models,

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new revenue opportunities

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that are actually very exciting.

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So those would be my advices.

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Go faster and see it as an opportunity.

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- Thanks a lot and I hope
many other business leaders

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will follow your example.

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- Thank you, Christophe.