Alphabet Inc.

07/01/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/01/2024 01:34

Our investment to accelerate clean energy in Asia Pacific

Taking it a step further, we may offer a portion of this clean energy capacity to our semiconductor suppliers and manufacturers in the region so they can advance their own sustainability goals while helping us reduce our Scope 3 emissions (the indirect emissions from our value chain). A significant share of our Scope 3 footprint can be traced back to the electricity grids that power our suppliers and users, which is why broad decarbonization - and partnerships like this - continue to be core to our net-zero goal.

BlackRock's Global Head of Climate Infrastructure David Giordano commented, "As we witness growth in demand for digital services, powered by AI and data-centric technologies, it becomes imperative to invest in clean energy. The partnership is a testament to the shared commitment between Google and BlackRock to driving the transition to a low-carbon economy."

The partnership builds on more than five years of collaboration to accelerate the clean energy transition through market and policy development across Asia Pacific. Our advocacy and engagement efforts were a key driver of the 2017 amendment of Taiwan's Electricity Act, which opened up the market to allow non-utility companies to directly purchase renewable energy. This work led to us becoming the first corporate buyer to sign a PPA in the market. Since then, Taiwan has achieved a significant cumulative contracted capacity through corporate PPAs, becoming one of the leading corporate PPA markets in the Asia-Pacific region.

Continued progress on our carbon-free energy goal is happening across Asia Pacific with recent announcements in Australia and Japan. In parallel, we're working with partners to support policies that accelerate the decarbonization of electricity grids. We're a founding member of the Asia Clean Energy Coalition (ACEC), which brings together energy buyers, suppliers, and policymakers to help improve the policy and regulatory environment for corporate renewable electricity purchasing. Coalitions like ACEC are essential to drive the system-level transformation required for a carbon-free future in Asia Pacific.

This partnership is an important milestone in our net-zero and carbon-free journey, and there is much more to be done both in Asia Pacific and around the world. To learn more about our sustainability work, visit sustainability.google.