Edison International 2021 Sustainability Report: Climate Change Mitigation
Edison International 2021 Sustainability Report
Edison International is a nationally recognized leader in the clean energy transition. Our principal subsidiary, SCE, delivers power to customers entirely within the state of California, which has some of the most ambitious science-based climate change goals in the U.S. These goals include net-zero GHG emissions economywide by 2045 and net-negative emissions thereafter, along with a 40% reduction in statewide GHG emissions from 1990 levels by 2030 and 80% by 2050.
With its headquarters and primary footprint in California, Edison International has aligned its climate commitment with California’s statewide climate goals and aims to achieve net-zero GHG emissions across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 2045. This commitment covers the power SCE delivers to customers and Edison International’s enterprisewide operations, including our supply chain. As part of this commitment, SCE aims to deliver 100% carbon-free power to customers in terms of retail sales by 2045.
Edison International is also focused on enabling emissions reductions across other sectors through adoption of electric technologies connected to a clean power grid. Analyses of ours and others show electrification of transportation and buildings, coupled with the use of low-carbon fuels for technologies not viable for electrification, is the most affordable path to a net-zero GHG emissions economy and can help reduce customers' overall energy costs over the long term.
Edison Energy(1) works with clients globally to respond to climate challenges by helping them structure renewable energy projects, electrify their fleets, develop energy optimization programs and set comprehensive sustainability strategies inclusive of net-zero goals and science-based targets.
SCE’s Long History of Clean Energy Action
For more than 50 years, SCE has accelerated the addition of renewable energy to the grid and the innovation needed to enable a two-way power flow that supports customer-sited clean energy resources, such as rooftop solar. Today we maintain one of the cleanest electricity mixes in the nation (see 2021 Power Mix for SCE Customers). As far back as the 1970s, SCE has undertaken research to address the environmental impact of traditional power generation and to understand the viability of renewable energy, while initiating customer conservation programs to encourage efficient electricity use. In the 1980s, SCE built two thermal solar plants in the Mojave Desert in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
California required SCE and other investorowned utilities to divest the majority of their generation assets beginning in the late 1990s in order to promote competitive energy pricing. Among other things, SCE divested from and terminated all contracts with coal-burning resources and, since 2015, has had no coal in its specified portfolio. Today, SCE is wires-focused, with less than 20% of electricity sales coming from SCE's own generating facilities.
In the early 2000s, SCE began to sign large, long-term contracts with third-party developers for wind and solar resources and built the nation’s first transmission line designed to carry renewable power. We continue to honor our long-term commitment to bringing renewable energy to customers with the completion of SCE’s West of Devers Project in 2021. This upgrade is expected to enable the development of thousands of megawatts of renewable energy and battery storage resources in the desert areas in the eastern part of SCE's service area, through the tripling of transmission capacity between that area and the population load centers to the west.
The state of California is also a leader in energy efficiency programs, policies and standards that have reduced the need for new fossil-fuel burning generation assets. SCE’s decoupled rate structure means our financial results are not affected by changes in electricity sales. SCE has exceeded its state-mandated energy efficiency targets year-over-year for the past decade.
Thought Leadership
Since 2017, SCE has published policy papers outlining our analysis, recommendations and the cross-sector collaboration needed to achieve California’s climate goals. SCE’s first policy paper, Clean Power and Electrification Pathway, published in 2017, presented an integrated blueprint for California to reduce GHG emissions and air pollutants by 2030. In 2019, Pathway 2045 expanded this analysis to reflect the state’s new net zero goal and identified five key actions to affordably achieve net zero GHG emissions economywide by 2045. Both Pathway papers examined multiple scenarios to achieve the state’s climate goals and found a high-electrification scenario to be the most affordable pathway. In 2020, Reimagining the Grid assessed the grid changes needed to support California’s climate goals, while adapting to evolving customer and climate change-driven needs.
In 2021, Edison International published Mind the Gap: Policies for California’s Countdown to 2030, highlighting the accelerated rate of annual GHG emissions reductions needed across the California economy to achieve the state’s 2030 climate goals. The report recommends state and federal policies and funding mechanisms to close the gap between the state’s current trajectory and the performance required. Building electrification is shown as one of the key opportunities, along with a continued focus on transportation electrification and decarbonization of the electric power grid. In 2022, Edison International extended its thought leadership to climate adaptation, publishing Adapting for Tomorrow: Powering a Resilient Future.
Public Policy Engagement
Edison International’s public policy engagement includes significant focus on influencing the policy agenda to help deliver the benefits of clean energy and electrification, especially affordability benefits for customers. We participate in national organizations and coalitions to advance policies addressing climate change and advancing clean energy, with a particular advocacy focus on electrification. Our policy agenda also includes ensuring the security and reliability of the electric grid, including making it more resilient against wildfires and other climate-driven risks. We have a particular focus on policies that will ensure an equitable transition to a clean energy economy and support environmental and social justice, especially in disadvantaged and historically underserved communities.
In 2021, upon the release of Mind the Gap, we deepened our focus on advocating for and working across the California economy to support the policies we believe are necessary for the state to achieve its 2030 GHG emissions-reduction goals. Among other things, SCE proposed a landmark program in December 2021 to accelerate the adoption of electric heat pumps across our service area. We have been supporting the increased investments in both building and transportation electrification presented in Governor Newsom’s budget proposal.
Trade Associations
Edison International and our subsidiaries are members of certain trade associations that engage in lobbying activity. We seek to ensure these associations are aligned with our clean energy strategy through engagement with their leadership and policy committees. We have reviewed the public energy and climate positions of the trade associations where we make payments of at least $50,000 annually and found that these associations are generally aligned with us on climate policy. These trade associations are required to report the nondeductible portion of our annual payments used for lobbying activity, which are disclosed in our semiannual political contribution reports.
Climate Action
Edison International supports collaborative efforts to address climate change. In April 2021, we joined a coalition of companies led by the We Mean Business Coalition and Ceres to urge President Biden to set a strong U.S. climate goal of at least a 50% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030. We are pleased to see the resulting commitment aligned with this effort. We have since supported two additional letters (July 2021 and February 2022) to the U.S. Congress calling for clean infrastructure investments organized by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES). In February 2022, Edison International CEO Pedro Pizarro and other utility executives met with President Biden to advocate for action on climate change.
Over the course of 2021, Edison International successfully advocated in support of billions of dollars of federal funding for electric technologies that promote the transition to a decarbonized economy. We were particularly pleased to see support for new programs that support electric buses and the buildout of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure as key provisions of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Additionally, we continued our support of strong federal and state policies to provide for an equitable transition to a decarbonized economy. This includes the policies outlined in our Mind the Gap policy paper, such as incentives for EVs and strict vehicle emissions standards, as well as an increase to the pace of generation interconnection to expedite the availability of renewable energy on the grid.
Edison International Participates in COP26
Edison International President and CEO Pedro Pizarro, along with other members of the senior leadership team, participated in the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2021 (COP26) to demonstrate the company’s commitment to urgent climate action and the vital role the electricity sector will play in the clean energy transition. We promoted the clean energy achievements of the U.S. electric power industry and our support for U.S. actions to decarbonize the economy. Such actions include the critical role of the electric utility industry in helping the U.S. meet its Nationally Determined Contribution of 50%–52% economywide GHG reductions by 2030.
(1) Edison Energy is not the same company as Southern California Edison, the utility, and Edison Energy is not regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission.
