Further information can be found under www.volkswagenag.com/de/sustainability.html “The climate crisis is the greatest challenge of our time,” says Herbert Diess, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Volkswagen Group. Volkswagen was the first automaker to commit to the Paris Climate Agreement in 2018. By 2050, the company aims for a co₂ neutral balance sheet. This report explains Volkswagen`s efforts in many areas to protect the climate: in its products, in production and with its partners. Earlier this year, the Volkswagen Group pledged to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, the 200-nation agreement that aims to limit global warming to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit by reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants. This is not an easy task, as most studies show that the Earth has already warmed by half in recent decades. Achieving this goal requires the widespread adoption of electric vehicles other than exhaust outlets, which are not only accessible to wealthy buyers. Visionary Bill Gates writes in his new book “How to Avoid a Climate Catastrophe: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need” about the steps needed to ensure the planet`s survival. Solving the climate problem by 2050 at the latest is essential for this. Volkswagen is also committed to meeting the Paris climate targets and wants to be CO₂ neutral by 2050. Here, CEO Herbert Diess explains what steps the company is taking to achieve this. “With the conversion of the electricity grid to CO2-free renewables,” says Fischer, “we believe the benefits of electric vehicles will continue to grow. This corresponds to the annual CO2 emissions of around 870,000 vehicles currently and corresponds to a reduction of almost 60% compared to previous emissions from the power plants at the Wolfsburg site.

The upgrade will reduce CO2 emissions at Volkswagen AG`s production sites (Braunschweig, Emden, Hannover, Kassel, Salzgitter, Wolfsburg) by around 50% and by around 15% for the Group`s production sites worldwide. Water consumption, waste generation and other emissions are also significantly reduced – by around 50% on average. By 2025, CO2 emissions from all power plants must be halved compared to 2010. Audi`s production sites in Brussels are already completely CO2 neutral. . Simone Miller, spokesperson for Greenpeace Germany, +49171-8706647, [email protected] “The environmental benefit of electric cars has increased significantly” Interview with Nicolas Koch (MCC) and Christian Bauer (PSI) Greenpeace Germany is appearing today, 3 September 2021, with the German Environmental Aid (DUH) at the federal press conference in Berlin. In addition, the DUH today initiated proceedings against the other two major German car manufacturers, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, and called for a climate strategy that meets the objectives of the Paris Agreement. The DUH also announced a lawsuit against oil and gas group Wintershall Dea. Volkswagen Group strengthens its market position in 2020 and takes off on the e-offensive. CEO Herbert Diess also advocates for better policy framework conditions for climate protection, such as an accelerated energy transition and appropriate pricing of climate-damaging emissions.

“A sectoral and European CO2 price directs resources and activities where the most quickly is achieved. This reduces regulatory burden and accelerates change,” says Diess. Volkswagen commits to improving working conditions in artisanal cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo Volkswagen orders a green battery logistics system for ID.3 and ID.4 The Volkswagen Group determines the CO2 balance over the entire life cycle of a vehicle. To this end, Volkswagen has adopted a comprehensive Group-wide decarbonisation programme with the aim of reducing CO2 emissions over the entire life cycle by 30% by 2025 compared to 2015 and transforming the company into a CO2-neutral company by 2050. The different brands have developed corresponding roadmaps for this purpose, which contain comprehensive decarbonisation measures. The pillars of the decarbonisation agenda are the reduction, conversion and offsetting of unavoidable emissions. Volkswagen can use Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) to capture hot spots in the value chain. This quantifies the CO2 emissions that occur in the supply chain, in-house production, the use phase and recycling.

Hotspot analysis identifies areas that have a large share of the CO2 footprint or a large potential for CO2 savings. Zwickau plan: Since 4 November 2019, the ID.31 has been off the assembly line at volkswagen`s Saxony plant. The plant will be converted into the largest, most efficient and environmentally friendly electric car production plant in Europe. One of the focal points will be the reduction of CO2 emissions. This is achieved, among other things, by the green electricity consumption of Volkswagen Kraftwerk GmbH. This company offers pure natural electricity from hydroelectric power plants, wind farms and solar farms. This alone reduces CO2 emissions by 106,000 tonnes per year. We must not and will not miss an opportunity to further improve the efficiency of our resources and to promote approaches to the reuse and recycling of materials, energy and water. As a first step, the Volkswagen Group will support climate protection projects in the fields of forestry and renewable energy.

For example, the Volkswagen Group is financially involved in the world`s largest forestry project to offset global CO2 emissions, the Kantigan Mentaya project in Indonesia. The project is located in central Kalimantan on the island of Borneo and secures a 149,800-hectare forest on carbon-rich peat soils from deforestation and conversion into economically used planting areas. These zones extract CO2 from the atmosphere, sequester the carbon it contains and produce oxygen. In particular, the peat sponge, which is widespread in this region, retains an above-average amount of carbon. As part of the “Drive Bigger” brand orientation, Volkswagen of America intends to accept this challenge as our vocation for the years to come. By building a future that will help solve the problem, we plan to drive a major change in U.S. transportation, just like we did with the original Beetle. The Volkswagen Group has launched the largest e-offensive in the automotive industry. Over the next few years, around 70 electric models will be launched on the market throughout the Group.

By 2030 at the latest, all brands will have electrified their entire portfolio. Each of the approximately 300 models will then be available in at least one fully electric and hybrid version. To do this, the Volkswagen Group is investing heavily in the mobility of the future: more than €30 billion is to be invested by the end of 2022. Over the next few years, joint ventures in China will invest an additional €15 billion. Electric cars are built at eight sites in Europe, China and the United States. The e-strategy is based on the Modular Electric Drive Toolkit (MEB), a technology platform specifically developed for electric vehicles. In its letter to Volkswagen, which preceded the court submission, Greenpeace Germany claims that the company`s current and planned measures violate Paris` climate goals, fuel the climate crisis and thus violate applicable law. In addition to the need to quickly eliminate the internal combustion engine to stay below 1.5°C, Volkswagen continues to sell millions of climate-damaging diesel and petrol cars, resulting in a carbon footprint almost equal to Australia`s total annual emissions and helping to increase extreme weather events, according to a study by Greenpeace Germany. Roda Verheyen, lawyer for the plaintiffs: “Anyone who delays climate protection harms others and therefore behaves illegally. This is clearly shown by the decision of the Constitutional Court, and it also and above all applies to the German automotive industry with its gigantic global CO2 footprint.

Obviously, this is not a game. Civil law can and should help us prevent the worst effects of climate change by ordering companies to stop issuing – otherwise they endanger our lives and deprive our children and grandchildren of the right to a secure future. The Volkswagen Group is focused on greater energy efficiency and reduced emissions in its plants. Specifically, by 2025, 45% less CO2 per vehicle must be produced and 45% less energy must be consumed than in 2010. The 45% target also applies to waste and wastewater as part of the holistic environmental mission statement “goTOzero”. .