ESG WEEKLY : Europe electrification acceleration

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ESG WEEKLY : Europe electrification acceleration

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1. UTILITIES & CLEAN ENERGY: Bullish on EU Utilities through summer

Our European Utilities & Clean Energy team published their summer outlook, reiterating

their bullish stance on EU utilities (R-S-N-G at a Reasonable Price: EU Utilities

Summer Outlook). The team believe the Iran conflict will accelerate the pace of

electrification in Europe, and expect this to further reinforce investment in renewables,

storage, nuclear and grids (or R-S-N-G). They note a recent surge in consumer uptake

of EVs and heat pumps in response to the spike in fossil fuel prices, and on top of this

think AccelerateEU will help to further accelerate electrification and renewables

deployment (see our flashnote on AccelerateEU). Their top picks for the summer are

EDP/R (+), Engie (+) and SSE (+). Our sector team’s thoughts align with

BloombergNEF’s New Energy Outlook 2026, which argues that repeated energy market

shocks could support the energy transition as countries seek to strengthen their energy

security (report).

2. CLIMATE: SBTi announces strategy pivot

The Science‑Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has published an updated 2026‑2030

strategy, which it says shifts the organization from a pure ambition‑setter to a

transformation partner for corporations (SBTi strategy). In terms of target-setting, this

includes what it describes as moving from a generalized approach to “action-focused

standards and tailored pathways across sectors and geographies, aligned with what

companies can influence”. Interestingly, the new strategy also clarifies that targets are

set on a ‘best efforts’ basis, particularly for Scope 3 emissions. We see this shift as trying

to retain credibility at a time when more companies and investors are recognising that