BHP announces investment to attack climate change

BHP has announced a 5-year, US$400 million Climate Investment Program to develop technologies to reduce emissions from its own operations as well as those generated from the use of its resources.

“Over the next five years this program will scale up low-carbon technologies critical to the decarbonisation of our operations,” said BHP CEO Andrew Mackenzie. “It will drive investment in nature-based solutions and encourage further collective action on scope three emissions.

“Commercial success of these investments will breed ambition and create more innovative partnerships to respond collectively to the climate challenge.

“We must take a product stewardship role for emissions across our value chain and commit to work with shippers, processors and users of our products to reduce scope three emissions,” he added.

Other measures announced include:

• Establishing a new medium-term, science-based target for scope one and two emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. This is in addition to BHP’s short-term goal to cap 2022 emissions at 2017 levels, and long-term goal of net-zero emissions by mid-century.
• Developing a new climate portfolio analysis report in 2020, following on from BHP’s 2015 two degree scenario analysis. This new report will evaluate the potential impacts of a broader range of scenarios and a transition to a ‘well below’ two degree world.
• Strengthening the link between emissions performance and executive remuneration. From 2021, this link will be clarified to further reinforce the strategic importance and responsibility of reducing emissions as a business.
   

“We require a considered and orderly transition to a lower carbon world, in which resource companies like BHP have both critical expertise and a key role to play,” he concluded.

Top image: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Maksym Dragunov