A senior BHP executive has acknowledged that the company's push to reduce emissions has stalled, as Western Australian Premier Roger Cook emphasised that major miners have a moral obligation to decarbonise.
Decarbonisation Delays Acknowledged
Tim Day, head of BHP's Western Australia iron ore operations, admitted at the Australian Financial Review's mining summit that the company's decarbonisation program has been delayed. He attributed this to significant challenges in replacing diesel usage, the largest source of its emissions, due to slow progress in electric truck and rail technology. Day was unable to provide a firm timeline for transitioning away from diesel trucks, stating, "The timeframe will take what it takes to get the diesel replacement, but we see it, we're testing now, we'll keep going through it." He added, "But it is delayed ... we actually, we thought we'd be off diesel a little quicker, but that is delayed."
Leaked Documents Reveal Setbacks
An investigation based on documents leaked to the Guardian and ABC revealed that the world's largest miner has scaled back its decarbonisation efforts. The documents show BHP scrapped an iron ore processing plant that would have prevented 1.7 million tonnes of emissions annually, equivalent to removing 350,000 cars from the road. Additionally, the company has postponed large-scale renewable energy projects, purchased new diesel fleets, and considered delaying critical climate investments until 2035 or 2040. Internal memos acknowledged that slow decarbonisation could cause reputational damage and threaten BHP's net zero by 2050 goal, stating, "Urgent decarbonisation in line with BHP's public commitments effectively underpins [WA iron ore's] licence to operate, sustain and grow."
Concerns Over Australia's Climate Targets
Experts fear that BHP's delays could jeopardise Australia's national emissions reduction targets. The leaked documents have also raised questions about the effectiveness of the government's safeguard mechanism, which required BHP to pay less than $9 million for excess emissions last year. Meanwhile, BHP received $622 million in diesel tax concessions from the federal government, which critics argue creates an incentive to continue using highly polluting diesel haulage. Premier Cook declined to comment on whether the diesel fuel rebate should be changed, but noted that governments should create an environment that incentivises mining companies to decarbonise.
BHP's Global Emissions Progress
BHP has reduced its global emissions by 36%, largely due to renewable energy use in Chile and the closure of an uncompetitive nickel mine. However, internal documents indicate that its current plan to achieve net zero has a "low probability of success." Analysts point out that the company has done little to cut emissions from its Australian operations.
