PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diversified major BHP will spend $400-million, over a five-year period, on a climate investment programme to develop technologies to reduce emissions from mining operations.

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

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

Mackenzie on Tuesday also unveiled a number of other measures that would assist BHP achieve its long-term goal of net zero emissions from its own operations.

These measures include the establishment of 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.

“And we won’t stop at the mine gate we will also increase our focus on Scope 3 emissions. These emissions are generated as customers transport, transform and use our products to serve the needs of billions of people and they are almost forty times higher than the emissions from our own operations.

“We will still push for efficient use of all our products as part of our overall decarbonisation strategy and plans. For that we must take a product stewardship role for all emissions across our value chain and commit to work with shippers, processors and users of our products to reduce scope three emissions,” Mackenzie said.

BHP will also be developing a new climate portfolio analysis report in 2020, following on from its 2015 2 °C scenario analysis. The new report will evaluate the potential impacts of a broader range of scenarios and a transition to a ‘well below’ 2 °C world.

The miner was also looking to strengthen the link between emissions performance and executive remuneration, with Mackenzie saying that 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.”