BHP Group Ltd. is warning its carbon emissions will rise in the short-term, with rapid technological advances and industrial collaboration needed so the mining giant can reach its goal of net zero emissions by 2050.
The world’s biggest miner is on track to meet its 30% reduction in operational emissions by 2030, it said Wednesday. Still, it expects a “near-term increase in emissions from production growth” from current levels, Graham Winkelman, the group’s head of carbon management, said in an investor briefing.
The technology “must advance quickly from where it is now” and needs to include collaborations “with our vendors and industry,” BHP said in a presentation. The Melbourne-based company’s path to net zero would be “non-linear,” it added, with emissions rising before falling again by the end of the decade.
The major iron ore, coal and copper producer plans to reduce its operational (Scope 1 and 2) greenhouse gas emissions by at least 30% on 2020 figures by 2030, and reach net zero in those emissions by 2050. Those targets don’t include “Scope 3” emissions, including those from steelmakers and other customers when they use its products.
BHP’s targets are less ambitious than those of its peers. Rio Tinto Group, which is a bigger emitter, aims to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% by 2030, while Fortescue Metals Group is aiming to reach net zero by that year.
