BHP makes $400 million climate-change emissions pledge – by Barbara Lewis (Reuters U.S. – July 23, 2019)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Leading resources company BHP (BHP.AX)(BHPB.L) will invest $400 million over five years to reduce emissions, it said on Tuesday, becoming the first miner to pledge to tackle pollution caused when customers use its products.

BHP is the world’s biggest listed miner and biggest coking coal producer. Combined with iron ore, also mined by BHP, coking coal is used to make steel, producing millions of tonnes of CO2.

CEO Andrew Mackenzie said BHP would develop technology to curb emissions both inside and outside the company. From next year it will set a medium-term, science-based decarbonisation target, he said in a speech at an event organised by the Financial Times.

“We won’t stop at the mine gate. We will also increase our focus on Scope 3 emissions,” he said. Emissions are divided into categories. Scope 1 and 2 cover an organisation’s direct emissions and indirect emissions generated by power it buys to run its operations.

Scope 3 emissions occur when a company’s products are used, as in steelmaking. Oil major Shell (RDSa.L) has also pledged to address Scope 3 emissions, but many other resources companies have been reluctant to confront what is a huge problem.

For the rest of this article: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-bhp/bhp-to-invest-400-million-to-curb-climate-changing-emissions-idUSKCN1UI0UT