BHP AGM: shareholders back contested climate transition strategy
Shareholders of mining giant BHP have today voted at the firm’s AGM in Brisbane to back its climate transition strategy, despite a major shareholder pre-declaring opposition to the plan
Investors in BHP, the Australian multinational mining firm, have overwhelmingly supported the company’s new Climate Action Plan, with 91.11% voting in favour and 7.8% against.
The new plan outlines, among other goals, how BHP intends to tackle its Scope 3 emissions in iron ore and metallurgical coal, which account for 97% of its total emissions footprint. BHP has earmarked $75 million over the next five years to decarbonise its steel assets, a commitment the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) has criticised as insufficient.
“This limited relative investment is difficult to reconcile with the huge scale of the emissions and green transition risk challenge BHP faces, as the global shift to green steel is underway,” the ACCR said in a statement released ahead of the AGM.
BHP is also expected to rely heavily on blast furnace (BF-BOF) technology and carbon capture, which, according to the ACCR, overstates the potential for decarbonisation while underplaying the risks and high costs.
The group’s concerns were echoed by Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), one of BHP’s largest shareholders, which pre-declared its intention to oppose BHP’s Climate Transition Action Plan.
“The CTAP does not fully meet NBIM’s Climate Change Expectations on transition plans. We expect companies to implement time-bound and quantified transition plans designed to deliver on their interim emission reduction targets. We encourage BHP to provide further details on the decarbonisation levers it is pursuing to continue reducing emissions and reach its interim operational emissions reduction targets,” NBIM said in a statement.
Another key theme at the AGM was BHP’s planned acquisition of rival Anglo American, following a failed takeover offer earlier this year. A successful acquisition would have provided BHP access to mines sourcing a range of metals critical to the energy transition, including copper, nickel, and rare earth elements.
However, BHP’s chair, Ken MacKenzie, indicated at the AGM that the firm had “moved on” from the unsuccessful bid, suggesting that BHP would not entertain a fourth attempt to acquire its British counterpart.
