Miner expects industry associations to argue against coal subsidies
Rio Tinto has signalled it is prepared to quit its membership of
industry associations, including the Minerals Council, if it makes
public statements inconsistent with Australia’s Paris climate agreement commitment.
The company published a global statement on Thursday night setting out its expectations of the industry bodies it belongs to about commentary they make on climate policy.
It includes an expectation that Australian industry associations will publicly argue against government subsidies for coal.
The statement comes after more than a year of talks between Rio Tinto and the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility, a not-for-profit group that targets social, environmental and governance issues within large corporations.
For the past two years, its climate work has focused on the influence
of lobbying by industry associations, particularly in Australia, on
climate policy. It is one of a number of organisations gaining
shareholder support to push back on companies over global warming.The company published a global statement on Thursday night setting out its expectations of the industry bodies it belongs to about commentary they make on climate policy.
It includes an expectation that Australian industry associations will publicly argue against government subsidies for coal.
The statement comes after more than a year of talks between Rio Tinto and the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility, a not-for-profit group that targets social, environmental and governance issues within large corporations.
Rio Tinto’s statement said it would expect industry associations to make public commentary “consistent with our own public position and the Paris agreement”.
Industry bodies would need to take a “technology neutral” approach to public commentary on energy policy and recognise the contribution renewable technologies make to cutting emissions and “not undermine the role they have in the energy mix”.
The company also said it would expect associations to support government emissions targets to meet the Paris agreement.
The statement has an additional section directed at the Australian groups to which Rio Tinto belongs, which at its last disclosure in 2018 included the Minerals Council of Australia, the Business Council of Australia, the Queensland Resources Council and the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA.
It said any advocacy by those groups for the use of coal must “note that it will require advanced technology, and in the medium to long term must be consistent with Paris targets”.
It was prepared to review its financial contributions and membership of those associations if they failed to meet this standard or its expectation that they would not publicly advocate government subsidies for coal.
The executive director of the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility, Brynn O’Brien, said the announcement signalled a “noticeable deepening” of Rio Tinto’s commitment to align its advocacy through industry associations with its support for the Paris agreement.
“We commend Rio Tinto’s revised approach and the willingness they have shown to address lobby groups opposed to progressive action on climate change,” she said.
“There are serious rifts emerging between lobby groups which campaign vociferously against climate action, and their members.”
The centre has scrutinised political interventions on climate policy by industry lobby groups and had regular meetings with the companies they represent.
“We’ve undergone a process at regular intervals of putting evidence of these interventions up in front of the companies and saying to them: Is this in your company’s interests? Is this in your shareholders’ interests?,” O’Brien said.
At Rio Tinto’s annual general meeting in London on Wednesday, its chairman, Simon Thompson, pitched a sustainability plan to shareholders.
He was asked about the Minerals Council and specifically Coal21, a fund established to invest in low-emissions technologies for the coal industry.
“This is an industry association that represents mining companies in Australia of all complexions, including coalmining companies,” Thompson said.” In Australia, it has certainly been quite a controversial issue because a related part of that organisation, called Coal21, has been lobbying for coal, understandably because that’s what their members produce.
“The position from Rio Tinto’s point of view is very clear. In all of the industry associations that we are members of we will always advocate in line with the policy statement we put out on climate change.”
Guardian Australia sought additional comments from Rio Tinto and from the Minerals Council and the Business Council of Australia.
The Minerals Council directed Guardian to a comment from its chief executive, Tania Constable, which is included in the Rio Tinto statement.
“For some time now, we have been engaged in discussions with members, including Rio Tinto, on climate-related advocacy and support this latest commitment to partner and advocate for policies that advance climate goals in line with the Paris agreement and keeping a global temperature increase to below 2C,” she said.
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