Australia miners pen climate action plan

Mineral Council of Australia has published a climate action plan that supports the ongoing commitment by the Australian minerals industry to decarbonize the economy and further address climate change.

The plan outlines how the MCA and its members will act on climate change as part of the mining sector's collective commitment to the Paris Agreement and its goal of net zero emissions globally and in Australia.

"The minerals industry has already taken a strong proactive approach on research, development and deployment of technology applications across our businesses." said Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable.

The MCA climate action plan shows that Australia's mining sector has acknowledged the critical importance of technology in reducing emissions. The minerals industry, as well, is working with manufacturing and innovation partners to invent, develop and deploy new techniques and technologies.

"Major opportunities exist in pursuing decarbonization including through operational efficiencies, abatement, developing and deploying low emissions technologies including renewables, hydrogen, proven, safe and reliable carbon capture utilization and storage and advanced nuclear solutions, as well as digitization, automation and electrification," Constable said.

The action plan has two components – an enduring 10-point framework to support three core objectives and a comprehensive three-year rolling workplan with 30 activities.

The plan's three core objectives are:

• Enabling the potential of technology to decarbonize the minerals sector.

• Increasing transparency in reporting.

• Sharing of practical knowledge on climate responses.

More explicitly, the key themes are to support developing technology pathways to achieve significant reductions in Australia's greenhouse emissions, transparency on climate change related to reporting as well as informed advocacy and surveying solutions with experts to better determine viability in addressing climate change.

The 2020-2023 climate action plan furthers the minerals sector's public commitment to addressing climate change on an ongoing basis consistent with MCA's climate statement.

This plan will be reviewed annually, while simultaneously being publicly reported to ensure it remains consistent with Australia's climate policy ambitions in support of the Paris Agreement.

Furthermore, the MCA has recognized that the scale of a technology-led transformation will require both the minerals and raw materials provided by Australia's mining sector and sees abundant opportunities in lithium, cobalt and copper for use in transport infrastructure, communications and energy systems.

"The sector will play its part so that Australia's minerals can be sustainably mined, refined and consumed to support more sustainable economic growth and social progress in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the global climate goals of the Paris Agreement," Constable said.