BHP Group Ltd

NYSE:BHPUnited States

By Rhiannon Hoyle BHP Group isn't planning to use carbon offsets to meet its 2030 emissions goals, but hasn't ruled them out, company officials said Wednesday as they highlighted the challenges of eliminating emissions from its global mining operations. Like many of the world's largest companies, BHP has committed to slashing its emissions to address climate change. The metals and mining industry is responsible for roughly 15% of annual global emissions, according to research firm Wood Mackenzie, and big businesses are under pressure from some investors, customers and activists to find ways to make their operations pollute less. BHP is on track to reduce its operational greenhouse gas emissions by at least 30% by fiscal 2030 versus fiscal 2020, as targeted, the company's climate vice president Graham Winkelman told an investor briefing. The company intends to meet that goal without the use of offsets, he said. Yet there remains uncertainty in how quickly the miner can fulfill its ambitions in the medium and long term, in big part due to the pace of technological advancements, said Winkelman. The company expects to record a small rise in emissions this fiscal year due to increased production and activity levels. "Things may not work out exactly like we think" and the company always wants to "have the option to use voluntary offsets to meet the 2030 target" if required, he said. BHP isn't facing these challenges alone. Another big miner, Rio Tinto, said last year that it would miss a 2025 emissions goal unless it used carbon offsets, which Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm called a last resort. He blamed the slow deployment of clean energy. BHP expects it will need to use a "wedge" of offsets in the longer run as it works toward an aspirational goal of net zero operational greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, Winkelman said. The miner hasn't disclosed how big its need for carbon credits to offset emissions that are hard to reduce could turn out to be. "We have deliberately not set that disclosure publicly because we are still really seeking to understand that technology pathway" first, Winkelman said. BHP is working through a number of challenges, not least how it weans itself off of diesel it uses to run trucks, locomotives and excavators. The company uses roughly 1,850 megaliters of diesel annually in over 1,500 pieces of equipment, with almost half used in its truck fleets. Trials of some electric equipment at its Australian operations--which include huge iron-ore mines in the country's northwest--have fallen behind schedule versus what officials expected a year ago. Dan Heal, vice president of operational decarbonization, said delays aren't surprising given the complexity of developing new technology on such a large scale. "Despite this, we still anticipate our first battery-electric truck sites and locomotives to be in operation from late this decade--assuming our trials are successful," said Heal. A year ago, BHP said it expects to spend about $4 billion on decarbonization investments by fiscal 2030. The company didn't provide an updated figure at its investor briefing on Wednesday. Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 26, 2024 00:12 ET (04:12 GMT)

0318 GMT - The challenges in finding and mining copper deposits globally are putting "additional importance on ensuring we economically extract as much copper as possible from our current operations," Anna Wiley, the head of BHP's South Australia copper arm, tells an industry conference. "There are only so many copper resources remaining in the world," and those that are known are deeper, more remote and harder to extract, she says. BHP recently sought to buy copper-rich Anglo American, but was knocked back by its rival, reflecting the scramble for access to good quality copper resources. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

11:11 AM EDT, 06/11/2024 (MT Newswires) -- European equities traded in the US as American depositary receipts were trending sharply lower late Tuesday morning, falling 1.34% to 1,420.05 on the S&P Europe Select ADR Index. From continental Europe, th...

11:19 AM EDT, 06/07/2024 (MT Newswires) -- European equities traded in the US as American depositary receipts were heading lower late Friday morning, declining 0.49% to 1,445.71 on the S&P Europe Select ADR Index. Despite the decline, the index is s...