Aglobal survey on the effects of climate change by pro- fessional audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG highlights a significant difference in opinion among senior mining executives on the issue of climate change and the effects that it will have on the industry.

The ‘KPMG Mining Industry Survey’ covered North America, the Asia Pacific region, Africa, the Middle East and South America.

Less than 20% of global mining sector players believe that climate change is a significant driver of new initiatives in their organisation, while almost 50% of the sector report that their organisations have not quantified the potential cost of climate change on their businesses, says KPMG director and head of mining Ian Kramer.

About 60% of respondents say that their organisations have not implemented structural changes to address climate change issues, while over 60% have not measured their carbon footprints and do not include climate change in dealings with suppliers and customers, he adds.

Some respondents feel that a cautious approach is best or question the effectiveness of implementing changes to tackle this issue outside existing structures, while others believe they are at an awareness-building stage and plan additional action for the future.

Smaller-sized organisations say making such core changes to address climate change is unsuitable, says Kramer.

The survey also makes a number of recommendations to the mining sector for the mitigation of and adaptation to climate change.
Among these are the need to make climate change a strategic and fully integrated part of corporate policies, new initiatives, acquisitions, supplier relationships and business models.

He explains that the development of strategies identifying and quantifying opportunities and risks related to climate change is recommended in conjunction with ongoing dialogue with stakeholders, suppliers and business partners.
There is an ongoing need to assess present and proposed legislation and its effect on the sector and individual organisations, concludes Kramer.