PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diversified miner South32 has set a new goal of net-zero Scope 3 emissions by 2050, as part of its Climate Change Action Plan, and has vowed not to develop or invest in any greenfield metallurgical coal projects.

Released on Friday, the Action Plan sets out the miner’s approach, actions and progress to date in meeting its climate change targets.

“Our Climate Change Action Plan outlines the actions we are taking to address specific risks and opportunities that climate change presents for our business,” said CEO Graham Kerr in a statement.

“Delivering on our climate change commitment is fundamental to our purpose and our plan describes how we are working in collaboration with our stakeholders to prepare our business for the global energy transition, meet our climate change commitments and achieve a just transition for our people, our business and our communities.

“We understand the need for action on climate change and we are responding by addressing our biggest challenges. We will continue to regularly review our approach to climate change and we are committed to transparently reporting our progress,” said Kerr.

South32’s approach to climate change is focused on reshaping its portfolio to the base metals critical for the transition to low-carbon energy, while also decarbonising its own operation, with particular focus on the four operations within its portfolio which account for the majority of its emissions.

The miner is also working to respond to the potential physical impacts of climate change on its business, and working with others to innovate and address shared challenges across the industry and to decarbonise the value chain.

“Within 12 months of South32 being established, we committed to supporting the objectives of the Paris Agreement and set a long-term goal to achieve net-zero operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. In 2022, we set a medium-term target to halve our operational GHG emissions by 2032, from our 2021 baseline,” the miner said on Friday.

It noted that over the past seven years, the company’s portfolio had undergone a major transformation to focus on critical metals, and part of its strategy was to identify opportunities to sustainably reshape its business for the future.

During the 2022 financial year, South32 added copper to its portfolio with the acquisition of a 45% interest in the Sierra Gorda copper mine, in Chile, and also invested to double its share of aluminium production by participating in the restart of the Brazil aluminium smelter and increasing its shareholding in Mozal Aluminium, in Mozambique.

“We continue to explore options to produce high-quality, battery-grade raw materials, supporting energy storage,” the company told shareholders.

“We believe metallurgical coal will be required in the steelmaking process for at least the next two decades, until low-carbon steelmaking becomes economically viable on a commercial scale - included in the plan is a new commitment that we will not develop, or invest in greenfield metallurgical coal projects.”

The miner said that decarbonising its operations was fundamental to the delivery of its strategy, and that its operational decarbonising strategy would consist of three steps; efficiency initiatives in the near-term, transition to lower-carbon energy in the medium-term, and technology solutions in the longer term.

“Four of our operations, Hillside aluminium, Worsley alumina, Illawarra metallurgical coal and Mozal Aluminium, account for 93% of our Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions. As Hillside aluminium and Worsley alumina utilise energy sources that are dependent on fossil fuels, including energy coal, their decarbonisation is largely tied to a transition to lower-carbon energy.

“We continue to work closely with governments and other stakeholders to transition to lower-carbon energy alternatives at these operations and have established a framework to integrate just transition planning into our decarbonisation planning and decision-making to support a fair and equitable transition for our people, communities and other stakeholders,” South32 said.