http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/bhp-billiton-distances-itself-from-mcas-position-on-climate-change/news-story/93edf33ba15ffec989b7724d6d3c07e3
BHP Billiton distances itself from MCA’s position on climate change
Matt Chambers
The Australian
6:21PM September 19, 2017
BHP Billiton has officially split from the Minerals Council of
Australia’s climate change position, with the big miner renewing calls
for a Clean Energy Target and stressing emissions-reduction is critical
to any solution to Australia’s power crisis.
The renewed call for a focus on clean energy, along with reliability and
affordability, comes as Malcolm Turnbull considers softening the focus
on carbon emissions in any proposed energy target to get it through a
hostile Coalition party room.
It came as BHP (BHP) today committed to publishing a list of material
differences in climate and energy policy between it and the industry
associations it belongs to, after pressure from a small group of
shareholders.
“We support a strong bias to action and we support the recommendations
included in the Finkel Review,” BHP’s Australian minerals operations
president Mike Henry told an Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce lunch
in Melbourne today.
“We need clear, stable, refreshed energy policy that enhances the
structure and operation of the market, while realising the emissions
reductions that are so important.”
BHP runs one of the nation’s biggest thermal coal export mines, Mt
Arthur in the Hunter Valley.
It is also one of the biggest consumers of power on the east coast grid
with a total bill of $300m to $350m a year, largely from the Olympic Dam
copper and gold mine in South Australia.
But it is not aligned with the Minerals Council’s stance that new
cleaner coal-fired plants should be built without carbon capture and
storage and that the focus of the power system should be mainly on
affordability and energy security.
Part of the problem for BHP, and Rio Tinto which has exited thermal
coal, is that they backed the merger of the Australian Coal Association
into the Minerals Council in 2013 to save costs.
This has increased the amount of pure coal companies in the MCA and
means it needs to represent their interests as well, despite BHP and Rio
providing the bulk of the MCA’s funding.
“We will make public, by December 31, a list of the material differences
between the positions we hold on climate and energy policy, and the
advocacy positions on climate and energy policy taken by industry
associations to which we belong,” BHP said yesterday in a note on its
website.
Mr Henry, who sits on the Minerals Council board, says it is important
that a “technology neutral” policy be implemented, as opposed to
renewable energy targets that dictate solar and wind power.
But he said emissions reduction is vital, and that coal-power technology
advances such as carbon capture and storage, were needed.
“We’ve played a role in advocating that in Australia and if that comes
off it will help to give coal-fired generation a lower emissions
footprint,” he said.
“Be it coal, be it gas, be it solar, all technologies should be
competing head for head on the basis of cost, emissions reduction and
reliability. That is advocated for in the Finkel report, which we support.”
The reason for BHP’s post on climate policy and industry associations
became clear this afternoon, when the miner revealed proposed AGM
resolutions requisitioned by the Australasian Centre For Corporate
Responsibility, backed by 0.0045 per cent of BHP shares on issue.
One resolution calls for BHP to review whether the industry groups it
belongs to have consistent climate positions with the company and for it
to leave bodies that don’t.
In its web post, BHP did not rule out leaving the Minerals Council,
saying it regularly reviewed membership of industry groups.
But Mr Henry indicated this was unlikely.
“Industry associations do a lot of good,” he said.
“They allow people in industry to come together and align around better
standards of operating ... and are a platform for people to discuss
issues. We should never try to drive toward one player dominating that
conversation and being the one who determines the view.”