[ad_1]
Rio Tinto said it was ready to resign from its professional badociations, including the Minerals Council, if it made public statements contrary to Australia's commitment under the Paris Climate Agreement .
The company released a press release on Thursday night outlining its expectations of the sector organizations it belongs to about their comments on climate policy.
This implies that Australian industry badociations will publicly oppose government subsidies for coal.
This statement comes after more than a year of discussions between Rio Tinto and the Australasian Center for Corporate Responsibility, a non-profit group that tackles social, environmental and governance issues within large corporations. companies.
Over the past two years, his work on climate has focused on the influence of lobbying industry badociations, particularly in Australia, on climate policy. It's one of the many organizations that get shareholder support to push companies away from global warming.
The center withdrew a shareholder resolution last month after negotiating the statement with Rio Tinto.
Rio Tinto's statement said it would expect industry badociations to publish a comment "in keeping with our public position and the Paris Agreement".
Industry organizations should take a "technology neutral" approach to public comment on energy policy and recognize the contribution of renewable technologies to reducing emissions and "not undermining their role in the energy mix".
The company also said it expects the badociations to support the government's emissions targets to meet the Paris agreement.
The statement includes an additional section for Australian groups owned by Rio Tinto, which, when it was last disclosed in 2018, included the Minerals Council of Australia, the Business Council of Australia, the Queensland Resources Council, and the Chamber of Minerals and Energy. WA. .
He added that any advocacy by these groups in favor of the use of coal must "indicate that this will require advanced technology and that, in the medium and long term, it must be compatible with the Paris objectives".
It was willing to review its financial contributions and membership in these badociations if they did not meet this standard or expected that they would not publicly advocate government subsidies for coal.
The Executive Director of the Australasian Center for Corporate Responsibility, Brynn O'Brien, said the announcement heralded a "significant deepening" of Rio Tinto's determination to align its advocacy activities with professional badociations over the Rio Tinto agreement. Paris.
"We welcome Rio Tinto's revised approach and its willingness to address pressure groups opposed to progressive action against climate change," she said.
"There are serious differences between the lobbies that aggressively campaign against climate action and their members."
The center has closely examined climate policy interventions by industry lobbies and held regular meetings with the companies they represent.
"We followed a process at regular intervals to present evidence of these interventions to companies and tell them: is it in the interest of your business? Is it in the interest of your shareholders? "Said O'Brien.
At the Rio Tinto annual general meeting in London on Wednesday, its chairman, Simon Thompson, presented a sustainable development plan to shareholders.
He was asked about the Minerals Council and more specifically Coal21, a fund created to invest in low-carbon technologies for the coal industry.
"It's an industry badociation that represents Australian mining companies from all walks of life, including coal companies," Thompson said. "In Australia, the issue has certainly been quite controversial, because a party related to this organization, Coal21, has lobbied for coal, that's understandable because it's what their members produce.
"The position from Rio Tinto's point of view is very clear. In all the industry badociations of which we are members, we will always defend in accordance with the policy statement we have published on climate change. "
Guardian Australia sought additional comments from Rio Tinto, the Minerals Council and the Business Council of Australia.
The Mineral Council ordered Guardian to comment on its director general, Tania Constable, who appears in the Rio Tinto statement.
"For some time we have been discussing with our members, including Rio Tinto, about climate-related advocacy and support the latest commitment as a partner and advocate for policies that advance climate goals in accordance with the agreement. of Paris and maintaining the world temperature. increase below 2 ° C, "she said.
Source link
