BHP has announced its participation in the CEO Climate Dialogue, a broad-based coalition committed to advocating for climate action in the U.S. The group consists of 27 leading businesses and institutions representing sectors across the U.S. economy — oil and gas, utilities, natural resources, agriculture and food, automotive, chemicals, manufacturing, financial services, and environmental advocacy. The goal of the group is to urge the President and U.S. Congress to enact long-term federal policy as soon as possible, in accordance with a set of six Guiding Principles for climate legislation.
Geraldine Slattery, President Operations Petroleum, said: “BHP has been taking action on climate change for decades and we have set goals to drive action not just in our business, but to support key sectors in our value chain. We fundamentally believe that a successful energy transition to a lower carbon world will require unprecedented collaboration between private industry, national governments and society at large. BHP’s participation in the CEO Climate Dialogue reflects this approach and I’m honored to be part of this work to advance market-based solutions in the U.S. to reduce emissions.”
The CEO Climate Dialogue’s Guiding Principles include support for market-based solutions such as an economy-wide price on carbon in the U.S. The coalition says, “Carbon pricing is a crucial complement to needed investments in grid infrastructure, decarbonized transportation infrastructure, and research, development & demonstration projects for clean energy technologies – all critical to meeting U.S. climate goals and building the low-carbon economy of tomorrow.”
Fiona Wild, Vice President of Sustainability and Climate Change, said: “At BHP, we believe an effective policy framework should include a complementary set of measures, including a globally consistent price on carbon. We need to work together to enact sustainable climate solutions and cross-sector collaboration like the CEO Climate Dialogue and drive better outcomes.”
BHP’s approach to addressing climate risks focuses on reducing our operational greenhouse gas emissions; supporting emissions reductions in our value chain; partnering to accelerate the transition to a low carbon future; investing in low emissions technologies; promoting product stewardship; identifying signposts for climate-related risk and opportunity through our portfolio analysis; and working with others to enhance the global policy and market response. In 2017, BHP established its long-term goal of achieving net zero operational (Scope 1 and 2) greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and its short-term target of maintaining FY2022 operational emissions at or below FY2017 levels while we continue to grow our business1. In 2020, we announced our medium-term target to reduce operational emissions by at least 30 per cent from FY2020 levels by FY20301.
