The BHP files reveal a big problem facing the mining giant
Key takeaways
- On Friday, BHP took out ads in major Australian newspapers touting that it is on track to meet its global 2030 emissions reduction target.
- But digging up those metals is still a dirty business.
- The diesel problem is acute in Western Australia's Pilbara, home to BHP's lucrative iron ore business, and everyone in the company knows it.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
On Friday, BHP took out ads in major Australian newspapers touting that it is on track to meet its global 2030 emissions reduction target. (Four Corners: Nick Wiggins)
Link copied Share Share article BHP is rightly sensitive about its reputation as a corporate leader on climate change. Its outgoing chief executive, Mike Henry, did an excellent job positioning BHP as the global miner digging up the metals needed to power the clean energy transition.
But digging up those metals is still a dirty business. At BHP's mine sites, massive diesel haul trucks and heavy locomotives pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere at alarming levels. What documents, leaked exclusively to the ABC and Guardian Australia, tell us is that the big miner has yet to come to grips with this big problem, despite telling shareholders it was doing just that.