It’s not quite yet pistols at dawn but Rio Tinto’s polite warning to mining lobby groups that they have to acknowledge the threat of climate change is likely a sign that the industry will inevitably fracture into two camps.
The world’s second-biggest miner also said that mining lobby groups should argue against public subsidies for coal and advocate for energy supply to be done in a “technology neutral; way.” The Minerals Council of Australia has now changed its view to argue that “sustained global action is required to reduce the risks of human-induced climate change.”
The mining industry is starting to come under more intense pressure from investors who are demanding sustainable and ethical mining. Rio Tinto, with its focus on iron ore and copper, may be able to successfully re-brand itself as a green miner, given the key role of copper in electric systems and the need for steel in many renewable technologies.