BHP delays climate projects, continues diesel use despite net-zero pledges
Consensus Summary
Leaked internal documents from BHP reveal the company has systematically delayed or abandoned key climate projects in its Western Australian iron ore operations, despite public commitments to net-zero emissions by 2050. Projects including a 50MW solar and battery project at Jimblebar, a 150MW solar and 180MW wind project, and an iron ore beneficiation plant that could have cut 1.7 million tonnes of annual emissions were either shelved or postponed until at least 2031. BHP also continued purchasing diesel trucks, locking in emissions until the late 2030s or beyond, despite internal acknowledgments that this was 'inconsistent with its pathway to net zero.' The company’s WA iron ore operations, which account for 30% of its global emissions, are forecast to reduce emissions by only 1% by 2030, raising doubts about its ability to meet its 2050 target. BHP attributes delays to technological limitations, but internal documents show it has war-gamed options to push back electrification until 2035 or 2040. The company also received $622 million in diesel fuel tax credits in 2025, undermining incentives to shift to renewable energy. While BHP claims its global emissions have fallen 36% since 2020, much of this progress comes from its Chilean copper mines, not its high-emission Pilbara operations. Critics argue BHP’s actions risk Australia’s national emissions targets and its reputation as a climate leader, particularly as competitors like Fortescue Metals Group move ahead with electrification plans.
✓ Verified by 2+ sources
Key details reported by multiple sources:
- BHP shelved a 50MW solar and 20MW battery project at Jimblebar mine after board approval in mid-2023, delaying it until at least 2031
- BHP cancelled plans for an iron ore beneficiation plant at Jimblebar that would have cut 1.7 million tonnes of emissions annually (equivalent to removing 350,000 cars)
- BHP purchased 62 new diesel trucks for Jimblebar in 2023, locking in diesel use until at least the late 2030s (potentially to 2041)
- BHP’s WA iron ore operations account for 30% of its global emissions and 37% of its Australian emissions, with diesel trucks responsible for 75% of emissions in the Pilbara
- BHP received $622 million in diesel fuel tax credits from the federal government in 2025, including $379 million for WA iron ore operations
- BHP’s global emissions have fallen 36% since 2020, but its WA iron ore operations are forecast to reduce emissions by only 1% by 2030
- BHP’s internal documents acknowledge that delaying decarbonisation in the Pilbara poses a 'reputational risk' and that 'urgent decarbonisation... underpins [WA iron ore’s] licence to operate'
- BHP’s 2024 Climate Transition Action Plan was approved by 92% of shareholders, but internal documents from 2025 show the company now considers its decarbonisation plan to have a 'low probability of success'
- BHP is trialling two 240-tonne battery-electric haul trucks in the Pilbara but claims the technology is 'not advanced enough to scale to an operational fleet'
- Fortescue Metals Group has ordered 360 battery-electric haul trucks and plans to fully decarbonise its Pilbara operations by 2030, unlike BHP
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- WA Premier Roger Cook stated that big miners have a 'moral obligation' to decarbonise, linking it to their 'social licence to operate'
- BHP’s incoming CEO Brandon Craig emphasized 'economic discipline' in pursuing climate commitments, suggesting a shift in priority
- BHP’s scope-three emissions (from steelmaking using its ore) increased by 7% since 2020, despite a 36% reduction in scope-one and two emissions
- BHP’s cumulative emissions since 1880 exceed 11 billion tonnes of CO2, making it the 10th-largest corporate emitter among private investors
- BHP’s internal memo from August 2025 stated the 150MW solar and 180MW wind project 'will not progress in its current form'
- BHP’s 2025 annual report flagged a 'dramatic slowdown' in its shift away from diesel trucking, citing 'low technology readiness'
- BHP’s 2024 climate plan referenced WA Iron Ore as the 'first operated asset to progressively roll-out electric haul trucks and excavators towards the end of the 2020s'
- BHP’s 2022 plan for Jimblebar fleet refurbishment warned that buying new diesel trucks in the mid-2020s would be 'misaligned with BHP’s climate change strategy'
- BHP’s internal documents show it considered delaying electrification of trucks and trains until 2035 or 2040, or taking no action at all
- BHP’s 2025 internal memo linked the diesel fuel rebate to its financial value, warning that 'material changes in diesel prices' could risk its operations
- BHP’s internal documents from 2022 identified the Pilbara mines as accounting for 25% of BHP’s total operational emissions globally, with 75% of those emissions from diesel
- BHP’s internal memo from May 2025 stated 'the urgency to source renewables generation and storage services by 2030 has diminished'
- BHP’s internal documents show a 'Coalition of the Willing' group within the company worked on decarbonisation plans but faced pushback after Donald Trump’s return to the White House
- BHP’s internal memo from 2023 warned that sticking with diesel trucks at Jimblebar was 'inconsistent with the trajectory for greenhouse gas abatement and pathways to net zero'
- BHP’s internal documents show it war-gamed options to delay major climate investments in the Pilbara into the 2040s
- BHP’s internal memo from 2025 stated that delaying climate action into the 2040s 'risks achieving 2050 goal'
- BHP’s internal documents show it linked the diesel fuel rebate to its decarbonisation plans, stating that 'the removal of the diesel fuel rebate would provide a strong incentive to decarbonise'
- BHP’s internal documents show it expected no 'material increases in carbon prices' under the Safeguard Mechanism until the 2040 financial year
- BHP’s internal documents show it received $379 million in diesel fuel tax credits specifically for its WA iron ore mines in 2025
- BHP’s internal documents show it considered the Jimblebar beneficiation plant 'not well placed to compete' for funding with other projects that increased iron ore shipments
Where the reporting differs
Details that conflict, or appear in only some outlets:
- The Guardian states BHP’s internal documents show it considered electric trucks operational by 2029 at the Ministers North mine, but BHP’s public statement claims the technology is 'not advanced enough to scale to an operational fleet'
- ABC reports BHP’s internal documents show it expected a 1% reduction in WA iron ore emissions by 2030, while BHP’s public statement claims it is on track to meet its 30% global emissions reduction target by 2030
- Guardian states BHP’s internal memo from 2025 acknowledged the 'low probability of success' for its decarbonisation plan, but BHP’s public statement claims it is 'focused on delivering its operational emissions target and long-term net zero goal'
- ABC reports BHP’s internal documents show it linked the diesel fuel rebate to its financial value, but BHP’s public statement does not acknowledge this connection
- Guardian states BHP’s internal documents show it considered delaying electrification until 2035 or 2040, but BHP’s public statement claims it is 'testing' electric trucks and expects deployment in the late 2020s
Source Articles
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