BHP and Rio Tinto among Australian heavy industry calling for urgent action on cutting emissions

A joint statement signed by 17 members of the Australian Industry Energy Transitions Initiative (ETI) follows their support for a report in February that found they could cut direct emissions in their supply chains by more than 90% by 2050 without relying heavily on carbon offsets.

But the goals of the ETI statement appear at odds with the plans of some of the companies that have backed it. Woodside wants to open several large gas and oil fields in Australia and overseas. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last month again reported that existing fossil fuel infrastructure across the globe was enough to push the world beyond 1.5C heating and towards the more dangerous climate change that would involve.

Several manufacturing companies released statements on Monday praising the government for adjusting the safeguard in response to their concerns. The changes included reducing the rate at which some non-fossil fuel businesses would have to cut emissions intensity to just 1% a year, and lifting public support for manufacturing industries from $600m to $1bn.

The safeguard mechanism is not a tax. It requires companies to take steps to reduce emissions, but does not involve the government collecting revenue.