London/ BHP Group investors will cast their warm opinion on the mining company’s climate change roadmap on Thursday amid worries its long-term plans to combat greenhouse gas emissions from its customers are not going far enough.
BHP has said it aims to produce net zero emissions by 2050 for its clients, including the highly polluting steel industry.
But it has not been able to set a goal, mainly owing to uncertainty about how the technology would develop.
The miner is seeking a vote from investors to endorse its climate action plan at its annual meeting in London on Thursday but the response has been mixed.
Proxy advisers Glass Lewis and the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) had advised investors to vote against the plan, with the first indication being that the firm was being insufficiently precise in disclosing client issues.
LAPFF said it was not in compliance with the Intergovernmental Convention on Climate Change adopted in Paris in 2015 “and appears to rely too heavily on carbon capture and offsetting as a means of carbon reduction”
But she praised the actions of BHP to cut carbon emissions.
“It is important that all of our shareholders have an opportunity to engage with us on our climate strategy and actions, and this advisory vote is intended to provide a forum for discussion and feedback on the plan,” Chairman Ken MacKenzie told the annual general meeting in London by videolink.
