Fortescue commits to no voluntary offsets at UNGA as it ramps up industry leading decarbonisation plan

During Climate Week at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Fortescue will announce that from this financial year onwards it will no longer buy carbon offsets.

All funds allocated to carbon offsets will be diverted to Fortescue’s decarbonisation plan to achieve Real Zero by 2030, the equivalent of more than several hundred million dollars in FY24.

12 months ago Fortescue announced its costed Real Zero target at UNGA in New York, and since then, the Company has achieved several key milestones towards eliminating terrestrial Scope 1 and 2 emissions from its Australian iron ore operations by 2030.

At the launch of Fortescue’s Break Up from Fossil Fuels campaign at UNHQ, Metals CEO Dino Otranto said: “While Real Zero by 2030 is our long-term Scope 1 and 2 target, our short-term target is for our emissions to reach their peak by 2025/26 because of a new mine coming on board and then to significantly decline in 2027/28 as all of the green technology and renewable energy that we are investing in right now kicks in – achieving zero emissions by 2030.

“We are the only heavy emitter in the world to stop purchasing voluntary offsets. We will focus our efforts on eliminating the million litres of diesel we use per year, rather than offsetting them.

“Our first battery electric haul truck is now on site as we prepare to replace our fleet with zero emission trucks and equipment with battery electric and green hydrogen models. We are also ramping up our renewable power on site to replace fossil fuel power with renewable electricity.”

Fortescue Energy CEO, Mark Hutchinson, said, “In recent months, we have all seen the harrowing images of extreme weather happening on every continent, and heat records being broken on an almost daily basis.

“The world is changing faster than we are, but Fortescue isn’t in that boat. Our decision to lead during the climate crisis reflects our commitment to our shareholders.

“For years we have been saying that voluntary offsets don’t work – they just pass the buck. We are here at UNGA as a heavy emitter that is saying no to a future of fossil fuels and yes to a better future for our company.”

Decarbonisation milestones achieved to date include:

• Fortescue’s first battery electric haul truck prototype arriving and testing at its Pilbara operations. A green hydrogen fuel cell version is being prepared for similar testing later this year.
• Delivery of an Offboard Power Unit to site, which is designed to power equipment such as the Liebherr Electric Excavator.
• The 3MW prototype fast charger (to charge the battery electric haul truck) delivered to continue commissioning and site-based testing.
• The start of field testing of our dual-fuelled prototype ammonia-powered locomotive at Solomon. Commissioning is underway in readiness for mainline trials in FY24.
• Continued development of our world-first Infinity Train that will use gravitational energy to recharge its battery electric systems.
• The continued modification of a four-stroke diesel ship engine to have the capacity to be dual-fuel powered by green ammonia. Later this year, it will undergo its first sea trials onboard the 75-metre Green Pioneer and is set to complete final testing in coming months.

During FY24 and FY25 we will:

• Complete our first 100MW solar farm.
• Commence construction of two 220kV additional transmission lines (total 243km of lines; which, when complete, will connect all our mines into an integrated electricity network.
• Achieve final investment decision on an additional 3 solar farms, representing a commitment to construct an additional > 1GW of solar capacity.
• Achieve FID on our large-scale wind farm.
• Invest an additional several hundred million into design and development of zero emissions solutions required for our decarbonisation.  This includes:

• Our battery electric and green hydrogen haul truck fleet.
• Development of a zero-emissions rail solution to transport iron ore from our mine sites to port.
• Deliver our first electric excavators to commence operational use on site.
• Achieve Final Investment Decision on the electrical distribution and charging infrastructure for our first two green mine sites and port operations. 
  

We are focussed on decarbonising our operations, creating new opportunities in green iron and green steel and building a green energy and green hydrogen business globally to replace fossil fuels.