Fortescue unveils ‘high ambition’ climate transition plan to reach Real Zero at United Nations General Assembly

Fortescue has released a rigorous, externally reviewed climate transition plan that lays out how the Company plans to stop burning fossil fuels across its Australian iron ore operations by the end of the decade – and sets the bar for other companies to follow.

Fortescue Executive Chairman, Dr Andrew Forrest AO, today released the industry leading action plan, available here, days after a group of leading international scientists endorsed a statement calling on the world to move from Net Zero targets to Real Zero.

Dr Forrest unveiled the plan at a roundtable event hosted by UN Under-Secretary General Melissa Fleming in New York. The roundtable, which included business, philanthropic and NGO leaders, was held during High-Level week of the UN General Assembly.

The detailed timeline shows how Fortescue will eliminate Scope 1 and 2 emissions without voluntary carbon offsets and without carbon capture and storage – what is now known as “Real Zero”.

The climate transition plan was peer reviewed by Dr Benjamin Caldecott, the Director of the University of Oxford Sustainable Finance Group and a world expert in transition planning. In a foreword written for the plan, Dr Caldecott said climate transition planning and the disclosure of climate transition plans was “increasingly integral to corporate strategy design and execution”.

“Fortescue’s climate transition plan embodies the spirit of openness and transparency that is essential for meaningful progress,” Dr Caldecott writes.

“The plan is marked by high ambition and well-defined actions, underpinned by accountability mechanisms to ensure systematic delivery across the organisation.”

Fortescue’s climate transition plan details how Fortescue will eliminate fossil fuels from its Australian operations, including heavy mining equipment and rail, as well as the levers it will use and its priorities going forward.

The plan reiterates that Fortescue will continue to advocate for fossil fuel subsidies to be re-purposed by governments to level the playing field for first movers in decarbonisation and to incentivise others in the industry to transition more rapidly.

Fortescue remains committed to re-investing what it receives through Australia’s diesel fuel rebates, in addition to its own capital, to finance its decarbonisation program and its green energy transition.

While the plan is a requirement of Fortescue’s membership of the UN Race to Zero Coalition, the level of reporting goes beyond that required to be aligned with the framework laid out by the UK Government’s Transition Plan Taskforce.

It will be updated annually to ensure full transparency in Fortescue’s pursuit of its 2030 targets.

Dr Forrest said: “Net Zero 2050 is a con. The world needs Real Zero now. Fortescue can tell you when we’ll eliminate fossil fuels and show you exactly how. Every industrialist should match us.

“Our climate transition plan is a gold-standard example of the level of corporate ambition required to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels.

“Where other companies develop climate plans merely to meet regulatory requirements, Fortescue’s plan is solely focused on how we will eliminate fossil fuels by 2030 from our operations without voluntary carbon offsets.

“Companies that set emissions reductions targets must demonstrate how they will deliver them. Only when we hold ourselves accountable for our commitments do we earn our seat at the table.

“There is only one question that companies should be asking themselves – when will they stop burning fossil fuels?”