Building on its members’ commitment to addressing climate change, The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) introduced its recently launched climate change program at the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Durban, South Africa. It is presented three new publications and hosted two on-site events that highlight the role of the mining industry in tackling the climate change challenge.
John Drexhage, Director, Climate Change, ICMM, says: “The UNFCCC COP17 meeting is an important event for ICMM. Introducing our climate change program to a wide international audience and to key stakeholders is vital for bringing progress to the global policy debate around climate change.”
He adds: “The mining and metals industry accounts for roughly 2% of greenhouse gas emissions globally. Our member companies recognise their responsibility to address climate change effectively
and to contribute to carbon emission reductions.”
The series of three publications share insights from the perspective of the mining and metals industry on three issues important to climate change policy formation. The material is available in PDF
format and can be downloaded from the ICMM website: http://www.icmm.com/library.
InBrief: Competiveness implications for mining and metals addresses the challenges the industry faces in responding to national carbon pricing policies.
InBrief: The role of mining and metals in land use and adaptation focuses on the role of mining and metals companies in sustainable land and water management.
InBrief: Measurement, reporting and verification and the mining and metal industry analyses the currently decentralised MRV system and likely future ‘patchwork’ of different national, regional and sub-sector specific rules that affect the mining and metals industry.
ICMM members have a strong record of pioneering sustainable mining practices and developing carbon-efficient technologies. Three examples of how ICMM members have taken action on tackling
climate change include:
Gold Fields’ innovative carbon credits scheme at its Beatrix mine has just been registered with the UNFCCC. The South African Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project will result in reduced emissions of 1.7 Mt CO2 by 2018. Carbon credit revenues enabled Gold Fields to extract methane gas at source, which the company is now looking to use to generate electricity.
Vale created the Vale Florestar project, where an area of over 300,000 ha of degraded land of the Brazilian Amazon is being reforested with 90,000 native and exotic trees. The sustainable development project will make significant social, economic and environmental contributions in the Amazon region.
Anglo American invested almost $US100 million in a water reclamation plant to treat underground water from its mining operations in the Witbank coalfield. The plant located in eMalahleni supplies 20% of the daily water for 400,000 inhabitants of this water-stressed area.