Sydney, June 18, 2007 AEST (ABN Newswire) - In its revised Climate Change Policy, BHP Billiton said it believed accelerated action was required to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at levels guided by the research of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The policy states that BHP Billiton "will take action within our own businesses and work with governments, industry and other stakeholders to address this global challenge and find lasting solutions consistent with our goal of zero harm".
The four action areas identified in the policy are:
Understanding emissions from the full life-cycle of our products.
Improving the management of energy and greenhouse gas emissions across our businesses.
Committing US$300 million over the next five years to support low emissions technology development, internal energy excellence projects and encourage emissions abatement by our employees and our local communities.
Using our technical capacity and our experience to assist governments and other stakeholders on the design of effective and equitable climate change policies including market-based mechanisms such as emissions trading.
Chief Executive Officer, Chip Goodyear, said BHP Billiton acknowledged that the risks of climate change associated with increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere must be addressed.
"BHP Billiton has recognised that our company, as well as society generally, must make real behavioural changes and accelerate technological progress if we are to achieve a meaningful reduction in energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.
"Our policy is about trying to play our part as best we can and encouraging those we work with to do the same," he said.
The policy includes new targets to reduce the energy and greenhouse intensity of our products by a further 13 per cent and 6 per cent respectively by 2012. It builds on our previous achievements, which include a 12 per cent improvement in our greenhouse intensity over the period 1996 - 2000.
"We are on track to exceed our current target of a further 5 per cent improvement by the end of this financial year. We have also contributed significantly to research and development in clean coal technologies, including geosequestration, and have implemented several related programs across the business," Mr Goodyear said.
"As a leader in the natural resources industry we have an important role in meeting the world's growing energy and resources needs. At the same time, we have an equally important role in minimising the impact of our activities on the global environment and supporting our customers' efforts to do the same", he said.
Contact
Australia
Samantha Evans, Media Relations
Tel: +61 3 9609 2898 Mobile: +61 400 693 915
email: Samantha.Evans@bhpbilliton.com
Jane Belcher, Investor Relations
Tel: +61 3 9609 3952 Mobile: +61 417 031 653
email: Jane.H.Belcher@bhpbilliton.com
United Kingdom
Mark Lidiard, Investor & Media Relations
Tel: +44 20 7802 4156 Mobile: +44 7769 934 942
email: Mark.Lidiard@bhpbilliton.com
Illtud Harri, Media Relations
Tel: +44 20 7802 4195 Mobile: +44 7920 237 246
email: Illtud.Harri@bhpbilliton.com
United States
Tracey Whitehead, Investor & Media Relations
Tel: US +1 713 599 6100 or UK +44 20 7802 4031
Mobile: +44 7917 648 093
email: Tracey.Whitehead@bhpbilliton.com
South Africa
Alison Gilbert, Investor Relations
Tel: SA +27 11 376 2121 or UK +44 20 7802 4183
Mobile: +44 7769 936 227
email: Alison.Gilbert@bhpbilliton.com
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