Rio Tinto plc (UK) | Climate-Related Lobbying

Status
99.00% votes in favour
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Proposal number
20
Resolution details
Company ticker
RIO
Lead filer
Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR)
Resolution ask
Adopt or amend a policy
ESG theme
  • Environment
ESG sub-theme
  • Lobbying / political engagement
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Materials
Company HQ country
United Kingdom
Resolved clause
Shareholders request that our company enhance its annual review of industry associations to ensure that the review identifies areas of inconsistency with the Paris Agreement. Where an industry association’s record of advocacy is, on balance, inconsistent with the Paris Agreement’s goals, shareholders recommend that our company suspend membership, for a period deemed suitable by the Board.
Supporting statement
In February 2021, Bloomberg ranked Australia’s climate policies as the weakest of the largest developed economies23. Australia’s commitment to reduce emissions by 26-28% by 2030 (from 2005 levels) is generally accepted to be inadequate. Australian government forecasts suggest that emissions will decline by just 22% by 203025. In response to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Australian government is proposing a “gas-fired recovery”, involving the development of multiple new gas
basins26—a program at odds with the Paris Agreement yet supported by our company’s key Australian industry associations. Our company states that it
“does not support advocacy for policies that undermine the Paris Agreement or discount Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).” Since 2018, our company has preferred to engage with its industry associations rather than suspend or terminate its membership, even when they have shown insufficient progress28. This engagement has not produced outcomes that align with mainstream investor standards. Our company remains a member of several industry associations that continue to oppose
Paris-aligned climate policy, including the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia, the Minerals Council of Australia, the Minerals Council South Africa, the (US) National Mining Association, the Queensland Resources Council and the US Chamber of Commerce

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