We should put efforts into iron ore not coal

QUEENSLANDERS’ ears should have pricked up this week as the speech by Andrew Mackenzie, CEO of BHP, went to press on the subject of climate change and what his company and his board are intending to do in the near future.

Besides spending more than $400 million on reducing BHP’S direct emissions, the company intends working with its customers to reduce their emissions.

This is significant because emissions from Australia’s exports of mineral commodities are predicted to grow to over 10 per cent of global emissions before 2030.

Companies are acting where governments will no or cannot because of political deadlock.

While steel is still seen as essential to the world economy, coal may not be. Rio Tinto has exited the coal business. Gas has largely replaced coal in the US. China is reducing dependence on coal to clean up their deadly smog.

Suncorp this week stopped insuring their thermal coal customers in Queensland. QBE has already done so.

What will BHP’S announcement mean?

Hydrogen is a technical replacement for coking coal in steel manufacturing. Hydrogen is readily made from water using renewable energy.

What does this mean for provincial Queensland and its reliance on coal jobs? Should we be extending the Mt Isa rail line to the Pilbara’s iron ore in an effort to replace those coal jobs with steel jobs? We do have lots of sunshine and wind. This might support a few Aurizon train jobs too. The trains themselves will be automated, however.

GLENN WHITE, Kelso.