BHP quits coal lobby over climate change

THE world’s biggest miner plans to leave a global coal lobby in a dispute over the best way to tackle climate change.

Anglo-Australian firm BHP disagrees with the World Coal Association’s (WCA) support for cleaner coal technologies over renewables.

BHP believes climate change should be tackled by encouraging all helpful technologies, rather than artificially favouring one. The miner, which makes about 20pc of its £28bn revenue from coal, plans to leave London-based WCA by March.

Brynn O’Brien, executive director of the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility, said: ‘It is an emphatic market signal that the era of aggressive anti-climate lobbying is no longer acceptable.’

Other fossil fuel producers are responding to climate change concerns. BP has just jumped back into the solar market. And Shell has doubled spending on renewable energy technologies.

The WCA said yesterday it was disappointed by BHP’s decision.