Rio to halve carbon footprint by 2030

RIO Tinto will dramatically escalate efforts to reduce its massive global carbon footprint over the next decade, committing to spending $US7.5bn ($10bn) to halve its carbon footprint by 2030.

Rio’s previous goal was to reduce the carbon emissions from its own operations by 15 per cent by 2030.

The company said on Wednesday it would bring forward that 15 per cent target to 2025, and would commit to halving its scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030.

Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm said Rio would also accelerate its efforts to help its customers decarbonise their own operations.

“All our commodities are vital for the energy transition and continue to benefit from ongoing urbanisation,” he said.

“We have a clear pathway to decarbonise our business and are actively developing technologies that will enable our customers and our customers’ customers to decarbonise.”

Rio said it would roll out 1GW of solar and wind power to cut carbon emissions from its Pilbara iron ore operations.