Environment
Coal is at risk of shifting mineral demand.
Ebbs and flows of mining commodities NOT ALL COMMODITIES STAND TO LOSE TO THE THREATS OF CLIMATE CHANGE. MCKINSEY & COMPANY REVEALS MINING ASSETS THAT ARE MOST AT RISK AND WAYS TO DECARBONISE OPERATIONS.
T
he increasing demand for decarbonisation at mining operations has pushed companies to introduce emission-reduction goals. Management consulting firm McKinsey & Company reveals the targets range from 0 to 30 per cent by 2030, well below the Paris Agreement goals. Reaching the 1.5–2 degrees Celsius
global warming limit will require significant global action, one that could result in a shifting demand for minerals, according to McKinsey. All sectors will need to halve their carbon dioxide emissions from 2010 levels by 2050. To limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, a reduction of more than 85 per cent will be required.
Copper demand is expected to rise amid electrification.
SAFETOWORK.COM.AU 38 MAR-APR 2020
McKinsey predicts in a report, Climate risk and decarbonisation: What every mining CEO needs to know, that coal will be “the most obvious victim” of shifts in mineral demand. “Decarbonisation of the power sector would mean taking net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to zero, implying an almost complete reduction in the combustion of coal,” the report states. Every year the mining industry produces between 1.9 and 5.1 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent of GHG emissions, according to McKinsey. The majority of emissions, between 1.5 to 4.6 gigatonnes, come from fugitive coal-bed methane that is discharged during coal mining, mainly at underground operations, the report continues. “Decarbonising the mining industry would require a serious effort by the coal industry, particularly in tackling fugitive methane,” it states. Though methane capturing
