BHP investors remain focused on lobby groups

The push by the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility​ (ACCR) for BHP Group Ltd (ASX:BHP) to immediately review the advocacy of its industry associations and suspend membership of groups found to be lobbying inconsistent with the Paris Agreement through COVID-19, has kept the pressure on lobbyists with a 22.4% vote in support of the resolution.

Commenting on the vote today, Dan Gocher, Director of Climate and Environment, said:

“Last week, we saw BHP take a long overdue but welcome step by suspending its membership of the Queensland Resources Council, because of its brazen attempt to influence Australian democracy.

“Despite telling its shareholders for three years that suspension of membership of any industry association was simply not workable, last week BHP did just that.

“With this vote, investors have demonstrated to BHP that they remain focused on the impact of its industry associations on both Australian democracy and on climate action.

“The advocacy by key BHP industry associations throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been fundamentally at odds with the Paris Agreement’s goals. They have demanded taxpayer-funded subsidies and fast-tracked approvals for new fossil fuel developments, and an aggressive deregulation agenda.

“This is nothing short of predatory behaviour, seeking to make the most of the economic crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Shareholders must keep up the pressure to ensure that BHP’s industry associations cease to be an obstacle to climate action.”

Background

• Following its 2019 review of industry associations, InfluenceMap found that BHP had not “fulfilled [its] commitments to address misalignments between [its] stated positions and the lobbying of [its] industry associations on climate”, nor acted with the urgency demanded by its shareholders.
• The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) has called for government support to develop “uneconomic or stranded” gas resources in order to extend the economic life of existing gas infrastructure. APPEA has repeatedly called for further oil and gas exploration, welcomed government subsidies, and lobbied for weaker environmental regulation.
• The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has called for weakened environmental assessments of mining projects, scrapping of environmental regulation, government subsidies for fossil fuel exploration, and opposed the inclusion of Scope 3 emissions in Australia’s National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) scheme.
• The NSW Minerals Council published a report in July calling for the fast-tracked approval of 21 new or expanded coal mining projects, claiming they were necessary for economic recovery.