The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price could be one to watch as the mining giant tackles climate change.
The United Nations held a summit in Glasgow over the last 2 weeks, with world governments making promises to curb the impact of global warming. The goal is to keep cutting emissions until they reach net zero by mid-century.
Some of the biggest companies, such as BHP and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO), set their own targets to reduce their carbon footprint.
At Tuesday's market close, BHP shares finished down 2.59% to $36.49.
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What's ahead for BHP?
At the company's annual general meeting on 11 November, the board addressed shareholders regarding climate change.
It noted that strong progress had been made in meeting its commitment to trim its operational and value-chain emissions. At an estimated cost of US$2.4 billion, BHP established a pipeline of decarbonisation projects to decrease emissions by at least 30% by FY2030.
In comparison, Rio Tinto is targeting a more aggressive reduction, with emissions cut by 50% by the same date. And Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) is aiming to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030, the most ambitious goal between the trio.
BHP has defended its modest approach, saying that each company has a different commodity mix. To put this in perspective, Rio Tinto's emissions in 2030 are about the same as BHP today.
However, environmental groups are calling for the company to do more when it comes to its proposed emission-reduction targets.
BHP faced questions at the AGM regarding its support for the development of the Scarborough gas project. The company is currently in the midst of merging its petroleum division with Woodside.
Close to 13% of BHP shareholders voted against the company's carbon-reduction action plan.
BHP share price summary
Since the beginning of the year, the BHP share price has been disappointing, falling by more than 15%. This is in stark contrast to August when its year-to-date growth was tracking above 25%.
Based on valuation grounds, BHP commands a market capitalisation of roughly $107.65 billion and has approximately 2.96 billion shares outstanding.
