Climate change

As part of this, we recognise and support the global effort in transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner. We recognise the common but differentiated responsibilities and capabilities of domestic economies in pursuit of climate objectives and believe that actions to limit temperatures must support United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including sustained, inclusive economic growth, and universal access to clean, affordable energy. 

In particular, energy security and affordability are increasingly recognised¹ as essential measures which need to be balanced with the rate of transition. Given the unique challenges presented by the transition, we anticipate that it will not be linear and will depend heavily on individual countries’ ability to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems.

Only through collective inclusive action can the world achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and limit the impact of climate change, while balancing the need for energy security and affordability. Systems-level change is needed at both the national and industry level, therefore requiring companies, governments and civil society to work together. Companies need to collaborate beyond their own enterprise-level decarbonisation plans and governments need to create a policy environment that supports these efforts.

We recognise our own role and responsibility to contribute to the global effort to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement – and are committed to playing our role within the system. 

Our primary contribution to accelerating the energy transition is through the supply of the metals that underpin the expansion of low-carbon technologies. Resource constraints are a determining factor of the pace of decarbonisation – and we are committed to supporting the supply of metals such as copper, cobalt, nickel and zinc. We do this via our industrial operations, our project pipeline, our marketing business and investment in our recycling business.

1  IEA (2023), World Energy Outlook 2023, IEA, Paris https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2023, Licence: CC BY 4.0 (report); CC BY NC SA 4.0 (Annex A), page 23.

Our 2026, 2030 and 2035 targets are currently ahead of both national governments’ stated policies and announced pledges for the same years (as modelled in IEA Stated Policies Scenario (SPS) and Announced Pledges Scenario (APS)). Our targets are not aligned with the IEA NZE scenario, an increasingly unrealistic scenario due to the extent to which policy, technology and investment are lagging this pathway.

Amongst the various relevant scenarios, we recognise the IEA APS as a real-world starting point from which to work towards a ‘supportive policy environment’ in our net zero ambition. 

As noted by the IEA, enabling the APS requires implementation of policy, increased financing and substantial further development to progress towards a net zero outcome. The IEA has acknowledged the progression of policy and availability of financing is lagging the APS and this is reflected in the Delayed Action Case (DAC)², which recognises the potential for delayed implementation of announced pledges and shows how emissions reductions can be bridged to align with 1.5oC by 2100 with stronger policy and implementation post 2030. 

Our climate approach is informed by the global policy environment, as we believe that government commitments are most likely to influence and direct global energy systems through the process of transition.

Our Scope 3 emissions calculation methodology describes the methodology, organisational and operational boundaries, data sources and key assumptions used by Glencore to calculate and report Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Following the publication and approval of our 2024-2026 CATP, we successfully completed our acquisition of a 77% interest in Elk Valley Resources (EVR). We are currently assessing how best to integrate EVR into our climate strategy, recognising that the transition away from steelmaking coal for steel production will be slower than thermal coal.

We have identified our route to achieving our targets and ambition, and are on track to meet our 2026, 2030 and 2035 decarbonisation targets. Beyond our targets, we support the use of carbon credits to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and are preparing our capabilities accordingly. 

Refer to our latest Annual Report and Basis of Reporting for detailed information on how we calculate our emissions and other important information regarding our aspirations: glencore.com/publications.

2 IEA (2023), Net Zero Roadmap: A Global Pathway to Keep the 1.5 °C Goal in Reach, IEA, Paris https://www.iea.org/reports/net-zero-roadmap-a-global-pathway-to-keep-the-150c-goal-in-reach, License: CC BY 4.0

Our 2024-2026 CATP sets out the four strategic pillars of our strategy, against which we will report annually on progress :

1. Managing our operational footprint: we continue to identify and deliver cost-effective emissions reduction opportunities for our Scope 1 and 2 emissions. Whilst our Scope 1 and 2 emissions reflect a small proportion of our industrial emissions footprint, these factors are within our control and we are developing solutions to address them, such as electrification and alternative fuel, as well as strengthening our own monitoring capabilities.
2. Responsibly reducing our Scope 3 emissions: we remain committed to the responsible phase-down of our coal portfolio. We recognise the different roles of thermal coal and steelmaking coal – and the different transition pathways for both.
3. Advancing tomorrow through our transition-enabling commodities portfolio: the expected growth in clean energy and low-carbon technologies is leading to an increased need for ‘transition’ commodities and we are investing to meet an expected significant increase in demand for these.
4. Driving new business models: we are positioning our business for the future through the pursuit of new business models that support the transition, such as recycling and carbon solutions.

The Board is responsible for overseeing the Group’s climate strategy and progress against Glencore’s climate commitments. Implementation of our climate strategy is led by the management team via our Climate Change Taskforce (CCT). Progress on this topic is a standing item on the Board agenda and is discussed in Board meetings at least twice yearly. 

Through the Chair and CEO, the Board consults with shareholders on climate-related matters.

The Climate Change Taskforce (CCT) is accountable to the Board and is led by our CEO. The CCT has responsibility for, and oversight of, the work streams and coordination of workflow for the delivery of Glencore’s climate strategy and commitments, including activities relating to:

• decarbonisation of industrial activities;
• internal reporting standard development and data quality and consistency review;
• capital allocation and portfolio management;
• macroeconomic assessments including Group carbon pricing; and
• external engagement, communication and advocacy.

We utilise internal working groups to drive the delivery of our industrial emissions reduction targets and net zero ambition. It is through these working groups that we assess initiatives to reduce our emissions, identify and leverage carbon marketing opportunities, design and implement systems to support complete, accurate and attestable reporting and monitor external trends, while coordinating and overseeing advocacy and communication efforts. These working groups also play an important role in helping management to be informed about and monitor climate-related issues through their upwards reporting.

The CEO is the named executive for driving the climate strategy within the Board and has responsibility for implementing the decisions of the Board and its committees, as well as leading Glencore’s operating performance and day-to-day management. Under Glencore’s Remuneration Policy, the vesting of the CEO’s incentive awards remains subject to ESG underpins to reinforce our stewardship and commitment to sustainable shareholder value creation. 

We engage with a broad range of stakeholders on climate-related topics, recognising their interest in our contribution to climate change mitigation and the exposure of our business to various climate-related risks and opportunities. 

We believe that it is appropriate that we take an active and constructive role in public policy development, either directly or indirectly through our membership of industry organisations. 

We communicate these positions both directly through our engagement with government representatives and policy makers, as well as through the industry organisations in which we hold membership. We participate directly in public consultations, as well as through our memberships in industry organisations’ working groups that provided submissions as part of public policy development processes. Where available, our responses are at glencore.com/publications.

We monitor both our direct and indirect lobbying on climate-related topics and evaluate any statements, both internally generated and/or made by an external organisation in which Glencore is a member, against alignment with our support for the goals of the Paris Agreement (Article 2). 

We recognise the importance that many of our shareholders attach to climate change and their desire to have the opportunity to advise us on our efforts. Since 2021, in response to this interest, we have provided our shareholders with an advisory vote on our climate action transition plan, and provide yearly updates which detail our progress in delivering on our plan.

A just and orderly transition is a global, regional and country specific challenge which we cannot solve alone. In our approach we will seek to work together with governments, other businesses, communities and other stakeholders to mitigate impacts and accelerate the social benefit potential that the energy transition facilitates. 

We use the following set of principles to inform our approach to the just transition: 

• Adopting a multi-stakeholder approach: To manage a structural decline in mining production successfully, a multi-stakeholder approach is essential. We engage with national and regional governments, affected communities, our workforce, trade unions and civil society groups to consider options to address the socioeconomic consequences arising from mine closure as a result of the transition to a low carbon economy. 
• Supporting civic dialogue: We aim to collaborate with key stakeholders, other mining companies and other industries to support civic dialogue and greater transparency in our operating countries - we believe this is critical to enable the advancement of human rights through the transition.
• Supporting vulnerable people and groups: We recognise that the transition may have a greater impact on vulnerable groups. We consider these groups during our stakeholder identification processes and determine the most appropriate ways of engaging with them. We try to understand and respect their concerns and identify opportunities for their inclusion and participation.
• Promoting resilient communities: Where possible, we seek to foster socioeconomic resilient communities through building capacity, enabling diversification of local enterprises, and working to ensure local small, medium-sized and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) have fair access to our contracts.
• Supporting skills development: The retraining of our workforce who are directly affected by the energy transition is important to support local economies we aim to promote and contribute to skills development for the future energy system where appropriate.
• Supporting infrastructure and public services development: We recognise that infrastructure development not only supports our mine operations but provides stimulus for local employment and economic prosperity.
• Advocating for government policies that support a just and orderly transition: We recognise that many of our host governments are still developing their just transition policies. As such, we aim to support our host governments and to advocate for frameworks that ensure that a share of existing taxes and royalties is allocated to supporting at-risk mining communities and their transition to a low carbon future.

What is carbon capture?

CCS is an integrated suite of technologies that can capture CO2 before it is released into the atmosphere. CCS technology can be deployed to capture CO2 emissions produced by using fossil fuels in electricity generation and industrial processes and then sequester this CO2 underground. The International Energy Agency (IEA) identifies CCS as needing to form a key pillar in efforts to put the world on the path to net-zero emissions.

To find out more about our work in this area, visit CTSCo Project.