We published Anglo American's policy on climate change in 2002. Since then, it has proved to be a dynamic document, keeping pace with scientific developments.
With Anglo American's climate change strategy in place we fully accept – and are already working to surmount – the operational, environmental and social challenges of doing business in a carbon- constrained future.
Case study: Making coal cleaner
Anglo American is playing a major role in looking for ways to transform the world's most plentiful hydrocarbon – coal – into a clean burning fuel that meets current and future sustainable development objectives. It would be impossible to meet the development needs of today's emerging economies without the energy supplied by coal – but its impact on the global climate needs to be significantly reduced.
In Australia, for instance, we have joined forces with Shell on the Monash coal-to-liquids endeavour. This project would involve the gasification of brown coal for further conversion into clean transportation fuels, including ultra-low sulphur synthetic diesel. Carbon dioxide resulting from the process could be stored in underground geological formations. We'll be assessing the feasibility of this project during the current year.
Meanwhile, we are making considerable progress in Futuregen, a consortium of 12 companies working with the US Department of Energy to build the world's first near-zero emissions coal plant to generate electricity. To be located in either Texas or Illinois, the facility will operate with near-zero emissions while producing power at a cost of no more than 10% over its conventional coal-fired counterparts. As a bonus, the hydrogen produced by the process can be used to run vehicles driven by fuel cells.
Case study: High time for hybrids in Chile
Recognising that carbon dioxide emissions from conventional vehicles could be a major contributor to climate change, Anglo American Chile has embarked on a programme that encourages employees to use more sustainable hybrid cars – at work and for their own private use.
the first deal of its kind in South America, the company has signed an agreement with Honda Motor de Chile to provide a fleet of newly- available vehicles that will cut fuel consumption and emissions by half or more. A special financing programme will make the switch attractive for employees on economic as well as environmental grounds.
This initiative by Anglo American Chile is the latest development in an award-winning sustainability programme. That programme, in turn, is part of a larger global Group strategy that aims at to reduce energy use by 15% by 2014, while simultaneously reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
