ICMM - International Council on Mining & Metals

WORK PROGRAMS

Climate change

In October 2010, ICMM’s Council of CEOs committed its members towards establishing a comprehensive and rigorous climate change management program of policy principles, leading practice and company commitments.

The program is aimed at ensuring ICMM companies continue to contribute to sustainable development while participating positively in resolution of the climate change challenge, and securing the continued competitiveness of the mining and metals industry in a future low carbon economy.

This initiative seeks a measured transition to a low-carbon future. It advocates the use of an integrated principles based approach to achieve effective and efficient national and sub-national climate change policies. This approach recognizes the reality of nation-specific solutions and is not intended as a means of driving a particular policy mechanism or package of approaches.

Importantly, it recognizes the need for respecting the different cultural, social, political, economic and physical environments around the world and a country’s different priorities (for example, poverty reduction, development, adaptation).

The core of ICMM’s climate change program implementation is provided by:

1) an integrated set of seven principles for climate change policy design that build on those contained in the 2009 policy

2) three focus areas which address the climate change issues which are important to mining and metals companies:

national climate policies and competitiveness

land use and adaption to the impacts of climate change

measurement, reporting and verification of net greenhouse gas activities

3) a set of ICMM member company commitments. As a minimum, ICMM members accept their responsibility to:

• develop greenhouse gas emission reduction strategies and implement economic emissions reductions opportunities
• ensure efficient use of natural resources
• support research and development of low greenhouse gas emission technologies that are appropriate to the industry
• measure progress and report results.