Three open questions on Net Zero in the mining and metals industries

The mining and metals industries are facing the conflicting challenges of meeting an anticipated skyrocketing metals demand while drastically decarbonizing and reducing other environmental impacts. Over the past few years, decarbonization has become a key topic within the sector, with global scale initiatives and a massive response from companies. Here, we provide a snapshot of the industry’s progress towards decarbonization, building on the most recent research papers, industry reports, and the public corporate documents of twenty major mining and metals companies. The objective is to highlight how the concept of Net Zero (NZ) has been interpreted within the sector and critically discuss the key strategies to achieve it. Today, nearly all the leading companies have set ambitious decarbonization targets, with many aiming to achieve Net Zero operational emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 2050. According to the proposed decarbonization roadmaps, massive deployment of renewable energy is likely to drive substantial emission reductions in the short-term (before 2030). Instead, long-term decarbonization targets (2050) are expected to be achieved by combining carbon offsets strategies with the implementation of multiple breakthrough technologies, such as battery electric mining trucks, process heat electrification, and green hydrogen. Despite the ambitious goals, sometimes underpinned by clear roadmaps and remarkable investment agendas, three questions remain open and the responses uncertain to various extent: 1. What does NZ mean in practice for the sector? 2. To what extent long term strategies that companies announced are viable and credible? 3. What’s the role of Life Cycle Assessment in setting and monitoring Scope 3 reduction targets?