The Minerals Council of Australia strikes again – kills off Clean Energy Target in Australia

Malcolm Turnbull’s decision to drop his Chief Scientist's key recommendation of a Clean Energy Target is another win for the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA), the biggest funder of which is BHP,” said Brynn O’Brien, Executive Director of Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR).

“The death of the CET demonstrates the MCA's ongoing, damaging influence on Australia's climate and energy policy.

“Australia's energy policy graveyard is littered with headstones that say, ‘dead by the hand of the MCA’

“BHP’s UK shareholders have an opportunity to vote on an ACCR resolution this week which will either endorse BHP’s continued willingness to pay multi-million dollar annual membership fees to the MCA or to not. BHP's Australian shareholders have this opportunity next month.

“Secret investor discussions behind closed doors no longer cut it. Investors and their representatives either stand with the Paris climate agreement or they don’t,” said Brynn O’Brien.

The 2017 AGM of BHP Billiton Plc will take place in London, UK on Thursday 19 October 2017 at 12.00pm (London time).

The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), the largest public pension fund in the US will vote in favour of the shareholder resolutions proposed by the ACCR.