Governments have a central role to play in responding to climate change. Engaging constructively with governments on climate policy is an important way we can help the world decarbonise and build resilience to the impacts of climate change.

We believe governments around the world should adopt and progress policies aligned with the Paris Agreement’s long-term temperature goals to limit the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C.

We commit to conducting our advocacy consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement in both our direct advocacy across all our operating jurisdictions (including through our subsidiaries) and our indirect advocacy (including lobbying) within industry associations of which we are a member.

Our Climate Policy Principles show how we translate this commitment into action. They represent our views on how governments can best pursue the aims of the Paris Agreement, with a focus on both policymaking principles and policy outcomes we believe governments should pursue. We use our Climate Policy Principles to inform and guide our own advocacy (our ‘direct advocacy’) and to influence the advocacy of the industry associations of which we are a member (our ‘indirect advocacy’).

We first released our Climate Policy Principles (then referred to as our Global Climate Policy Standards) in August 2020. Reflecting recent changes to our strategy and portfolio, and the evolving nature of climate policy debates, we published an updated version of our Climate Policy Principles in May 2023. We keep our Climate Policy Principles under review and make updates where necessary.

Our approach to direct advocacy is outlined below, while information on the climate policy advocacy of our industry association memberships is available here. 

Our direct advocacy

BHP engages directly and regularly with governments on issues relating to climate change and the transition to net zero GHG emissions. We remain committed to developing policy advocacy positions that align with our support for global efforts to meet the aims of the Paris Agreement, harnessing opportunities to decarbonise our operations as cost effectively as possible, and promoting policies that support our key markets, including for commodities with significant positive exposure to the energy transition.

Summary of our positions on climate policy

Our key positions on climate policy, as represented in our Climate Policy Principles, are outlined below.

Our advocacy on climate policy

The document below lists our direct advocacy on climate policy since July 2021. It focuses on advocacy that originates from BHP and is publicly available (such as submissions to consultation processes, speeches from senior leaders, and media releases).