Rio Tinto’s Australian Bell Bay Al plant risks closure

Spanish Market: Emissions, Metals
10/10/25

UK-Australian producer Rio Tinto may have to shut its 190,000 t/yr Bell Bay aluminium smelter in Tasmania in end-December when its current power supply contract comes to as it has not been able to negotiate a new contract yet.

The company has been negotiating a new power agreement with Hydro Tasmania so that they can continue operating the smelter till 2035, Bell Bay Aluminium's general manager Richard Curtis said to staff on 8 October. But, they have not been able to reach suitable terms yet, he added.

Rio Tinto declined to comment on the matter today.

The company has been seeking support from the state and federal governments as well, as the price gap between what Hydro Tasmania is offering and what Bell Bay Aluminium needs is too wide for the Tasmanian government to cover alone, the state's energy minister Nick Duigan said on 9 October.

Tasmania's state government has called on Australian federal authorities to support Bell Bay Aluminium through its A$2bn ($1.3bn) low-carbon aluminium production tax credit scheme. The state government has also requested that Bell Bay Aluminium be allowed to use the time-of-use accounting methods, which calculates emissions based on its intensity factors that vary with time.

Rio Tinto reported 351,701t of covered scope-1 CO2-equivelant (CO2e) emissions at Bell Bay Aluminium over the July 2023-June 2024 financial year, which is below its reported emissions baseline of 353,471t CO2e. The company received 1,770 Safeguard Mechanism Credits (SMCs) over the year.

Bell Bay Aluminium is not the only aluminium plant facing challenges. The New South Wales (NSW) and Australian federal governments are talking to Rio Tinto about potential energy cost support for its larger 600,000 t/yr Tomago smelter. An NSW government spokesperson declined to comment on the specifics of the discussions on 9 October.

US producer Alcoa also opted on 30 September to permanently shut its 2.2mn t/yr Kwinana alumina refinery because of age, high costs, market conditions, and bauxite grade issues.

The Australian government has pushed capital towards multiple metal processors over the last year. Global producer Glencore most recently secured a A$600mn ($394mn) support package for its Queensland copper operations on 8 October.

By Avinash Govind

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05/12/25

Australia’s Carbon2Nature launches ACCU project

Mumbai, 5 December (Argus) — Carbon2Nature Australia, a subsidiary of Spanish utility Iberdrola's nature-based solutions company, has launched the Talia project to generate Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) under the Environmental Plantings (EP) method. The project will be developed as a joint effort between Carbon2Nature and Land Life, an Amsterdam-based social enterprise. The first ACCUs are expected to be issued in 2027, Iberdrola Australia told Argus on 4 December. The project is estimated to generate approximately 114,000 ACCUs over its 25-year crediting period in South Australia. EP ACCUs trade sporadically and in limited volumes, but recent transactions have achieved prices in the mid-A$50s/t CO2e — well above the range for generic ACCUs. Argus assessed generic ACCU prices at A$35.70/t CO2e on 5 December. Carbon2Nature is targeting projects capable of providing high-integrity ACCUs such as EP, the firm said. Voluntary demand for these ACCUs is growing, and the value of such projects appear to be long term, it added. By Shribalaji Shenbagaraj Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Arab region warming at twice the global average: WMO

04/12/25

Arab region warming at twice the global average: WMO

London, 4 December (Argus) — The Arab region is warming at twice the global average, with temperatures increasing by 0.43°C per decade from 1991 to 2024, a report from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) found today. The world experienced the hottest year on record in 2024. The average temperature across the Arab region in 2024 was 1.08°C higher than the 1991-2020 average, the WMO said. The Arab region saw "intense heatwaves and droughts as well as extreme rainfall and storms", the WMO added. The WMO's report, the inaugural State of the Climate in the Arab Region , covers 22 countries across north and east Africa and the Middle East and was compiled with the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia and the League of Arab States. The Middle East and north Africa "are among the hottest regions in the world, and climate projections indicate a continued intensification of summer heat extremes in both subregions", the WMO said. The report also included regional climate projections from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. "If the current warming rate continues, mean temperature increase in the Arab region could reach 1.8°C with respect to the 1991-2020 average by 2050", the report found. A handful of climate plans — known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs) — submitted recently by Arab region countries underline the challenges that climate change poses for the region. NDCs submitted over the past few weeks by Bahrain, Qatar and Yemen all note the countries' vulnerability to climate change, including water scarcity. Of the 20 most water-scarce countries globally, 15 are in the Arab region, and climate change is compounding this, the WMO said. Qatar and Bahrain flagged in NDCs their water sectors as a source of emissions , including through power-intensive desalination processes. Bahrain this week noted its "water vulnerability as a challenge that is further intensified by climate change impacts", in its third NDC. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Qatar presents 2040 climate target to UN

04/12/25

Qatar presents 2040 climate target to UN

Edinburgh, 4 December (Argus) — Qatar has pledged to reduce its emissions by 42mn t of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) by 2040 from a 2019 baseline, with the oil and gas sector "at the forefront of national mitigation efforts". Qatar does not provide its total greenhouse emissions for 2019, but said its climate plan encompasses CO2, methane and nitrous oxide gases. It covers the energy sector — oil and gas, power and water — construction and industry, transport, waste and agriculture, forestry and other land use. Parties to the Paris Agreement were required to submit climate plans, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs), for 2035 to the UN climate body UNFCCC this year. Qatar had previously targeted emission reductions of 25pc, or 37mn CO2e, by 2030, compared with a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario. BAU scenarios typically assume emissions based on current policies, leaving room for potential increases. The country's emission cuts in its oil and gas sector will rely on "deploying cleaner fossil fuel technologies, developing engineered sinks to store emissions, diversifying the energy mix, and driving operational excellence across existing facilities and infrastructure", according to its climate plan. Qatar is the world's largest LNG producer, with a production capacity of 77mn t/yr, according to QatarEnergy, and its economy is heavily reliant on hydrocarbon revenues. The country's climate plan highlights the country's vulnerability to response measures to mitigate climate change, resulting from its economy's reliance on hydrocarbons. "Qatar is actively working to reduce the socio-economic effects of global climate action," the plan said, adding that it seeks to balance climate goals with national sustainable development. "Despite many efforts and considering its role as a leading producer and exporter of natural gas, Qatar remains significantly vulnerable to climate response measures," it said. Qatar is part of the Arab Group, a negotiating group in UNFCCC climate talks, which is seeking to focus on cutting emissions from fossil fuels, rather than hydrocarbon production and consumption, through increased adoption of carbon capture technologies. The country said it plays "a pivotal role" in supporting other countries' targets by "reliably supplying them with a cleaner alternative to coal and oil and providing a critical backup for intermittent renewables". Qatar's climate plan sees the secure and affordable supply of lower-carbon energy as well as the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) and the management of emissions of energy production as the focus to pursue sustainable development and climate action. The country considers itself to be among the leaders in CCS with its Ras Laffan project, and aims to capture 11mn t/yr of CO2 by 2035. Engineering firm Samsung C&T was recently awarded a contract to build a 4.1mn t/yr CO2 facility to process and store emissions from Qatar's LNG liquefaction plants. Qatar, in its climate plan, highlighted the country's water supply vulnerability to temperature increases and heat. The power and water sector accounts for a large share of the country's emissions. Water scarcity is also responsible for increasing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in Bahrain through desalination, although its energy sector remains the main source of emissions, according to the country's new climate plan. The country is heavily reliant on fossil fuels for its energy and revenues, while "limited land availability and competing land-use demands constrain large-scale deployment" for the development of solar energy. Rising demand over the peak summer months this year meant that Bahrain had to import LNG for the first time since commissioning its 800mn ft³/d onshore LNG receiving and regasification terminal in 2020. But it is looking at renewables options and is in talks with Saudi Arabia for a link to a large-scale solar facility. Bahrain said that response measures to climate change "may lead to economic losses that, in turn, hinder Bahrain's ability to pursue effective climate action and achieve broader sustainable development objectives." By Caroline Varin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Australia proposes native forest management ACCU method

04/12/25

Australia proposes native forest management ACCU method

Mumbai, 4 December (Argus) — Australia's carbon market statutory body the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee (Erac) has today released a proposal for a new carbon crediting method to enhance native forest management. The proposed Improved Native Forest Management in Multiple-use Public Native Forests (INFM) method aims to abate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by mitigating or reducing harvesting in multiple-use native public forests. Projects registered under the proposed method can generate Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs), if approved. The government proposes at least a 20pc reduction in harvesting relative to baseline levels for INFM projects to receive ACCUs. Projects may have to cover a minimum of one entire forest region to reduce the risk of "carbon leakage" caused by harvesting from another area. Projects under the proposed methodology would have a reduced crediting period of 15 years, compared to the typical 25-year period for other land-based approaches. INFM projects would be required to ensure a 100-year permanence period to ensure long-term carbon sequestration. Stakeholder consultation on the proposed method will open from 2 January 2026 and will conclude on 30 January 2026. The INFM method is one the four new carbon crediting project methodologies proposed outside of government and prioritised for the ACCU scheme in October 2024 under a proponent-led model . The Australian carbon credit industry has been focusing on boosting future issuances to address an expected shift in the supply-demand balance within a few years. This has prompted the authorities to prioritise method approvals. By Shribalaji Shenbagaraj Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Glencore to raise global copper production by 2035

04/12/25

Glencore to raise global copper production by 2035

Sydney, 4 December (Argus) — Global metals producer Glencore expects to increase its copper output to 1.6mn t by 2035, on the back of mine expansions, but faces short-term copper challenges. It plans to produce 1.1mn t of copper in 2029, up from 850,000-875,000t in 2025, Glencore told investors in a capital markets day presentation on 3 December. It will then further increase production to around 1.6mn t by 2035, the company added. Glencore's copper growth will come largely from the planned mine developments and restart projects (see table) over the next few years, including the 2028 reopening of its Alumbrera mine in Argentina. Development work at the company's Collahuasi mine — a joint venture with UK-South African producer Anglo American and Mitsui-owned producer Japan Collahuasi — in Chile will also support its growth plan. The project will increase Glencore's long-term output but has dampened its short-term production outlook. The company cut its 2026 copper production guidance to 810,000–870,000t on 3 December, from 930,000t in February, because of mine plan changes at the site. Total production at Collahuasi fell by 31pc on the year in July-September, from 431,200t to 297,000t, because of lower ore grades, data from Chilean copper commission Chochilco show. The mine will operate at a reduced rate in 2026 because of development work, Anglo American told investors on 29 October. Glencore also cut the upper bound of its 2025 copper production guidance from 890,000t to 875,000t in late October because of operational and ore grade issues. It expects to produce at the lower end of its 850,000–875,000t range over the year. The company mined 583,500t of copper in January-September, down by 17pc on the year. By Avinash Govind Glencore Copper Projects Project Location Date Production (Average LOM, '000t) Alumbrera Restart Argentina 1H 2028 75 Collahuasi - LG stockpile leeching Chile 2028 22 Antapaccay - Coroccohuayco Peru 2H 2029 148 MUMI - Sulphides Democratic Republic of Congo 2031 97 Agua Rica Argentina 2H 2031 156 NewRange - stage 1 USA 2031 18 Collahuasi - New concentrator Chile 2H 2033 142 El Pachon Argentina 2034 338 NewRange - stage 2 USA 2037 55 Antapaccay district Peru 2037 201 *LOM: Life of mine Source: Glencore Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Rio Tinto’s Australian Bell Bay Al plant risks closure

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