Fortescue founder and chairman Andrew Forrest says the UK and EU should “stop screwing around” with policy which is not supporting decarbonisation.
The Australian businessman told the Innovation Zero event in London, attended by Kallanish on Tuesday, that industry should switch off fossil fuels this decade. He claims “the economics and the technologies are there,” but the policies are not.
According to Forrest, net zero is “a fraud” as it allows the continued use of fossil fuels. Fortescue, which produces iron ore, has committed to achieving “real zero” by 2030 across Scope 1 and 2 emissions by eliminating fossil fuels use and without purchasing carbon offsets.
In a brief speech note, he stressed that the corporate sector is not abandoning its climate commitments, but only “the weak, the puerile, the short-sighted” are.
Fortescue Energy, the group’s green energy arm, has significantly scaled back its 2030 green hydrogen production target of 15 million tonnes/year. Amid macro challenges, the company has abandoned some markets and continues to “optimise and refine” its project pipeline.
In its March-quarter report, also published on Tuesday, Fortescue said the projects’ timelines are being reassessed and adjusted “to reflect global market conditions and uncertain policy settings”. These include the Arizona project in the US and the Gladstone PEM50 project in Australia, with “greater clarity” expected by the end of June.
The company continues to progress feasibility studies and planning approvals for the Holmaneset project in Norway and the Pecém project in Brazil. It has yet to provide a new production volume target for 2030.
