The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price is down 1.2% in early afternoon trade on Wednesday.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) mining giant closed yesterday trading for $46.72. Shares are currently swapping hands for $46.18 apiece.
This comes amid news of BHP's carbon reduction plans.
But the BHP share price isn't the only one dragging on the benchmark index today.
With the iron ore price down 0.8% overnight, the S&P/ASX 200 Resource Index (ASX: XJR) is down 1.1% at the time of writing. That compares to a 0.2% decline in the ASX 200.
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What's happening with the big miner's emissions plans?
In a release this morning unlikely to have an immediate material impact on the BHP share price, the miner reported it intends to cut its operational carbon emission by 30% by 2030. That reduction is compared to its emissions in 2020.
Cutting emissions won't be cheap.
BHP estimates capital expenditure of some US$4 billion (AU$5.9 billion) will be required by 2030 to reduce operational dependence on traditional fossil fuels.
But that spending is unlikely to impact the BHP share price any time soon.
The miner indicated it will spend most of that $5.9 billion towards the end of the decade "allowing technology to mature".
BHP said that its decarbonisation efforts will be "non-linear and will require significant effort to overcome emissions growth and technology challenges".
But that's not stopping management from aspiring to achieve net zero operational emissions by 2050.
Net zero is not guaranteed, however.
BHP said to successfully achieve net zero by 2050:
- Technology must advance quickly from where it is now
- BHP must collaborate with its vendors and industry
- BHP must effectively integrate decarbonisation into all aspects of its business
It's shaping up to be a long road ahead to net zero. But then every journey begins with that first step.
BHP share price snapshot
Despite today's dip, the BHP share price remains up 13% over the past 12 months.
