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One of the world’s biggest energy companies also is a big backer of putting a price on carbon.
On Wednesday, Rio Tinto, the parent company of Kennecott, will tell the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming why it wants sensible climate-change regulation — be it a carbon tax, cap-and-trade or some other pollution-fighting policy — to bring more certainty to its business.
Preston Chiaro, who oversees Rio Tinto’s Technology & Innovation Group from a Salt Lake Valley office, said the international mining company is eager for more predictability — and soon — so that it can plan for the future. The company has tried to figure carbon pricing into its strategy for more than a decade, he added, amid mounting scientific evidence of human-caused climate disruption.
“These changes are happening. They sure seem to be caused by human emissions, and we think that at some point governments will act,” Chiaro said. “We, as a business, have to figure out how we can survive and succeed in that changing world. We ultimately think there will be a price on carbon.”
Rio Tinto has a lot on the line. The company reported worldwide revenues of $41.8 billion last year and profits of $4.9 billion. It boasts 65,000 employees. In Utah, its largest enterprises are the Bingham Canyon copper mine and Kennecott Land development.
Last fall, Chiaro warned the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works that Rio Tinto sees unmanaged climate change as “a threat to our assets, our shareholders and our employees, and also to civil society and political institutions in many of the countries in which we operate across the globe.”
The company is the only coal producer in the 14-member U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a coalition of major companies and environmental groups.
Not only is Rio Tinto concerned about higher costs for energy required to run its business, but it also sees opportunities to sell more commodities, such as copper and aluminum, that could be used in climate-control technologies.
Energy industry lobbyist Frank Maisano said he expects at least part of Wednesday’s hearing to shift its attention to industry-safety issues after the recent deaths of 29 miners in West Virginia.
“This is going to put a big spotlight back on [Rep. Ed] Markey’s committee,” Maisano said, by focusing on the news of the day rather than climate legislation.
Utah Rep. Roger Barrus, R-Centerville, said he hasn’t heard about Kennecott or other Utah companies calling for carbon regulation. He said he has heard just the opposite.
“I wish we could move forward without putting a value on carbon,” Barrus said. “The question of [regulation certainty] is on everybody’s mind, but that’s just not the kind of certainty most Utah companies want, because they don’t want to be taxed twice, once on carbon and once on technology” to control it.
Dianne Nielson, Gov. Gary Herbert’s energy adviser, agrees that Rio Tinto’s view is uncommon in Utah. She pointed to testimony and legislative measures earlier this year, including a resolution opposing federal efforts to regulate carbon emissions.
Instead of looking to state and federal government to address climate change, she noted, many have opted to do what they can on their own.
“There’s quite a bit that can be accomplished,” Nielson said, “by individuals as well as companies that are interested in doing something.”