We believe that Teck and the broader mining industry have a role to play in addressing climate change, which is why we are actively working to reduce our own carbon footprint and to advocate for policies to support the global transition to a low-carbon economy.
On the international stage, we are a signatory of the Paris Pledge for Action, which invites non-state organizations to take action to support the objectives of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. The Agreement aims to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels while pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.
For our own operations, we have set ambitious targets to reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency. Since 2011, we have made significant progress towards achieving these goals, with a cumulative reduction to date of more than 200,000 tonnes of CO2 annually.
Mining also has a role to play by supplying the materials necessary for climate action. Many of the metals and mineral products we produce are essential to building the technologies and infrastructure necessary to reduce GHGs and fight climate change. The average wind turbine, for example, requires about 180 tonnes of steel which, in turn, requires about 100 tonnes of steelmaking coal to produce. Many renewable energy systems also require as much as 12 times more copper than traditional energy systems.
