Five things to know about Thungela & Exxaro’s climate-related disclosures

• Just Share’s latest briefing details five takeaways from thier analysis of Thungela Resources Limited and Exxaro Resources Limited’s most recent climate-related disclosures, incorporating the responses to Just Share’s questions at the companies’ May 2023 AGMs where relevant.
• The two companies are found wanting.

Although there has been some progress in relation to each company’s target-setting since Just Share’s 2022 briefings assessing the climate-related disclosures of Exxaro and Thungela, a year later it is still the case that neither company has a credible decarbonisation strategy nor science-based emission reduction targets.

Key messages

• Neither company has a climate science-aligned, credible strategy to achieve its 2050 target (net zero for Thungela and carbon neutrality for Exxaro).
• Both companies exclude scope 3 emissions from their shorter-term decarbonisation targets, and Exxaro excludes scope 3 emissions also from its 2050 target – even though scope 3 emissions constitute over 97% of each company’s overall emissions.
• Neither Exxaro nor Thungela rules out future investment in coal – other than new greenfield coal operations – and both rely heavily on technologies which are currently prohibitively expensive and not viable at scale as part of their potential future decarbonisation strategies.
• Neither company provides sufficiently detailed or transparent disclosures on its climate-related lobbying activities or those of its industry associations.
• Exxaro and Thungela’s commitment to transparency is undermined by the companies’ refusals to table non-binding advisory shareholder resolutions.

In the absence of credible, accountable decarbonisation commitments, and climate action aligned with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, Thungela and Exxaro can expect increased scrutiny of and pressure on their operations.

Author: Bryan Groenendaal