Billionaire mining magnate Andrew Forrest has delivered a withering criticism of political leaders and company CEOs against embracing oil, gas, and coal development.
The Australian businessperson is a major investor in green hydrogen technology and is threatening to pull his investments from the United Kingdom if the Conservative government continues with its expansion of offshore drilling in the North Sea.
“If you keep on going as though you’re not in global warming, then you’re in dereliction of duty as a director, no matter if you’re in an insurance company, prudential funds management, a huge oil and gas company, and most importantly, banks.”
He likened global warming to an approaching “freight train” saying it was the “elephant in the room” for those supporting fossil fuel development.
“Policies must change when human lives are going to get destroyed, at scale, because of your actions,” Mr. Forrest said.
He also rubbished assertions that the net zero transition has proven difficult due to engineering, logistical, and material challenges—like the lack of available copper globally needed for EV batteries.
“[Talk about there being] not enough copper in the world, not enough lithium, not enough electricity ... there is [enough] ... The only lack of resources the world has right now is the will of chief executives and politicians,” he said.
Mr. Forrest’s comments come as mining executives outline the sheer scale of activity required to meet critical mineral demand globally. Critical minerals are needed for solar panel and EV battery manufacturing.
Not Acting on Climate Change Equates to Lack of Leadership
Mr. Forrest also said those not acting on climate change were “frauds.”“When you operate within a five-year timeframe of an election cycle or a bonus package for chief executives or executive chairmans, then you’re operating to that five-year cycle. If you do not have the character of a leader, then that will drive you—you shouldn’t be there, you’re actually a fraud,” he said.
The billionaire also said he was a major investor in the UK and was ready to pull out if the current direction of the country’s leadership did not change.
“If I see this country steering itself over a cliff backing fossil fuel, I am going to start pulling out. I will push my investments over to North America,” he said. “I must invest where I know I have proper leadership, not leadership which is on a clickbait cycle.”
His criticism comes after UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that over 100 oil and gas drilling licences would be granted for the North Sea aiming to “max out” opportunities in the region.
Energy security is an apparent issue facing European countries as the fallout from the Ukraine War impacts gas and oil prices.
Several developed governments have put the brakes on their march towards net zero after it became clear their power grids were at risk of faltering once supply lines from Russia were stopped.
Noticeably in 2022, the German government re-opened dormant coal-fired power stations and postponed its exit from nuclear power.
