Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: The Rio Tinto Group (Rio Tinto) exhibits both supportive and oppositional engagement with science-aligned climate policy while maintaining a strategic level of engagement. The company demonstrates top-line support for climate action but displays a mix of positive and negative positions on specific climate-related regulations globally. Rio Tinto’s recent positioning on the energy transition is largely positive, generally supporting the decarbonization of industry and the move towards a renewables-based energy system. However, the company retains membership to several associations that display oppositional advocacy on specific climate policies, including the National Mining Association, Minerals Council of Australia, US Chamber of Commerce and California Chamber of Commerce.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Rio Tinto’s top-line messaging on climate policy is positive. The company has consistently supported the 1.5°C target and the goals of the Paris Agreement, for example in its 2025 Climate Action Plan, published February 2025. Rio Tinto also appears to support government regulation to respond to climate change, stating that its industry associations are expected to back carbon pricing and other policy tools to achieve emissions reductions across sectors and jurisdictions in its Industry Association Disclosure 2024, published February 2025.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policies: Rio Tinto engages with a mix of positive and negative positions on climate-related policy globally. The company issued top-line support for several renewable energy initiatives in Australia, including the Capacity Investment Scheme and Hydrogen Headstart program in a July 2024 submission to the “Green metals” consultation, and appeared to also support the Guarantee of Origin scheme in its April 2024 consultation submission to the Electricity and Energy Sector Plan. However, while Rio Tinto appeared to support market-based incentives to fast-track the development of low carbon liquid fuels (LCLF) in Australia and advocated for the broadening of the country’s Renewable Energy Target to include LCLF in its July 2024 submission to the LCLF consultation, it did not appear to support mandates to encourage fossil diesel reductions. The company also broadly supported carbon border adjustment mechanisms (CBAM) in its 2025 Climate Action Plan yet appeared to stress the potential challenges related to the introduction of a CBAM in Australia in its December 2023 consultation submission on the proposed approach to assess and address carbon leakage risk, as part of the Carbon Leakage Review.
Rio Tinto has also previously displayed oppositional engagement on Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, including calling for a a “climate trigger” and other climate change requirements to be excluded from the Government’s planned EPBC reforms in a March 2024 letter to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. However, the company appeared to partially reform its positioning on the EPBC Act in an October 2024 position statement.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Rio Tinto displays largely positive positions on the energy transition in recent years, generally supporting the decarbonization of industry and the move towards a renewables-based energy system. For example, the company’s CEO Jakob Stausholm emphasized “massive opportunities” arising from renewable energy for mining and manufacturing, stating that China’s ambitious energy transition is “a global megatrend” in a March 2025 article in China Daily. Rio Tinto also generally supported policies, including investment and government funding in research and development, to accelerate the development and commercial deployment of breakthrough technologies to decarbonize the steel industry in its 2025 Climate Action Plan, published February 2025.
In addition, Rio Tinto broadly supported the increased use of biofuels for use in hard-to-abate sectors in a July 2024 consultation submission, yet without also stating the need to transition to a renewables-based energy system. In addition, the company advocated rapid electrification and increased investment in renewable energy and green hydrogen in an April 2024 consultation submission on Australia’s Electricity and Energy Sector Plan and communicated the need for a reduction in the use and production of fossil gas and liquid fuels. However, it is unclear if the pace and extent of this reduction is aligned with IPCC guidelines.
Industry Association Governance: Rio Tinto has published a review of its alignment with its industry associations in its Industry Association Disclosure 2024, published February 2025. In its review, the company found material misalignment between its positions on climate and the climate-related advocacy of one of its industry associations: the National Mining Association (NMA). Rio Tinto retains membership to several associations that display oppositional advocacy on specific climate policies, including the Minerals Council of Australia, US Chamber of Commerce and California Chamber of Commerce.
InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the company’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q3 2025.