London, 7 December 2011

Leading mining and metals industry figures agreed there are many opportunities for the industry to make a greater contribution to tackling climate change at the ICMM CEO Fireside Chat event at the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC) in Durban, South Africa.

The panel consisted of:
Anthony Hodge, President, ICMM
Godfrey Gomwe, Executive Director, Anglo American South Africa
Andre Wilkens, CEO, African Rainbow Minerals
Natascha Viljoen, Executive Vice President, Lonmin
Moderated by Yvo de Boer, Special Global Advisor on Climate Change and Sustainability, KPMG.

Anthony Hodge said “There is no doubt that there is a history in the mining and metals industry where the social and environmental outcomes have not been good. However, in looking forward ICMM members see huge opportunities in making a real difference.

“Demand for commodities will increase. We need the minerals and metals that come from our industry to support the transition to a society in which poverty is being addressed, that the environment is being cared for and people have the livelihoods to support their families.”

Yvo de Boer said “The challenge is to square the circle of limiting environmental impacts while also recognizing the use of minerals and metals in driving economic growth. If the goal is to change behaviour, we need to implicate both the producer and the consumer in the development of climate change policy”.

Andre Wilkens said “We need to create a culture where reducing carbon emissions is a core part of our business strategy – by building capacity within the company to address sustainable development issues, by sharing best practices with other companies and through listening to the views of NGOs that are campaigning on this issue.”

The CEO Fireside Chat is part of a series of events and publications that ICMM is currently presenting at COP17 to mark the introduction of its recently launched Climate Change program. A further event on Tuesday morning with the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) examined three key areas in ICMM’s climate change program.

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For more information and to download ICMM’s three new climate change publications please follow the link to the ICMM website.

www.icmm.com