Some of South Australia’s top companies are standing by commitments to reaching net zero emissions by 2050, in step with the Federal Labor Government’s target, as the coalition prepares to finalise its approach to climate change.

Liberal MPs will meet in Canberra tomorrow to discuss their approach to energy and climate change, after their coalition partner, the Nationals, recently announced they would abandon Australia’s climate targets if they won government.

Conservatives within the Liberal Party have reportedly urged leader Sussan Ley to drop support for net zero, while moderates want the policy kept in order to win back seats in city areas.

The Federal Government had set a legislated target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. It also recently set a target to reduce emissions to 62 to 70 per cent below 2005 levels by 2035.

BHP

Melbourne-headquartered BHP, which operates an enormous copper mine at Olympic Dam in the SA’s Far North, declined to respond to questions about whether or not it supported the government’s net zero targets.

It instead referred InDaily to its 2024 Climate Transition Action Plan, which addressed how the mining giant was approaching climate change risks and the global net zero transition push.

In that document, BHP said it was “developing pathways for our long-term goal to achieve net zero operations GHG emissions by CY2050”.

It hoped its copper mining projects would enable the global transition by electrifying transport and energy networks. As such, “to help achieve global net zero and support population growth, we will have to provide more of the resources the world needs, not less”, BHP said.

“That means more production growth,” the report reads.

In that report, BHP said it was on track to meet its emissions target of at least a 30 per cent reduction by FY2030 against an FY2020 baseline. This was being achieved by the purchase of renewable electricity to power its operations.

The company also expected to spend US$4 billion over the decade to FY30 to execute its decarbonisation plans.

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BHP recently announced it would spend hundreds of millions of dollars to expand its Olympic Dam mine “as the race intensifies to secure copper for the energy transition and growth in data centres”, according to Copper SA asset president Anna Wiley.

ADELAIDE AIRPORT

A spokesperson for Adelaide Airport – the state’s sixth largest company – said it would not be drawn into the politics of net zero.

“We are not focused on the politics of national targets – we are seeking specific long-term bipartisan policy positions that support cost-effective decarbonisation,” the spokesperson said.

“Much of Australian aviation is advocating for a modest, enduring sustainable aviation fuel mandate from Federal government to underpin our sovereign capability.”

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She said the business’s focus was on “leading sustainability in aviation and we recognise the importance of reducing our forecast environmental impact to support the future sustainable profitability of the industry”.

Adelaide Airport was the first major airport in Australia to reach carbon neutrality in December 2024, she said, “and achieved our target of net zero on Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030”.

“Our sustainability and decarbonisation efforts reflect the values of our company and shareholders, noting the clear link with creating long-term value creation for the airport and our broader community,” the spokesperson said.

“We recognise the climate challenge facing the aviation sector, collaboration is required to address it with the Government playing a consistent supportive role to drive these outcomes.”

ARGO INVESTMENTS

Argo Investments – the state’s second largest company – told InDaily it “does not hold positions in relation to partisan policies on climate change or net zero targets”.

“Our investment process incorporates consideration of a range of environmental, social and governance factors, including climate change and the potential impact of related government policies, as they can impact the long-term prospects of a company,” a spokesperson said.

“Argo is currently working to implement the Australian Accountability Reporting Standards in relation to both our operations and our portfolio of investee companies.”

As an investment vehicle, however, its Scope 1 and 2 emissions are likely minuscule in comparison to the larger mining and gas businesses.

Scope 1 emissions mean direct emissions from a company’s own sources, while Scope 2 are indirect emissions for the generation of purchased energy that the company uses.

However, the company has acknowledged in an Environmental, Social and Governance Investment Statement from 2025 that “analysis of relevant ESG issues forms an inherent part of our investment process”.

“A company’s potential liabilities and future growth implications arising from ESG issues are factored into our financial forecasts and impact our long-term valuation of the business,” it said.

But its portfolio of investments does include some of the world’s largest polluters like BHP and Santos. Its portfolio is currently weighted 7.1 per cent to energy.

SANTOS

South Australia’s largest business – fossil fuel giant Santos – also had ambitious emissions reduction targets, but did not respond to questions from InDaily.

It hoped to hit net-zero Scope 1 emissions by 2040 and net zero Scope 2 emissions by 2050.

In its 2024 Climate Transition Action Plan, Santos said it had achieved a 26 per cent reduction in its Scope and 2 emissions since 2019, and had invested more than $740 million in climate transition activities.

This included the commencement of its new Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project at Moomba: “This is a game-changer for Santos”, the company said.

That $335 million project captures carbon dioxide as a by-product of gas production and stores it underground in depleted gas wells, with Santos claiming it was “the equivalent of taking more than 700,000 cars off the road annually”.

FLINDERS PORT HOLDINGS

The operator of major ports in South Australia, Flinders Port Holdings, told InDaily it had 2050 net zero targets, and “short-term targets relating to emissions reductions for Flinders Port Holdings”.

The company’s 2022-2025 Sustainability Plan detailed how the company was “committed to adapting to the changing climate and to decarbonising our operations to net zero by no later than 2050”.

“In doing so we align with the Paris Agreement and support the Australian government’s carbon targets and interim International Maritime Organisation’s maritime sector target of 50 per cent reduction of total annual carbon emissions by 2050,” the report reads.

“One of the greatest opportunities we have identified is the transition to a lower carbon economy in which there is cheaper renewable power and more efficient supply chain logistics – across shipping, trucking and rail.

“The entire value chain must decarbonise to meet IMO and other global carbon targets, and ports have a key role to play in this transition.”

BEACH ENERGY

Oil and gas company Beach Energy, ranked third in the 2025 South Australian Business Index, told InDaily it had “set an ambition to reach net zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2050”.

“We regularly evaluate opportunities to abate our emissions in order to achieve this ambition. The Moomba Carbon Capture and Storage Joint Venture Project has already safely and securely stored more than 1.3 million tonnes of CO2e in underground reservoirs, the equivalent of taking hundreds of thousands of cars of our roads, showing that Australia can provide much needed energy to drive our economy while at the same time progressing towards our decarbonisation targets,” the spokesperson said.

“We are on track to achieve our 2030 emissions reduction target and will provide more detail on our long-term strategy as we progress towards 2050.”

CODAN

South Australian metal detection and communications firm Codan – which rose to number three in the SA Business Index this year – did not have a publicly available position statement on net zero.

However, in its 2024 Environment, Social and Governance report, the company said it supported the goals of the Paris Agreement to limit the global temperature rise this century to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.

Codan did not respond to questions from InDaily by deadline.

THOMAS FOODS INTERNATIONAL

Food and agriculture business Thomas Foods declined to comment on questions from InDaily.

But the state’s fifth-largest business recently joined the PIRSA Growing Farming Demonstration Pilot Program to progress a series of carbon sequestration projects at its Mount Shanck Station cattle weaner enterprise.