9 December 2019 – Lord Barker, executive chairman of En+ Group, the world’s largest producer of low carbon aluminium and private sector hydropower today published the Group’s Level 1 carbon emissions (International Aluminium Institute classification) for the first time. The figures revealed a dramatically lower carbon content than the global sector average and strong progress on the journey to net zero.
The average emissions for all EN+ aluminium are 2.6 tCO2/tAl for all sources related to producing aluminium from alumina at smelters. Average equivalent carbon emissions for Chinese aluminium are 16.2 tCO2/tAl; average carbon emissions for World aluminium are 12.6 tCO2/tAl.
En+ Group is campaigning for Level 1 carbon emissions to be stated on all warrants for London Metal Exchange (LME) traded aluminium as a necessary transformative step for the industry to meet the targets set by the Paris Agreement. The company was the first in the industry to introduce systematically commercial contracts with a guaranteed carbon footprint and disclosure of carbon footprint for the smelter of origin.
Speaking at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP 25 in Madrid, Lord Barker said:
“These new figures demonstrate the huge potential of aluminium as a building block of the new low carbon economy but we still have much further to go. Net zero must be our goal.
“Despite the significant sustainable potential of this metal, the global aluminium industry is responsible for over 2% of the world’s carbon emissions; 1.1 billion tonnes of CO2. This is equivalent to the total annual emissions of Japan. But that huge figure hides the massive difference between highly polluting aluminium and that which is produced using clean energy. Customers and stakeholders have a right to the basic information that will allow them to make informed climate friendly choices. A brand new asset class “low carbon aluminium” is emerging.”
He continued,
“To align our sector with the UN science-based climate targets, we need to drive full transparency across the whole sector. Clear disclosure of the carbon content of the aluminium traded on the LME will create an incentive for producers to reduce their carbon footprint and help customers make ethical decisions about the materials they buy.”
Level 1 is endorsed by the International Aluminium Institute and the Aluminium Stewardship initiative. It is therefore the best common denominator to evaluate the carbon footprint of primary aluminium.
To begin the journey to comprehensive disclosure, EN+ has proposed disclosing Level 1 emissions which account for approximately 75% of total carbon emissions from aluminium production. Additionally, for ease, smelter of origin is already stated on the LME warrant of metal traded via the LME.
