Forrest says fossil fuels are a “joke of history”, and net zero targets amount to trading fakes

Andrew Forrest, the billionaire iron ore miner who is now the country’s most vocal green energy supporter, has described fossil fuels as a “joke of history”.

In a speech to the annual general meeting of Fortescue Metals, Forrest said continued use of fossil fuels would simply increase costs, and add to pollution and accelerate climate change.

“Fossil fuels are a joke of history, the more you use it, the more expensive it becomes,” Forrest said. “What government can’t work that out?”

Forrest’s comments continue his increasingly strident attacks on the fossil fuel industry, and the industrial companies that he says are too slow to embrace the green energy transition, and are “downright lazy” or protecting vested interests.

He also criticised them for hiding behind “net zero” pledges .

“You have big oil companies talking right now today, saying we can go Net Zero per barrel of oil. That means no change.

“That means ripping off the carbon credit market, or creating fakes. I mean real zero, stopping pollution by 2030. Real zero means no oil, no gas, no diesel, no offsets. Offsets must only be used as a temporary measure while the technology or innovation required to completely decarbonise evades us, but it’s coming.”

Forrest re-iterated Fortescue’s plans to save three million tonnes of “poisonous” Co2 emissions a year by 2030 with its own “zero emissions plan”. It plans to spend $6.2 billion to reach that goal.

He says the company’s reduced use of diesel – partly through the new Chichester solar farm in the Pilbara – has already saved $100 million “not buying the filthy stuff”, and a further 200 million litres of diesel will be saved when the trucks servicing his mining operations also stop using diesel by 2025.

His presentation also flagged that the first battery trains – part of his plans for an “infinity” train that uses gravity to deliver trains laden with ore to ports, and recharge the batteries for the return journey – should be ready by 2023.

Forrest also flagged the opening of the company’s Green Manufacturing Centre in Gladstone, which will have the capacity to deliver 2GW a year of electrolysers, as well as other products such as solar panels, wind turbines, cables and batteries.

“We are .. the only industrial company to stop the greenwashing and just step beyond fossil fuels to save our kids,” he said. “And let’s not forget … we also save a billion dollars a year not importing other people’s pollution and the country’s pollution.”