Australian taxpayers subsidise Big Mining’s use of fossil fuel to the tune of $4bn a year. It’s a strange way to tackle emissions

‘BHP is not alone among its peers in winding back climate action … Other major corporations have either jumped in fear of Donald Trump or used his rise as an excuse to drop climate commitments,’ Adam Morton writes. Illustration: Guardian design

The revelation that BHP cancelled and delayed commitments to act on the climate crisis should be a wake-up call.

It matters in its own right: millions of tonnes of additional heat-trapping pollution will go into the atmosphere, adding to climate harm and making Australia’s climate targets that much harder to reach.