ICMM: How Mining’s 11% GHG Share Shapes the Supply Chain

The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) has published new research examining the mining sector's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as the industry accelerates its focus on critical minerals for the renewable energy transition.

The study, conducted with Wood Mackenzie, suggests that the sector's contribution to global GHG emissions could be lower than earlier estimates indicated. This comes at a time when the mining industry faces mounting pressure over the environmental impact of extracting materials essential for clean energy technologies.

The findings arrive as mining companies rapidly scale up production of critical minerals and metals needed for solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicles.

Yet, comprehensive, current data on the industry's actual emissions footprint has been difficult to obtain, according to ICMM.

Critical minerals demand accelerates

Climate events in the last decade have highlighted the urgency of decarbonisation efforts and the mining sector has found itself at the centre of this shift, as the appetite for renewable energy infrastructure continues to expand.

During COP28, international leaders committed to tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030. The ambitious target translates into substantial growth in demand for the minerals and metals that underpin clean energy technology.

ICMM's research addresses what it identifies as a data gap in understanding the sector's true emissions profile. The organisation examined Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions across 1,700 facilities spanning 14 commodities, capturing 87% of global production.

Dr Emma Gagen, Director of Data and Research at ICMM, explains: "Despite our sector's importance to the energy transition, up-to-date, publicly available and industry-wide data has been lacking, contributing to the circulation of misleading estimates."

"ICMM's Global Mining & Metals GHG Emissions Dataset provides data and data-driven insights to underpin more informed dialogue about the sector's contribution to global GHG emissions whilst providing the building blocks for sustainable development and the global energy transition."

Where emissions are concentrated

The data shows that in 2024, the global mining and metals sector was responsible for 11% of total GHG emissions worldwide. Mining activities contributed 3%, whilst metal production accounted for 8%. When broken down by scope, 93% of these emissions fell under Scope 1, with Scope 2 representing 7%.

Steel production emerged as the largest single contributor at 55% of sector emissions, followed by coal mining at 23% and aluminium production at 15%. Currently, around 70% of global steel manufacturing relies on blast furnace-based processes, which are particularly carbon-intensive.

The period between 2020 and 2024 saw a 3% rise in GHG emissions from mining and metal production. However, non-coal mining represented just 0.54% of global GHG emissions in 2024. By comparison, fugitive emissions from coal accounted for 2.46% of global GHG emissions.

The geographical distribution of emissions is notably uneven, with Asia generating 80% of mining and metals sector emissions. This concentration reflects the region's position as both a primary mining location and the dominant processing centre for most commodities globally.

Whilst steel production dominates emissions across most regions, particularly in Europe where it represents 93%, Africa and the Middle East show a different pattern, with aluminium production accounting for 40% of regional GHG emissions.

Pathways to lower emissions

Growing demand for electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure means that aluminium and steel consumption is set to increase further. As these materials represent the largest sources of emissions within the sector, mining and metals companies face the challenge of meeting rising demand whilst simultaneously reducing their carbon intensity.

For steel manufacturing, decarbonisation efforts are shifting production away from the energy-intensive blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) method towards lower-emission alternatives such as electric arc furnace (EAF) processes.

Aluminium production, being electricity-intensive, presents opportunities for emissions reduction through increased use of renewable electricity in smelting operations.

Broader adoption of renewable energy across mining operations could represent a significant step towards sector-wide decarbonisation. Additional opportunities include vehicle electrification within mining sites and integrating renewable energy sources throughout operational processes.

The ICMM research suggests that whilst challenges remain substantial, the combination of technological innovation and strategic investment in cleaner production methods could enable the sector to meet growing demand for critical minerals whilst progressively reducing its environmental impact.