Climate change adaptation

Since 2002, Rio Tinto has been investigating the potential risks that physical changes to the climate might bring to our business, how we can be prepared for these and what steps we should be taking to adapt our business facilities.

In 2005 we asked the Hadley Center for Climate Change in the UK to help us understand how the climate might change over the next 25 to 50 years and how these effects might differ across the different geographic regions where we operate. 

This study suggested that near term climate changes are expected to be minimal, but are likely to increase over the longer term. Impacts to its businesses are likely to occur gradually, allowing time for operations to learn and adapt.

Over the longer term, Rio our exposure to climate risk is likely to vary by location. Operations in the Southern Hemisphere appear to be more vulnerable (with increased intensity of cyclones and drier conditions expected) than North American assets.

We have now moved into the next phase of work to develop detailed site assessments for six sites. These sites have been selected based on their remaining life, prospective developments and expansions, and their location in climate sensitive parts of the world. The assessments are underpinned by high resolution climate modelling (down to 20 kilometre by 20 kilometre grids) using the University of Oklahoma Climate Model which are able to provide some indication of changes in cyclonic activity and topographic effects to determine what adaptation measures may be needed in future.