‘The heating climate is coming to you’: Forrest calls on ‘lazy’ execs to join climate crusade

“I’d say it’s one of just two reasons,” he said.

“Either you have a vested interest; I’d like to meet that vested interest, is it truly worth more to you than your children?

“Or perhaps … you’re simply lazy enjoying all the trappings of office but not doing much at all.”

Forrest said Fortescue was “the only industrial company to stop the greenwashing and just step beyond fossil fuels to save our kids”.

Fortescue could not be accused of the common greenwashing tactics of minimising damage from fossil fuels or deflecting the discussion into an ill-defined worry about energy security triggered by curtailed oil and gas supply from Russia.

However, there are legitimate questions about the ability of a miner to turn into a technology development company and when demand for green hydrogen – an emissions-free fuel made with water and renewable energy – will become significant, and at what price point.

Loading

Forrest announced that all executive bonuses would be linked to achieving emissions reductions but was unable to provide details when asked after the meeting beyond “it’s going to be very meaningful”.

Unlike last year’s AGM, Forrest did not neglect to mention iron ore, the business that will bankroll Fortescue Future Industries with 10 per cent of its net profit after tax.

The mining division has not had a chief executive since August when Elizabeth Gaines stepped down from running the entire company to become a non-executive director.

Forrest stepped in as executive chairman and has Mark Hutchinson as FFI chief executive, but the comparable role for mining is yet to be filled.

“We’re in no hurry, but I’m delighted with the standard of the candidature,” he said.

“I’ve come back in because we’re going through this phenomenal period of transition,” he said, comparing now to the “pressure cooker” of securing financing for Fortescue when it was a minnow.

The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.