The world is burning – but firms only care when the smoke halts mining

There would be a deep irony in a carbon company’s production being hit by wildfires, if only it wasn’t so sad, writes James Moore

BHP Billiton warned that smoke from wildfires is hitting coal production in Austrialia (AP)

Greta Thunberg gave Davos’s corps of self-satisfied billionaires and their political flunkies a richly deserved telling off – and you only needed to take a brief look at BHP Billiton’s results to see why it was necessary.

The black smoke of bitter irony belched from them, and no one should feel more bitter than the Australians caught up in the wildfires that have crimped the company’s coal production in New South Wales.

“Smoke from regional bushfires and dust have reduced air quality at our operations, which has impacted December 2019 production. We are monitoring the situation and if air quality continues to deteriorate then operations could be constrained further in the second half of the year,” BHP stated in language blander than a packet of Tesco value white bread rolls.