Skip to content
Sign in
Climate & Environment · Asia Pacific

Survey finds workers expect energy and mining firms to cut emissions

A survey of 2,048 working Australians found that 59 per cent see energy and utilities companies and 53 per cent see mining and fossil fuel companies as having a major responsibility to cut emissions. Only one in seven respondents said their employer was making good progress on climate action.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 2 outlets' reporting · Article text read from 1 of 2 outletsHow it's made

View timeline · 7 entries
2 outletsLatest reporting 3 min read
Coverage: Too few ratedL 0 · C 2 · R 0
Updat3 graphic: Australia
Updat3 graphic · Map data: Natural Earth Natural Earth (public domain)

What happened

Key facts

  • Sixty per cent favoured a gradual transition away from mining and fossil fuels, with strong support for affected workers and communities (per The Sydney Morning Herald).
  • One in 20 respondents thought concerns about mining and fossil fuel industries were overstated (per The Sydney Morning Herald).

The brief

A survey of 2,048 working Australians found that energy and mining firms are among the companies employees most expect to take responsibility for cutting emissions. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that 59 per cent identified energy and utilities companies as having a major responsibility, while 53 per cent named mining and fossil fuel companies.

The Curtin Centre for Applied Ethics conducted the survey for The Climate-Exposed Workforce, the first report in its Polycrisis Report Series. Across the broader question of corporate responsibility, 97 per cent of respondents said large companies have at least some duty to act on climate change. Respondents also expressed doubts about their own employers’ progress.

More than half said their employer had made a public climate commitment, but only one in seven believed the company was making good progress. The survey therefore records a gap between reported commitments and workers’ assessment of progress; it does not identify the companies involved.

On the future of mining and fossil fuels, 60 per cent supported a gradual transition away from those industries, alongside strong support for affected workers and communities. One in 20 respondents considered concerns about mining and fossil fuel industries overstated.

These figures describe different views in the survey: support for a managed transition was substantially more common than the view that concerns about the industries were overstated. The findings also measured how employees said they would judge company climate claims under different reporting arrangements.

Eighty-five per cent said they would trust claims when the law requires disclosure and penalties apply to misleading statements. Trust was 79 per cent for independently audited claims, compared with around 44 per cent when companies reported on themselves. Australia is due to preside over the COP31 climate negotiations next month, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The survey’s results thus place workers’ expectations of corporate climate action alongside that upcoming role, while the reported figures concern respondents’ views rather than emissions outcomes or specific company performance.

Why it matters

  • Energy and utilities firms face a clear expectation from surveyed workers: 59 per cent said these companies have a major responsibility to cut emissions; 53 per cent said the same of mining and fossil fuel companies.
  • Workers in mining and fossil fuel industries and their communities are directly named in the survey’s transition question: 60 per cent favoured a gradual shift accompanied by strong support for affected workers and communities.
  • The survey points to a trust mechanism relevant to corporate climate claims: 85 per cent said they would trust claims under legally required disclosure with penalties for misleading claims, compared with around 44 per cent when companies report on themselves.

What to watch next

  • Whether companies make progress that workers recognize, given that only one in seven respondents said their employer was making good progress.
  • How energy and utilities firms and mining and fossil fuel companies report climate claims, in light of respondents’ higher stated trust in legally required disclosure and independent audits.
  • Australia’s role presiding over the COP31 climate negotiations next month.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
2 source articles · 2 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Too few rated· 2 Center
Where the outlets are based: Asia 100%
Outlet political mix
Too few rated
Left
Center
Right
0 outlets
2 outlets
0 outlets
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
2 unique outletsDominant coverage: Asia
Limited coverage
  • Coverage is currently limited to 2 outlets.
How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

Updat3 does not yet have enough full reports to compare how outlets framed this story.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. Australia ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  2. In 2007, Australia also introduced the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting scheme, requiring large companies to report emissions, energy use and production data.
    Background · from our historical context
  3. Australia ratified the Kyoto Protocol.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  4. That reporting system later provided a foundation for the Safeguard Mechanism, introduced in 2016 and subsequently strengthened.
    Background · from our historical context
  5. Australia ratified the Paris Agreement.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  6. Australia passed the Safeguard Mechanism (Crediting) Amendment Act.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  7. Australia's reformed Safeguard Mechanism took effect for large industrial facilities.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3

How we got here

On 1 July 2023, Australia’s reformed Safeguard Mechanism took effect, requiring large industrial facilities—including facilities in mining and energy—to keep emissions below declining limits or meet their obligations through measures such as carbon credits.

The reform followed the passage of the Safeguard Mechanism (Crediting) Amendment Act 2023 and put new pressure on emissions-intensive businesses to plan for lower-carbon operations. The mechanism sits within the Climate Change Act 2022, which set Australia’s targets of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by 43 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050.

Original sources

2 articles from 2 outlets · Asia · Show all

Every story links to the reporting it was built from. How we choose sources

Spotted a factual error, a broken link or a misleading summary? Tell us.