The Anglo-Australian mining company, Rio Tinto, recently announced a $7.5 billion investment to reduce carbon emissions by 50% by 2030. When realized, this will be a reduction three times greater than its previous target.

The world's largest iron ore mining company has sought to halve its direct carbon emissions and certain types of indirect emissions by 2030. However the company has brought its target forward to 2025, expecting to reduce 15% in emissions from 2018 levels.

"It is a significant change, but it is the future for Rio Tinto," said CEO Jakob Stausholm.

To meet this goal, Rio intends to increase its energy from renewable sources; boost research and development spending on decarbonization pathways; and double spending on growing minerals essential to the energy transition to about $3 billion per year starting in 2023.

Rio has extended its capital investments for next year from $7.5 billion to $8.0 billion, and said it expects to spend $9.0 billion in 2023 and $10 billion in 2024.

Rio Tinto said this month that it is working on a new technology that would use biomass in place of metallurgical coal in the steel production process to reduce the industry's carbon emissions, and that it is looking into hydrogen.

To decarbonize its iron ore operations, the company plans to deploy 1 gigawatt (GW) of solar and wind power generation, replacing gas-fired generation.

On the other hand, it plans to decarbonize its aluminum smelters on Boyne Island and Tomago Island in Australia, which will require about 5GW of solar and wind power generation.

Rio Tinto's aluminum business accounts for about 70% of its direct and indirect emissions.