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The coal business flushes billions into Glencore’s coffers. And yet the group wants to be climate-neutral by 2050.
Gary Nagle is charming, easy-going. On the stage of the Swiss Economic Forum (SEF), the boss of the raw materials group Glencore wants to convey one message above all: raw materials are needed for the energy transition – copper, nickel, cobalt. And that’s Glencore’s business.
“Half of all smartphones in the room contain cobalt from Glencore,” the CEO said with conviction in front of a large number of Swiss entrepreneurs. This also resonates: Gary Nagle would like the importance of his group to be perceived more strongly in Switzerland.
Nagle is also convinced of his coal business. It is currently not possible without coal – despite the bad image.
Glencore coal enables growth and future decarbonization of emerging markets.
In the future, Europe will probably be less dependent on coal and other fossil fuels, but the emerging countries will be all the more dependent. “Glencore coal enables growth and future decarbonization of emerging markets,” says Nagle. That might sound like a justification, but recent history surrounding the energy shortages of recent months and years proves him right.
Legend:
South African businessman Gary Nagle has headed Glencore since 2021. He succeeded Ivan Glasenberg.
Twitter/Glencore
Europe and the world have recently been buying coal at record prices. And that ensured billions in profits for the Zug group – and princely dividends for the shareholders.
Glencore wants to divest the coal business – actually
However, Glencore’s climate strategy stipulates that the group intends to divest itself of the coal business in the medium term. Gary Nagle also confirms this at the SEF.
Because: On the one hand, the raw materials giant should only be able to achieve the climate goals that have been set. And on the other hand, large investors have problems investing at Glencore. The coal business is often not compatible with their environmental regulations.
Gary Nagle would like to solve this dilemma with the Canadian competitor Teck. The idea: The two companies, which are each active in both the coal and the metals business, want to merge and then spin off the coal business.
The merged Glen-Teck would be a major power in the metals business and not dependent on the poor carbon footprint of the coal business. But the Teck leadership resists the merger. Meanwhile, Glencore is trying to change her mind with gifts worth billions.
I am primarily committed to the shareholders.
If the merger does not work, the coal division will remain with Glencore. “I am primarily committed to the shareholders,” says Gary Nagle. If they still wanted the coal at Glencore, they would remain part of the group.
Legend:
Glencore is headquartered in Baar (ZG) and is one of the world’s leading companies in the raw materials industry.
Keystone/Urs Flüeler
Where the journey of the Zug raw materials giant will go remains to be seen. Glencore would have the raw materials it needs for the energy transition. Industry heavyweights such as car companies have also noticed this, says Nagle.
The Glencore boss shows on the SEF: He wants to rebuild the group, make it climate-neutral and ethically correct. The bottom line, however, is that his work must above all pay off – and bring in money.