Alcoa will pay A$55 million to remediate native forest it cleared illegally in Western Australia, the largest such payment in the country’s history.
SYDNEY: US aluminium giant Alcoa will pay A$55 million (USD 38.9 million) to remediate native forest it illegally cleared in Western Australia.
Australia’s environment ministry announced the unprecedented payment on Wednesday, relating to nearly 2,100 hectares cleared without approval between 2019 and 2025.
The funds will support conservation initiatives including ecological offsets and programmes to preserve endangered black cockatoos.
Alcoa stated it operated within Australian law but agreed to the payment to acknowledge its historical clearing activities.
The company has mined bauxite in Western Australia since the 1960s, clearing around 28,000 hectares of native jarrah forest.
Opposition to Alcoa’s environmental impact is growing, with a recent proposal to clear 11,500 more hectares attracting 59,000 public submissions.
The government is conducting a strategic assessment of Alcoa’s cumulative environmental impact through to 2045.
Alcoa will be allowed to continue limited clearing for 18 months under a national interest exemption to ensure bauxite supply.
The company has pledged a further A$4.2 million in offsets for activities covered by this temporary exemption.
“We are committed to responsible operations,” Alcoa CEO William Oplinger said in a statement.
He welcomed the step towards transitioning approvals to a contemporary assessment process for future certainty.
