Glencore Stays the Course With Coal

The commodities giant’s CEO says the fossil fuel is still necessary, even as he pursues minerals needed for the energy transition

- Thomas Biesheuvel and Will Kennedy

With the world burning more coal as Russia’s war in Ukraine plunged global energy markets into chaos, commodities giant Glencore Plc pulled in a record $34 billion in profit last year. Gary Nagle, its boss, makes no apologies for more than half of that windfall coming from coal. At the same time, he also wants investors to focus on the minerals needed for a battery-powered future: copper, cobalt and nickel. “We must transition,” Nagle says. “It’s the responsibility of those involved in the business.”

Under Nagle, who took over in 2021, the shift away from coal won’t be fast. When the world committed to the Paris climate targets and investors started urging corporate leaders to embrace environmental causes, Glencore proposed a gradual exit from coal mining, while its chief rivals— BHP Group Ltd. and Anglo-American Plc—promised a quick departure. “Coal is a necessary fuel for today,” says Nagle in a boardroom at Glencore’s headquarters near the lakeside Swiss town of Zug. “It provides stable base load power, particularly for the developing world.”