Global mining major, Rio Tinto has changed its view on the hot topic of global warming recently and the company now agrees with the scientific community that the phenomenon is largely caused by human activities.

The company has earlier only acknowledged that human activities make a contribution to the global warming. Rio's head of coal in Australia, Bill Champion has said that the company recognizes the impotence of actions to be taken on climate change. He said that the company backs global efforts to reduce emissions on the planet.

“The scale of the necessary emissions reductions and the need for adaptation, coupled with the world's increasing requirements for secure, affordable energy, create large challenges. We support a co-ordinated global approach to reduce emissions. Until that is in place, as well as after, we recognise that it will be necessary for individual jurisdictions to take actions,” Mr Champion said.

Mr Champion pointed out that Rio Tinto considers costs and risks of emissions and business disruption while making investment decisions. He said that the company also considers the cost and benefits of moving to a low carbon economy while making several types of decisions.