Rio Tinto Ltd

Actions in 2023 [...] In 2023, we will publish our review of industry associations and maintain our engagement with them on climate advocacy. [...] We continue to encourage our industry associations to align their advocacy with the goals of the Paris Agreement. We review the climate advocacy of our industry associations each year, and we publish our review on our website and consider it when we decide whether to renew our memberships. [...] Industry associations play an important role in policy development, sharing best practice and developing standards. The Rio Tinto Board approves our positions on climate change policy, our approach to engaging with industry associations and our annual review of their advocacy. Responsibility for comparing our positions with those of individual industry associations is delegated to management on a "comply or explain" basis. [...] Recognising that industry associations' views will not always be the same as ours, we monitor the advocacy of all our industry associations and periodically review our memberships. This assessment includes: – the purpose of the association and the value that membership may provide to us and our investors – the adequacy of governance structures within the industry association – policy positions and advocacy. Our annual review of all our industry association memberships supplements this report and can be found on our website. [...] Where our membership is significant, we will work in partnership with industry associations to ensure that their policy positions and advocacy are consistent with our own public position and the Paris Agreement. In accordance with our principles, which govern how we monitor our industry association memberships, we may suspend our support and membership of industry associations where they do not align with our own public position and the Paris Agreement. In 2022, we decided not to renew our membership of the Queensland Resources Council.

###### Climate policy engagement

We continue to encourage our industry associations to align their advocacy with the goals of the Paris Agreement. We review the climate advocacy of our industry associations each year, publish this review on our website and consider it when we decide whether to renew our membership. This review includes:

– The purpose of the association and the value that the membership may provide to Rio Tinto and its investors;

– The adequacy of governance structures within the industry association; and

– The policy positions and advocacy of the industry association.

###### Working with our industry associations

Industry associations play an important role in policy development, sharing best practice and developing standards. Our approach to engaging with industry associations has been approved by the Rio Tinto Board. Responsibility for comparing Rio Tinto's positions with those of individual industry associations is delegated to management on a "comply or explain" basis.

In 2021, our Chief Executive chaired a subcommittee of CEOs at the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) to review and update ICMM's position statement on climate change. A coordinated, joint response by the whole industry is essential to meet the challenge of climate change, and the statement reaffirms our commitment to the goal of net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner. We have made this collective commitment because we believe many of the sustainability challenges facing our industry, and the planet, require collective action to solve. The ICMM statement also includes a commitment for all members of ICMM to set Scope 3 targets by the end of 2023, such as the ones we have proposed in our Climate Action Plan.

Recognising that industry associations' views will not always be the same as ours, we monitor the advocacy of all our industry associations and periodically review our memberships. This assessment includes:

– the purpose of the association and the value that membership may provide to Rio Tinto and its investors;

– the adequacy of governance structures within the industry association; and

– policy positions and advocacy.

In 2021, we supported a shareholder-requisitioned resolution on industry association memberships and enhanced our approach to reviewing and engaging with our industry associations on climate advocacy. Our annual review of all our industry association memberships supplements this report and can be found on our website.

###### Industry association policy and advocacy alignment

Where our membership is significant, we will work in partnership with industry associations to ensure that their policy positions and advocacy are consistent with our own public position and the Paris Agreement. In accordance with the provisions governing the monitoring of our industry association memberships, we will review our support and membership of industry associations where they do not align with our own public position and the Paris Agreement.

Recognising that industry associations' views will not always be the same as ours, we periodically review our memberships in individual industry associations. This assessment may include: – the purpose of the association and the value that the membership may provide to Rio Tinto and its investors; – appropriate governance structures within the industry association; and – policy positions and advocacy of the industry association. Assessment of policy positions and advocacy includes but is not limited to formal position statements, policies, media releases, policy submissions and publications. Where our membership is significant, we will work in partnership with industry associations to ensure that their policy positions and advocacy are consistent with our climate and energy policy. Where significant differences in policy positions arise, we may: – provide greater clarity on our own policy positions, such as company submissions on policy issues or direct engagement with policy makers; – work as part of that industry association to understand alternative points of view and to seek common ground that enables progress to be made; – seek a leadership position in the governance body of that industry association to further influence the policies and perspectives of that association; and – ultimately, and if formal dialogue processes appear incapable of resolving such differences in positions after 12 months, decide whether to suspend our membership. Such a decision will take into account other benefits, unrelated to climate change, that membership of such associations brings to our business, our investors and other stakeholders. In 2022, we decided not to renew our membership of the Queensland Resources Council. [...] This document is approved by the Board of Rio Tinto. Responsibility for the application of this document to individual association membership is delegated to management on a "comply or explain" basis.

The second resolution (Resolution 20) requests that Rio Tinto enhance its annual review of industry associations to ensure that the review identifies areas of inconsistency with the Paris Agreement, and a recommendation that the company suspend membership, for a period deemed suitable by the Board, where an industry association's record of advocacy is, on balance, inconsistent with the Paris Agreement's goals. The resolution makes clear that the Board retains discretion to take decisions in the best interests of the company.\n\nRio Tinto's approach to industry associations is set out at www.riotinto.com/sustainability/ethics-integrity/industry-association-disclosure. We review our membership of such associations annually and already report on areas of inconsistency with the Paris Agreement. If we identify significant differences in climate-related policy or advocacy, we will consider suspension of membership. Our starting position, however, is that our objective of securing advocacy aligned with the Paris Agreement is best pursued from a position of influence from within such associations. In weighing up the relative merit of continued membership, the Board will exercise a balanced judgement of what is in the best interests of the company and will consider suspension of membership as a measure of last resort.

Our responses to government consultations are guided by our overall policy positions that include support for market mechanisms, as we believe this is the best way of stimulating innovation and achieving emissions reductions at least cost. Our submissions are typically developed by subject matter experts, reviewed by government relations and legal teams, and then approved by the relevant country director or senior executive. [...] Our annual review of our industry association memberships supplements the Climate Change Report and provides a complete list of the major industry associations that take positions on climate change and sets out the elements used to evaluate their policy positions and advocacy: 1. Accept mainstream climate science 2. Advance the Paris Agreement goals to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels 3. Support governments as they raise the ambition of their Nationally Determined Contributions 4. Support market mechanisms, including carbon pricing, that stimulate innovation and cost-effective emissions reductions and minimise competitive distortions within and across sectors and jurisdictions 5. Recognise the valuable contribution that renewable energy sources make in reducing emissions, not undermine the role renewables have in the energy mix 6. Ensure that any positions and advocacy on the use of coal do not support subsidies and note that it will require advanced technology, and in the medium to long term must be consistent with Paris targets The review provides further information on any major industry associations whose positions and advocacy on climate and energy policy significantly differ from Rio Tinto's key positions on these issues.

Responsibility for the application of this document to individual association membership is delegated to management on a 'comply or explain' basis. [...] Recognising that industry associations' views will not always be the same as ours, we periodically review our memberships in individual industry associations. This assessment may include: * the purpose of the association and the value that the membership may provide to Rio Tinto and its investors; * appropriate governance structures within the industry association; and * activities and positions of advocacy of the industry association. Where significant differences in policy positions arise, we may: * provide greater clarity on our own policy positions, such as company submissions on policy issues and/or direct engagement with policy makers; * work as part of that industry association to understand alternative points of view and to seek common ground that enables progress to be made; * seek a leadership position in the governance body of that industry association to further influence the policies and perspectives of that association; and/or * ultimately, and if formal dialogue processes appear incapable of resolving such differences in positions after 12 months, decide whether to suspend our membership. Such a decision will take into account other benefits, unrelated to climate change, that membership of such associations brings to our business, our investors and other stakeholders.