Vale: Driving Decarbonisation and Nature-Based Solutions in Mining
- World Climate Foundation
- Apr 30, 2025
- 2 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
Rodrigo Lauria, Director of Climate Change at Vale, outlines how the mining company is integrating sustainability into its operations and value chains. With 23 years at Vale, Lauria has led the company’s efforts to decarbonise operations and support clients in reducing emissions across Scope 1, 2 and 3.
The central focus of Vale’s strategy is renewable energy. The company has already achieved 100% renewable electricity in Brazil and is nearing 85% globally. The company also emphasizes nature-based solutions, protecting 800,000 hectares of native Amazon forest in partnership with local authorities, while maintaining responsible production practices in the region.
Financing, Lauria notes, is one of the greatest challenges for scaling climate action. He emphasizes the need for new frameworks that match the realities of the low-carbon economy, enabling investors and multilateral banks to support transformative projects.
“Finance is the key lever to achieve what we need to achieve. Without it, money doesn’t flow to the projects, and progress stalls.”
Recorded at the World Climate Investment Summit 2025, this conversation highlights how rethinking finance, and placing nature and people at its core, can unlock scalable, long-term solutions for forests, food systems, and the global economy.
Watch the full conversation:
Rodrigo Lauria, Director of Climate Change at Vale
Rodrigo LAURIA is Director of Climate Change and Carbon at Vale, with over 20 years of experience. He has worked in logistics, corporate services, FP&A and sustainability at Vale.
He also serves as Executive Director of Fundo Vale, focusing on Nature-Based Solutions, and is a guest lecturer for the ESG MBA at COPPEAD in Rio de Janeiro. Rodrigo holds a degree in Business Administration from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and MBAs in Corporate Finance and Economic Engineering.
