Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Cameron Wilson. I'm the company secretary of Fortescue Metals Group. Before we commence the formalities today, there are a few housekeeping items to attend to. In case of an emergency, you'll first hear an alert tone. You should stay where you are, be prepared to evacuate. If we have to evacuate, an evacuation tone will sound, and under the instructions of the wardens, we'll evacuate the building via the emergency exits at the back of the building and proceed north to Langley Park, where there's the muster point. Should there be an evacuation, please remain calm and follow the instructions of the wardens and the staff here at the hotel.
Finally, may I ask as a courtesy to all the shareholders and guests present, please turn off your mobiles or switch them to silent mode. I'll now hand over to your CEO, Elizabeth Gaines, for a brief introduction, followed by the Welcome to Country. Thank you.
Thank you, Cameron, and good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Elizabeth Gaines, and I am the Chief Executive Officer of Fortescue Metals Group Limited. It is my absolute honor to welcome you to today's annual general meeting of shareholders. Before proceeding, I would like to invite Trevor Stack to the stage to perform the Welcome to Country.
Thank you, Elizabeth, and also thank you, Cameron, for that introduction. My name's Trevor Stack. Myself and my wife own a business, Goolamwiin . Noongar language, it's Winds from the Southwest. We deal in a lot of culture and that. I'm quite pleased to stand here today in front of FMG family. This is my second one, and I was quite pleased by the environment the last time I spoke with the crew at the Legends do. When I stand on a country, when I speak, I speak for my grandfather, who was born in Guildford, just around the corner from here. My bloodline runs through six of 14 clans in this Noongar country.
When I say, I welcome grandmothers' and grandfathers' spirits to come and sit with us here today on this country, which is Whadjuk country. Also, to welcome to country, I do this song to welcome everybody here on this country. Also, welcome to our First Nation people on the right-hand side. Family, great to see you. All the best. Thank you, FMG.
Thank you, Trevor. I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land on which we're meeting, the Whadjuk people of the Noongar nation, and pay our respects to elders past, present, and emerging. I would also like to extend this respect to other Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders present here today. At this point, I would normally hand over to our Chairman and Founder, Dr. Andrew Forrest AO, to commence today's formalities. Due to his commitments to participate at this month's COP26 in the United Kingdom, Andrew will be joining us virtually and will be delivering the chairman's address shortly. Deputy Chairman and Lead Independent Director, Mark Barnaba, is going to preside over today's proceedings. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Fortescue's Deputy Chairman, Mark Barnaba.
Thank you, Elizabeth. Trevor, thank you for that heartfelt Welcome to Country, and, Cameron also for kicking off the proceedings today. As Elizabeth mentioned, my name is Mark Barnaba. It's a great privilege to represent you all shareholders as your Deputy Chairman, and, I have the honor and the privilege of chairing the proceedings today. Let me begin by welcoming my fellow directors that are here today. As Elizabeth alluded to, with COVID-19 related travel restrictions, many of your directors can't be here in person. We have found our directors. Let me just go through and welcome all our directors. Firstly, someone that needs very little introduction, our founder, our chairman, Dr. Andrew Forrest AO.
As Elizabeth mentioned, Andrew is at Glasgow at COP26, representing not just FMG, not just FFI, but also fighting the good fight on climate change, on global warming, for which we are certainly all deeply appreciative. Dr. Jean Baderschneiderr is joining us from Washington, D.C. Penny Bingham-Hall is joining us from Sydney. Lord Sebastian Coe is joining us from London. Dr. Yaqin Zhang is joining us from Beijing. Dr. Chow Chee Jing Ung, unable to attend, he sends his apologies. Here in person today on my right is Jen Morris. Jen is also the chair of our Remuneration and People Committee. And obviously on my left is Elizabeth Gaines, both our Chief Executive Officer and also an Executive Director. 2021 has been another challenging year in terms of getting our board of directors together.
COVID did mean we had travel restrictions, but it hasn't acted as an impediment to us being effective, working hard, meeting often, and really driving FMG and FFI to where it is today. I would like to acknowledge and thank all our directors. In particular, let me also just acknowledge Jean and Seb. They are in time zones in the U.S. and the U.K., where for many of the meetings we had, they started very late at night and went through to very early in the morning. They were literally up all night. For that, we really are appreciative. Now, also here today, we're joined by our Chief Financial Officer, Ian Wells. Where's Ian? Please stand, Ian. Dino Otranto.
Dino is our Chief Operating Officer for iron ore and has just recently joined us in the last few weeks. Welcome, Dino. We've obviously heard from our Company Secretary, Cameron Wilson. There are other members of our executive team. Julie Shuttleworth is, I think, with the chairman. She is the CEO, obviously, of FFI. She is also in Scotland, and we may well hear from Julie later. As I said, we have one apology, and that is Dr. Chee Jing Ng. With that in mind, I can advise that a quorum exists, and I can declare the meeting open. A few matters. The minutes from the last annual general meeting have been approved by the board. A signed copy can be viewed by any shareholder. The notice of annual general meeting is also taken as read.
In terms of today's agenda, in a moment, I will hand over to Elizabeth to give the CEO's address. Elizabeth will hand over to our chairman, Andrew, to give his address. Our Chairman will hand back over to me, and I will step us through the formal proceedings of the day. With that in mind, I am going to hand over to Elizabeth for her formal address. Thank you.
Thank you, Mark. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for taking the time today to join us for our annual general meeting. Today is an opportunity to reflect on the extraordinary year that was, to reflect on the achievements of your company, and on the achievements of our people who have delivered time and again, despite the difficulties of navigating through a global health and economic crisis, through multiple lockdowns and extended border closures. Today is also a time to be excited for the future of your company, a future where Fortescue is helping to drive the transition to a cleaner, greener world for the next generation. As Fortescue embarks on this new journey, I can assure you, our shareholders, of one thing, and that is that we will remain true to our culture and values.
By keeping safety and family at the heart of every decision, by continuing to strive to meet stretch targets, by empowering each other and having courage and determination, we will continue to drive Fortescue's future success. It should go without saying that the health, safety, and well-being of the entire Fortescue family is always our number one priority. Before proceeding, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the tragic passing of our team member, David Armstrong, as a result of an incident at the Solomon Hub on the 30th of September. This event has been devastating for the entire Fortescue family. A fatality is a sharp reminder of why safety is our highest focus, and we truly appreciated the show of support from across the industry.
We continue to support David's family and his team at Solomon during this difficult time, and we're working with authorities to investigate the incident. While it is difficult to discuss safety in the immediate aftermath of this incident, I would still like to acknowledge the performance of our team members, whose strong commitments are an overall improvement in our safety performance for FY 2021, with our lowest ever total recordable injury frequency rate of two, which has been maintained in the first quarter of this financial year. This is all the more remarkable against the backdrop of multiple COVID lockdowns in Western Australia and across the nation.
Once again, our annual safety excellence and culture survey saw outstanding participation from our employees and contractors, with 99% of our entire workforce providing valuable feedback on how we can continue to build on the culture that makes Fortescue such a great place to work. On the topic of safety, I would also like to take a moment to address the matter of sexual harassment in Western Australia's mining sector. I was joined by our Director of Fortescue People, Linda O'Farrell, and Director of Health and Safety, Rob Watson as we recently appeared before the WA Parliament's inquiry into sexual harassment against women in the FIFO mining industry. We were also pleased to host members of the parliamentary committee to our Eliwana operations last week.
On behalf of the entire Fortescue family, I would like to personally apologize to any team members who may have experienced sexual harassment of any kind in our operations, and we also acknowledge the experiences of the people whose stories led to the establishment of the inquiry. Sexual harassment has no place at Fortescue, in the mining sector, in any workplace, or in society. In July, we launched a workplace integrity review to hear first-hand from our team members and to get their ideas for change. We've gained valuable information, and we've heard about lived experiences directly from our team members through this process.
As a result, we're implementing a number of initiatives, including enhancing physical safety features, developing new and refreshed training and induction programs, renewing our approach to calling out inappropriate behavior, as well as the introduction of a revised limit of no more than four mid-strength alcoholic drinks in a 24-hour period. As a company, we acknowledge that inappropriate behavior still occurs and that as an organization, we can always do more. Employers in the mining sector have demonstrated time and again that we can be leaders in the field of ensuring workplace safety, and there is no reason we cannot also be leaders in preventing workplace sexual harassment. Driven by our values, Fortescue maintains a focus on sustainability through our three pillars of setting high standards, safeguarding the environment, and creating positive social change.
From the outset, it was Fortescue's vision to ensure that the communities in which we operate benefit from our growth and development. Our continued commitment to empowering communities was demonstrated by our total global economic contribution of AUD 30.2 billion during the last financial year. This strong focus on sustainability continues to generate recognition through Fortescue's inclusion in the 2020 Dow Jones Sustainability Indices and an upgraded status in the latest MSCI ESG ratings. Ongoing changes in societal expectations and a generational shift in our investors, our key stakeholders, as well as our employees, has generated increased interest across the full range of environment, social, and governance considerations. As a business, we're focused on meeting and exceeding these expectations.
It's clear that with increasing momentum in sustainable investing, companies with leading ESG credentials will have access to larger pools of capital, leaving those that aren't stepping up on ESG at a significant disadvantage. In recognition of the growth in sustainable, green, and social sources of capital, we have today launched our sustainability financing framework to support investments in eligible projects. This framework will align our funding policy with our sustainability strategy and climate change objectives, and is a demonstration of our team's passion and commitment to integrate sustainability into all aspects of our business. This will further optimize our capital structure, and together with our disciplined approach to capital allocation, will underpin the continued delivery of value to our stakeholders.
Turning back to our approach to sustainability, the first pillar is setting high standards, including through our commitment to ensuring we have a diverse and inclusive workforce which is reflective of our community. We believe that a diverse workforce is integral to our success, and we recognize that as an industry, we can and must do more to ensure we have a diverse workforce that is reflective of our community and that we should foster a workplace culture that truly embraces diversity and inclusiveness. Proudly, we are one of Australia's largest employers of Aboriginal people, representing 14% of our Pilbara workforce and 10% of our Australian workforce. We know that championing the next generation of Aboriginal leaders is essential to enabling a culture that truly supports Aboriginal people.
On that note, I am delighted to welcome this year's cohort of Leadership Excellence in Aboriginal People or LEAP participants who are joining us today. They're just over here, so please join me in congratulating them. During FY 2021, our female employment rate reached 21%, with 25% of senior leadership roles held by women. In fact, in September, we had our biggest intake of female team members in the company's history, and that's a reflection of our ongoing commitment to gender diversity as part of our recruitment process. The mining sector's work with Aboriginal communities, particularly the industry's approach to protecting Aboriginal heritage, remained in sharp focus through the year. Fortescue is committed to working closely with the traditional custodians of the land on which we operate, with the primary objective to work on a cultural heritage avoidance basis.
We have seven Native Title land access agreements and many dozens of Aboriginal heritage agreements that establish detailed processes for engagement and heritage management. This approach has seen us work closely and transparently with Native Title partners and with traditional knowledge holders to protect and avoid more than 6,000 heritage places. Fortescue supports the modernization of the WA Aboriginal Heritage Act, including legislating an increased voice for Aboriginal people and equitable rights of appeal for all parties. We also support the Western Australian Government retaining responsibility for Aboriginal cultural heritage within our state. In September, Fortescue announced the establishment of a co-management framework with members of Wintawari Guruma Aboriginal Corporation. Under this new collaborative framework, Eastern Guruma people will have the opportunity to guide the growth of Fortescue's operations on their country, while also delivering significant economic opportunities.
The third pillar of our approach to sustainability is creating positive social change, and we believe we're in a unique position to support remote Aboriginal communities and contribute to the vibrancy of regional centers by creating economic opportunities. Since Fortescue was founded, we've consistently provided training, employment, and business development opportunities for Aboriginal people, and integral to this has been our Vocational Training and Employment Center program, or VTEC. VTEC has been providing training and employment for Aboriginal people since 2006, which was two years before our first shipment of iron ore left Port Hedland. To date, the program has resulted in the successful employment of over 1,000 Aboriginal people across our sites.
During this year, we also celebrated the tenth anniversary of our pioneering Billion Opportunities program, which has now awarded over AUD 3.5 billion of contracts to Aboriginal businesses and joint ventures. This included the award of a five-year, AUD 350 million contract to Warrikal, the largest to be awarded by Fortescue, and also among the biggest contracts awarded in Australia to a majority-owned Aboriginal business. Procurement is one of the most powerful levers for social and economic change. From experience, we know that a strong Aboriginal business sector is best placed to create employment and development opportunities for communities. Perhaps the single largest issue accelerating this attention on ESG is climate change. With world leaders all gathered in Glasgow this month for COP26, the issue of emissions reduction is front and center.
At Fortescue, we've signaled our intention to be an industry leader in addressing the most pressing issue of our generation. Together with Fortescue Future Industries, we're commencing our transition from a pure-play iron ore producer to a green renewables and resources company. This is underpinned by our boldest and most important target to date, to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, and that's two decades earlier than commitments by most of the mining industry. This target is also complemented by our most recent announcement to achieve net zero Scope 3 emissions by 2040, tackling emissions across our global value chain. Our Scope 3 emissions, which are those that are outside our control, are estimated at 252 million tons in FY 2021, and that's more than 100 times our Scope 1 and 2 emissions, with around 98% attributable to steel making.
In fact, the world steel industry generates between 7%-9% of global carbon dioxide emissions. Collaboration is integral to driving the rapid transition to green energy, and we will actively engage with our customers, suppliers, and other key industry participants to facilitate the reduction of emissions. Fortescue Future Industries is critical to our decarbonization strategy. Establishing a global portfolio of renewable green hydrogen and green ammonia operations, FFI is positioning itself at the forefront of the global renewable hydrogen industry. FFI is a key enabler of our 2030 and 2024 targets through their investment in heavy industry decarbonization technologies in mobile fleet, shipping, and iron and steel making, as well as the supply of green hydrogen and ammonia. Leveraging Fortescue's world-leading track record of innovation and infrastructure development, FFI's vision is to make renewable green hydrogen the most globally traded seaborne energy commodity in the world.
Consistent with Fortescue's transparent and disciplined capital allocation framework, FFI has been funded by the allocation of 10% of net profit after tax, which was AUD 1 billion based on our AUD 10.3 billion net profit after tax in financial year 2021. We've set out clear short-term priorities on our pathway to decarbonization across key initiatives, including green fleet development and investment in renewable energy. This includes the Chichester Solar Gas Hybrid project, which is in the process of being completed with the solar farm expected to be energized this quarter. The Pilbara Energy Connect program is progressing well, and once both these projects are completed, it is estimated that 25% of our stationary energy across our mining operations will be powered by solar.
Our investment in a fleet of hydrogen fuel cell passenger coaches at Christmas Creek and construction of Australia's largest green hydrogen refueling facility is also well advanced. Fortescue's operations consumed 700 million liters of diesel last year, and through FFI, we're investing in decarbonization technologies to remove the use of diesel across our Pilbara operations. A disciplined approach is required to achieve our 2030 target, and by taking a forward-looking strategic position, we're ensuring that our capital investments in decarbonization are aligned with strategic decisions such as fleet renewal. We're mitigating against potential risks in the form of increased energy costs, carbon charges, the rising cost of offsets, and the potential removal of the diesel fuel rebate in the future.
As always, Fortescue's ability to invest in our local communities and make a significant contribution to the West Australian and national economies is supported by our operational excellence and our strong balance sheet. The 2021 financial year was a second consecutive year of record achievements, with the Fortescue team delivering outstanding results across all of our key operating and financial measures. A strong performance across our entire supply chain contributed to our highest ever annual shipments of 182.2 million tons. Reflecting our focus on cost management and the ongoing investments in innovation and technology, we maintained our industry-leading cost position with C1 costs for FY 2021 of AUD 13.93 a ton.
I note that during the year, our autonomous haulage fleet marked a significant milestone, moving 2 billion tons of material since autonomy was first adopted in 2012. The strength of this operating performance, combined with record average revenue, saw earnings and operating cash flow surpass any year in Fortescue's history, including revenue of AUD 22.3 billion, which was 74% higher than the previous year. Our disciplined cost controls and cost management is reflected in AUD 16.4 billion of underlying EBITDA at a margin of 73%, with full-year net profit after tax of AUD 10.3 billion. We remain committed to reinvesting in our core iron ore business with FY 2021 capital expenditure of AUD 3.6 billion, reflecting our investment in our major projects, including Eliwana, Iron Bridge, and Pilbara Energy Connect.
Underpinned by the hard work and dedication of the entire Fortescue team, your company has delivered a strong start to this financial year with a record first quarter shipments of 45.6 million tons, which is 3% higher than the same period last year. Ore processed and railed also achieved record first quarter volumes, reflecting strong operational performance across mining, processing, rail, and shipping, as well as the expanded system capacity following the ramp-up of Eliwana. Importantly, we maintained our industry-leading C1 cost of AUD 15.25 a ton during the quarter. This is a reflection of our strong focus on cost management to mitigate inflationary pressures that are impacting the mining industry. We achieved average revenue of AUD 118 a ton in the first quarter, which is a revenue realization of 73% of the average Platts 62 CFR index.
Just for context, this is the fourth highest quarterly revenue Fortescue has achieved in the past seven years. Turning to the balance sheet, we saw a movement from a net cash position to a small net debt position of AUD 175 million at 30 September, and that reflects the payment of the FY 2021 final dividend of AUD 4.7 billion as well as capital expenditure of AUD 744 million in the quarter. Fortescue's integrated operations and marketing strategy continued to deliver significant benefits during FY 2021, allowing us to adapt and respond to market conditions. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia's mining and resources sector has driven the country's economic success, with the industry generating a new record high of almost AUD 300 billion in export revenues in FY 2021.
Iron ore exports alone contributed AUD 152 billion, the equivalent of around 33% of Australia's total export revenue. Taking a look at the market today, it has remained dynamic in the past few months and that has resulted in increased price volatility and a moderation in iron ore prices. In China, the volatility has been influenced by a number of factors, including a number of adverse weather events, COVID-19 related supply chain impacts, widespread power shortages, ongoing steel and sinter production curtailments, measures focused on reducing emissions and emissions intensity, as well as macro policy developments. Chinese crude steel production reached 806 million tons in the nine months to September, which is 2% increase compared to the same period in 2020.
Pleasingly, we've seen global crude steel production, excluding China, grow by 16% in that same period, and that reflects a return to pre-COVID levels supported by the recovery in steel demand. In line with the usual seasonal factors ahead of winter in the northern hemisphere, as well as the Winter Olympics in Beijing, we do expect to see further volatility in the market. Since our last AGM, Fortescue has successfully delivered our newest mining operation at Eliwana, and the team achieved first ore through the ore processing facility in December, which is no mean feat when you reflect back to early 2020 when construction was ramping up just as the COVID-19 pandemic was sweeping across the globe and restrictions in WA were coming into effect.
The ramp-up of Eliwana has been very successful, with the operations team achieving their annualized rate of production of 30 million tons per annum in July. In fact, we're expecting to achieve payback on our investment in Eliwana shortly, reflecting the low capital intensity of this project and the current strength of the market. The strong operating performance across our supply chain, together with the successful ramp-up and integration of Eliwana, contributed to Fortescue's record performance in FY 2021. Turning to Iron Bridge, which is our major iron ore growth project with joint venture partner FMG. In May this year, we completed a technical and commercial assessment of the project with a revised capital estimate of AUD 3.3 billion-AUD 3.5 billion.
This project will deliver 22 million tons per annum of high-grade 67% Fe magnetite concentrate, with first production scheduled by December 2022 and a ramp-up period of 12-18 months. Our Iron Bridge investment decision in early 2019 was counter-cyclical, meaning that today ours is one of the few large-scale iron ore growth projects under construction globally, and we anticipate strong demand for this high-value end-use product, which will attract a premium to the Platts 65 index. Iron Bridge represents a strategic investment with compelling returns for Fortescue and our joint venture partner, enabling the delivery of an enhanced product mix. The project will also increase our overall production and shipping capacity to meet strong demand from our customers.
As part of the technical and commercial assessment, logistical constraints relating to the delivery of large modules fabricated offshore were addressed with the construction of a module offload facility at Lumsden Point, which is now completed, and we've seen the arrival of the first vessel late last month. During the first quarter of FY 2022, the team also achieved a number of other key milestones, including delivery and installation of the first modules on site, the placement of the first high pressure grinding roll in the tertiary crusher, completion of earthworks for the tailings storage facility, and the commissioning and operation of the airport. Against a backdrop of our outstanding performance in FY 2021 and our continued investment in growth through Iron Bridge and Fortescue Future Industries, we remain committed to delivering returns to you, our shareholders.
In August, we announced a final dividend of AUD 2.11 per share, and this, along with our interim dividend of AUD 1.47 per share, represented total dividends of AUD 11 billion and a payout ratio of 80% of full-year net profit after tax. This is consistent with our stated intent to target the top end of our policy to pay out a range of 50%-80% of net profit after tax. Just to put this into perspective, since 2014, when Fortescue ramped up production to over 100 million tons, your company has generated AUD 25 billion of net profit after tax and paid total dividends of over AUD 17 billion. That represents a payout ratio of almost 70% of net profit after tax over that period.
Ladies and gentlemen, I've said it before, I'll say it again, Fortescue has never been in better shape. Building on a second consecutive year of record performance, our financial year 2022 guidance reflects our ongoing commitment to optimizing returns from our integrated operations and marketing strategy. With iron ore shipments in the range of 180-185 million tons, C1 costs in the range of AUD 15-AUD 15.50/ton, capital expenditure excluding FFI in the range of AUD 2.8 billion-AUD 3.2 billion, and FFI expenditure in the range of AUD 400-600 million. Our clear strategic focus on optimizing returns from our integrated operations and marketing strategy, as well as growth and balance sheet management, are driving strong results and delivering benefits for all of our stakeholders.
We're making a significant investment in iron ore growth as well as energy infrastructure and new technologies to support the decarbonization of our operations. We have our eye on the future, pursuing exciting new opportunities in renewable energy and green industries, which we believe will be the next major new energy market opportunity, powering the Australian economy and creating jobs for all Australians. That brings me back to our unique culture and values, which will underpin this exciting phase of growth in Fortescue's journey. As we look ahead, we will continue to empower our people, challenge the status quo, and set those ambitious stretch targets. On that note, I would like to give the last word to our people, whose hard work and commitment to meeting key safety, production, and cost targets remain fundamental to our future success.
To be truly innovative, we must challenge the status quo. At Fortescue, we are always generating new ideas, striving to do things better, while always keeping our teammates safe. This commitment has ensured we're at the forefront of the global resource industry.
Driven by our unique culture and values, Fortescue is now one of the world's lowest cost iron ore producers. We've done it all while empowering each other and acting with integrity.
Welcome to the Fortescue Hive, our integrated operations center in Perth, Western Australia, where our team remotely operate our world-leading assets and infrastructure across three mining hubs in the Pilbara, commanding our fleet of autonomous trucks, the world's fastest heavy-haul railway.
Our port operations here in Port Hedland, working together to ensure we remain a reliable supplier to our customers.
We're building a diverse, inclusive workplace that reflects our community and ensuring communities benefit from our success by delivering positive social and economic benefits.
Offering Aboriginal people sustainable long-term careers, creating economic opportunities for local businesses, investing in the future of our regions.
Our team is committed to safeguarding our environment, working closely with our native title partners to identify and protect important cultural heritage.
Now, we're using this innovative thinking to fight the most pressing issue of our time: climate change.
We have set industry-leading stretch targets to be carbon neutral by 2030, decarbonizing our operations by investing in renewable energy and green technologies to eliminate the use of diesel.
With Fortescue Future Industries, we are setting out to become the world's leading energy and green products company, building on our track record of developing major projects to support the world's transition to green energy.
Driving economic growth and creating jobs in Australia and around the globe.
Making a better tomorrow for the people that matter to us most.
Because when innovation is needed to change the world, Fortescue is the future.
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. It now gives me great pleasure to introduce our Founder and Chairman, Dr. Andrew Forrest AO.
Thank you, Elizabeth. Really appreciated that broad and sweeping update. Just great to see everything happening at home. Everyone over here, I can tell you, we all miss you. You all remember also that we went on a journey to just explain that we were part of the heavy carbon emission system, which is causing global warming. That we feel, even though there's hundreds of thousands of companies like us, we felt with you a very deep personal responsibility to actually arrest it, to do everything we could to take on global warming and to end it. Most of you may remember a presentation I made to the nation through the Boyer Lecture entitled Confessions of a Carbon Emitter.
Since then, like before, we've been on that journey to use everything in our power to create the end of global warming by the power of our own example. Perhaps let me take a moment to remember Fortescue family member David Armstrong. I spoke to his parents, Ashley, Sandra, just a few moments ago, and we mourned the loss of David's life at Solomon on the 3Oth of September together again. He was a much-loved friend and colleague, and I know the Fortescue family is continuing to rally together, supporting one another as David is definitely remembered as a true and caring leader and a great indigenous man. I'd like to say that at the time it was, and is now, very tragic. I flew straight to the site the moment we heard about David's passing.
We went to David with Chaplain Chris, held David's hand and prayed over him as Chris gave David his last rites. It was a privilege to also pass this small comfort on to his grieving parents and to discuss it again only this morning. We remained as committed as David was. He was a serious safety leader to the absolute safety and health of all the Fortescue family. David himself was a pioneer, and at Fortescue, we're all pioneers. Amongst the critical 10 values of Fortescue's culture, our pioneering attitude really stands out. The success of this culture shores up not only Western Australia's, but also the nation's economy before and even through this, thankfully now passing pandemic.
It's because of this culture that Fortescue maintains record shipments, as Elizabeth has shown, and an industry-leading cost position as all our team have led, driven by their hard work, driven by technology, and always testing new frontiers and delivering to you, our shareholders. To be a pioneer, one needs to not only anticipate change, but relish its challenge. We drive opportunities from that challenge, and we set the standard after it. From the first opportunity that occurred from seeing Earth from another perspective, and the world it came that humans went to the world's first automated prospect, to many other radical new technologies now successful. Is that any better?
I don't know if we're getting a load of digital distortion.
Okay, one sec. Is that any better, team? Let us know when we can start. Okay, are we ready to go? Today, that pioneering spirit. Yep, ready to roll? Today, our pioneering spirit remains as strongly entrenched in our culture and values as it was when we first started the company. It's that pioneering attitude which is just as strong in the Minderoo Foundation, where over AUD 2.5 billion of Fortescue dividends continue to take on some of the world's greatest challenges. Minderoo's work is enabled by Fortescue's outstanding financial performance here. Nicola and I are proud to use our dividends to fund it. We're working tirelessly to arrest unfairness and create opportunities for people all over the world, and particularly here in Australia.
We're tackling some of the most challenging problems on Earth, like modern slavery, indigenous inequality, community bushfire and flood resilience, and so importantly, using the power of investment to lobby governments to equalize education for boys and most importantly for girls. We also hold governments to account for the transgression of human rights by big data, and we do everything we can to protect the oceans while at the same time advancing early childhood, kids who are empathetic, kids who are intellectually curious, and develop kids all over the world with this essential humanity. I'd like to share with you just one of Minderoo's other achievements, our Plastic Waste Makers Index, launched only in May this year. The report revealed for the first time the 20 petrochemical companies and their funders that are responsible for more than 50% of the world's single-use plastic waste.
Waste that is genocidal to wildlife and over time in its degraded form, behaving much like asbestos in our own bodies. The report reframed the narrative on single-use plastic, putting the focus for the first time squarely on the polymer producers, not just the consumer-facing brands, and on the banks and investors who should now withdraw their funding of this single-use poison. There can be no doubt, ladies and gentlemen, that the plastification of our oceans and its equally malicious twin, fossil fuel-generated global warming, are among the greatest threats to ever confront our planet. We must act now to address these issues and with real and decisive action. Perhaps therefore, allow me to bring you to the industrial might of commerce, which I believe will comprehensively address global warming just as it caused it.
To do this, we need to persuade many people, particularly leaders of countries all over the world. We made a short video to make clear their leaders' responsibility, their personal responsibility in every meeting we joined.
We are at a most critical point in human history. While fossil fuels remain the most profitable, they will remain the most prolific, but time will run out before oil does. Green energy can meet the needs of all industry and all nations. Green hydrogen, green ammonia, and green electricity can outperform fossil fuels and provide a limitless source of power and growth. The time to act is not 2050 or even 2030. This is today's problem, and we have today's solution. Fortescue Future Industries have the technology, the knowledge, and the finance. We are not here to make promises. We are here to build. Because together, we can make all of the difference. The time is now.
You can imagine that meetings kicked off well after that, you know, we really got their leaders' attention because we'd explained that you're allowed to have a good idea occasionally. Just to take you back in a little bit of history, traveling to and studying China between 1998 and 2001, I became convinced that China was about to go through a massive expansion with the dream of their people to place their kids on a trajectory to a standard of living equivalent to the West. I rolled forward 9 successful years during a Fortescue think tank at Minderoo Station. We came up with the idea of green hydrogen. Fortescue is often considered a high-risk taker, but we actually aren't, and we always have a bulletproof plan B to every one of our seemingly crazy plan As.
In this case, our plan B was to store and transport green hydrogen as green ammonia and switch it back again with the use of a novel metal membrane invented by CSIRO, Australia's national laboratories, who are exclusively licensed now to us. Fast-forward another five years, I started a PhD to explore how humans are altering their environments, often irreversibly, and the conclusions were stark. Little more than a year ago, we set out to test the hypothesis that there was enough renewable energy to efficiently and completely replace the fossil fuel sector. Since then, our team has been to over 50 countries to identify some of the best sites to generate massive renewable electricity, green ammonia, hydrogen, and green products. Only one year ago, we were on the road out of the theoretical and into the practical.
Today, we are one of the main standard-bearers to the world's only practical, implementable solution to global warming: green electricity, ammonia, and green hydrogen. Green hydrogen. Now, allow me to show you a last short video that tells the story of this very short journey. I hope you enjoy it. Showing you this, I want to thank. The Heartbreakers and the family of Tom Petty have never allowed the use of this song in industrial purpose before, with the exception, as they say, of the great cause of FFI.
Our burning of fossil fuels, our destruction of nature, our approach to industry, construction and learning are releasing carbon into the atmosphere at an unprecedented pace and scale. We are already in trouble. The stability we all depend on is breaking. This story is one of inequality as well as instability. Today, those who've done the least to cause this problem are being the hardest hit. Ultimately, all of us will feel the impact, some of which are now unavoidable.
Okay, thanks guys. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you enjoyed that. It's a little cheeky, I know, but it just gets out there the busyness of this last year. Let me take you to the present. We are in negotiations, as I speak, with major global green offtake agreements. We've signed our first memorandum of understanding this month with the much-loved U.K. construction giant JCB and the hydrogen technology company Ryze Hydrogen, now under detailed negotiation, committing to them 10% of our green hydrogen or up to 1.5 million tonnes per year by 2030. We'll work with them to secure other green hydrogen market opportunities and, ladies and gentlemen, there are many. The JCB agreement broke the dam of green hydrogen skepticism. It was a historical moment. It's never been done before. And with that has come inquiries from all over the world.
I want to assure you, my fellow shareholders, the interest in the bulk purchase now that we've committed to produce it and our consumers all over the world can see us doing it, that demand is coming from everywhere. In the coming days, we'll be announcing a memorandum of understanding for a potential global aviation hydrogen supply agreement with L.A.-based Universal Hydrogen, starting with the famous Dash 8, and this time with hydrogen-powering fuel cell engines, not plain old kerosene. We're providing solutions to the hardest to decarbonize but biggest industrial sectors, such as power generation from coal, such as rail, such as shipping, such as trucking, and now such as aviation.
All of these industries, which just a year or two ago people thought could never happen, is being addressed with green hydrogen. We're scoping large scale renewable energy and hydrogen projects in the USA, Canada, Africa, Central Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. In other words, everywhere. Our electricity is renewable. It's not from any other source. It's from natural sources, so is therefore a little intermittent, as is nature. The demand for our future green hydrogen must rely on reliability. Our customers need 24/7, 365, in other words, every second of the year, supply. Therefore, we're establishing metrics and a web of producers to ensure our supply will always be 100% reliable all over the world.
We'll do this by creating projects and partnerships across our little planet in an industry that I can assure you will be worth trillions of dollars. In any nascent industry, you have to start where you are on the ground, and you have to build from the ground up. We've done that at Fortescue, and we're doing it here. Here with green hydrogen, green energy, green electricity, we're actually as a world just starting out ourselves as humanity. We're starting even with our own manufacturing. Last month, we announced the Global Green Energy Manufacturing Center at Gladstone in Queensland, nascent that even manufacturing is primitive until we made the decision to automate it. Now there are many other manufacturers joining us, and this, ladies and gentlemen, is a high-class problem.
We're starting the stampede to bring global manufacturing into this green energy sector to meet what is enormous vertical demand. Our own electrolyzer capacity, just to show how new this industry is, will double the electrolyzer capacity of the world. Ladies and gentlemen, it won't be coming from America, nor China, nor India, but with locally made jobs here at our home, our country, Australia. It will dramatically reduce the cost of producing electrolyzers and will be key to enabling FFI's target of producing 15 million tons of green hydrogen per year by 2030. The very first of these miracle molecules, ladies and gentlemen, will fittingly be generated from our own iron ore operations at Christmas Creek, powered by existing solar farms.
We're also investigating converting existing very large fossil fuel powered infrastructure to run on green hydrogen, not just because it will accelerate the shift to zero emissions, but because it makes existing industry more efficient, saving jobs and creating many more. That's why we are doing a feasibility study in Queensland to assess whether we can convert a massive but aging ammonia and our fertilizer plant near Brisbane to run on green hydrogen. This is particularly urgent because given Incitec Pivot's announcement this week that imminent closure and the potential loss of hundreds of jobs will happen unless we can feed it with green hydrogen and they take the decision to continue, then those jobs and that industry is gone. This is a microcosm of the future of the fossil fuel sector and the fossil fuel product sector. Green hydrogen can actually save it.
Yeah, there are dark clouds gathering for all fossil fuel powered infrastructure around the world, and we're going to prove that shifting them to green hydrogen feedstocks can actually save them like it can save the planet through eliminating the global warming that they are very much causing. Let's turn to our responsibility, our very own trucks, our very own trains, and our very own ships. We've designed and built the world's first hydrogen drivetrain in our haul trucks. It's working really well. We have the aim now to replace our entire fleet by 2030. Our team did not do this in 10 years, not in five years, but in just 130 days. 130 days to really kick in the green industrial revolution.
I think we're gonna make 2030, ladies and gentlemen, with time up our sleeve. Ships, trucks, trains, even drilling rigs, green iron, green cement, we're making serious progress in these arts and crafts projects. We will be developing, promoting, and selling the technology to our customers everywhere, helping them to decarbonize, because we're not gonna leave our customers who have helped build us with a huge problem. We're gonna give them real options to decarbonize as well. Green iron to avoid the massive transport costs and green hydrogen to fully replace the metallurgical coal in their blast furnaces. We've successfully produced high purity green iron from the waste product, and from that waste product, we've innovatively established a process to make green cement.
These ideas are not yet commercial, but nonetheless very exciting. We've had these conversations, and every single one of our customers is expressing serious interest. The coming year, ladies and gentlemen, what will it look like? Well, I can share it will be focused on achievement, learning by doing. We'll generate our first green hydrogen molecules in early 2022 at home. We'll announce further offtake agreements and partnerships for renewable and green technology. We'll break ground on the Gladstone electrolyzer plant, and we'll finalize our methods to make green iron from green hydrogen. We'll test our hydrogen and ammonia on trucks and trains at site and in our ships at sea. Lastly, we'll campaign to stop the cynicism of exploiting the public with excuses.
Excuses by the fossil fuel sector to keep burning our Earth, burning fossil fuels with misleading pseudonyms such as clean coal or clean or blue hydrogen, much like the bad old days of cancer-free tobacco. Anything, ladies and gentlemen, that comes from burning fossil fuel, whichever way you cut it, is still a fossil fuel. Fellow shareholders, you know we've shot the lights out with iron ore, and Elizabeth has done a great job in explaining that. We'll continue to do so as we protect and grow your shareholder wealth. Shareholders know also, all of you on this journey with me, that the green industry revolution, which Fortescue is now a leader in, may be our biggest challenge, but is also the biggest opportunity in economic history.
Fortescue cash flows will pay the wages and prove the studies adding massive value by creating the projects, delivering the technology, and meeting our customers' needs. As we've made super clear to the media and to everyone, the implementation capital, which over time will be hundreds of billions of dollars, that much of that capital will be joined by and funded by the world's greatest institutions who must invest in humanity's journey to our zero carbon future. Don't doubt for a second that these investors are there. They are. There's over AUD 130 trillion of investment announced at COP26 in Glasgow alone, now targeting industries that are going zero carbon and, just as importantly, producing zero carbon growth. We are their target. We have the projects.
Our announcement this morning positioning Fortescue to take advantage of green bonds is just the start. You, fellow shareholders, are now part of the journey. Your Fortescue is evolving to a very large vertically integrated resources and green energy and products company, and we can be proud of that journey. Let's go back to our start, the early origins of Fortescue. We were already ahead of the resources curve when we started this company. Considered crazy then, like today, no doubt, we have our detractors. But today, we are again ahead of that curve, this time for green energy. That pioneering spirit, ladies and gentlemen, is once again building value for you, our shareholders, and I thank you for coming on this journey with all of us. Thank you, and Mark Barnaba, over to you for the formalities.
Well, thank you to both Elizabeth and Andrew. Elizabeth for that informative and expansive address, just wonderful. Andrew, for your inspiring and uplifting address. Andrew has literally been on the road for many weeks now for FMG and FFI. He's literally working around the clock. He is the most full-time chairman you could ask. Just doing a tremendous job, and it's leadership in action. I know on behalf of everyone here, we're grateful and thankful. Ladies and gentlemen, I'd now like to move to the formal business of today's annual general meeting. To streamline the meeting, details of the resolutions and the proxy votes for each resolution will be displayed on the screens behind me. I do not intend to read each of them out to you.
Shareholders and their proxies and corporate representatives will also be given the opportunity to ask questions relevant to the business of today's meeting prior to each resolution being considered. I respectfully ask that only questions relevant to the actual item of business is asked. If you do have a question, please raise your white or blue admission card which you received when you registered for today's meeting and state your name before addressing the meeting. Please note, if you have a red or a green card, you are not entitled to vote or speak at the meeting. In accordance with the company's constitution, the voting procedure is at the chair's discretion, and I advise that we will hold a poll in relation to resolutions one through seven. If resolution seven passes, we will hold a poll in relation to resolution eight.
I will now hand over to our Company Secretary, Mr. Cameron Wilson, to explain the poll procedure, and then Cameron will hand back to me. Cameron.
As the Deputy Chair has advised, we'll be conducting a poll. I appoint Mr. Chris Hernandez from the company share registry Link Market Services to conduct the poll. The persons entitled to vote on this poll are all shareholders, representatives, and attorneys of shareholders and proxy holders who hold white voting cards. On this card, you'll find a series of boxes for voting. Please indicate on your card how you wish to vote by ticking or marking the appropriate square for each resolution. You must mark either for or against box for your vote to count. Once you have finished marking your card, please place it in one of the ballot boxes which will be circulating through the room after all the resolutions have been read.
If there are any aspects regarding the voting on which you are uncertain, please do not hesitate to ask the Link staff who will be circulating the room with ballots, the ballot boxes after all the resolutions are read. The Deputy Chairman will close the meeting following the collection of poll papers. The results of the poll will be announced to the ASX later this evening. Back to you, Mark.
Thank you, Cameron. Fellow shareholder, the first item of business on the agenda is in relation to receiving the financial reports. Details for this item are on the screens. Are there any questions in relation to the financial reports, including any questions for our company's auditor, PwC? PwC are represented here today by Mr. Justin Carroll. Justin, if you could just stand in the event that anyone has a question. Thank you. Any questions? Please, sir.
Thank you very much. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, directors, ladies and gentlemen. Len Roy from the Australian Shareholders' Association. You have an excellent presentation today. We are representing 267 proxies with an aggregate number of 1,028,051 votes. We appreciate the time FMG directors make available for discussion during the year involving shareholder interests. We acknowledge FMG has had a stellar financial year ending June 30. Notwithstanding the COVID-19 and the serious skilled labor shortages, the operational and financial performance has been exceptional. It's easy to point out high commodity pricing, but to achieve the Fortescue performance metrics requires a lot more than relatively high product pricing. ASA has recommended open proxies to vote in favor of all resolutions, excluding the two which are not endorsed by the board.
I wish to turn my focus to the establishment and development of FFI. We all aspire to global sustainability in all its forms, and it is commendable that Fortescue has allocated 10% of net profit after tax to FFI to fund its various cleaner energy projects. I guess it's putting your money where your mouth is. As FMG shareholders, we acknowledge the global sustainability journey requires extensive investment in technologies, and there will be achievements and there will be disappointments along the way. As Australia's Chief Scientist has indicated, it's a long journey and we need to be patient. Insofar as Fortescue's commitment to FFI is concerned, we see FFI as the global forefront in evaluating potential technologies and opportunities. Much has been done, and we acknowledge that in a short time, but much more needs to be done.
Our request on behalf of shareholders is for FFI to provide the same informative high-level announcement reporting which FMG has upheld for about seven years. Thank you.
Thank you. Let me just thank the ASA and also Len. Len has had a strong voice at these AGMs over many years representing greater than 1 million votes, and those kind words are appreciated, so thank you, Len. In the event of no further questions, I propose that we take the financial reports as read. I'll now turn to the next item on the agenda, which is the adoption of the remuneration report. The remuneration report is obviously an important element of the organizational design and structure of Fortescue. It reflects our value-based culture, and it's designed to fundamentally align the interests of all employees with shareholders. Are there any questions in relation to this resolution? Yes, please.
Thank you for hearing my question. Proxy shareholder. My name is Dominic Donaldson. My question relates to an aspect of the remuneration report. Why is Fortescue Future Industries so focused on green hydrogen producing using renewable energy as opposed to hydrogen produced using methane gas, such as the recent H2Perth project proposed by Woodside Energy? Obviously, gas producers like them have an interest in locking in sources of demand for methane. My question is, would there be a practical or commercial reason for Fortescue to consider any methane-based hydrogen production?
Do you want to answer this? Okay. Elizabeth?
Andrew, would you like to answer that question, or I'm happy to.
Elizabeth?
Andrew, would you like to answer that question, or I'm happy to.
Yeah. Yeah, thank you, Chairman. Look, I really can't imagine a planet where we would want to exploit methane, which is 80-90 times more dangerous as a global warming agent than carbon, and of course, methane is what natural gas is, and exploit that to make hydrogen. That is mangling the process. Of course, what happens is you're burning fossil fuel. Yes, you're creating the same molecule called hydrogen, but in the process you have caused more global warming agents than you will ever save by allowing your customers to burn hydrogen. No, we feel very firmly that it is confusing the issue.
To make hydrogen from burning fossil fuels, I think, will speed global warming, and accelerate that point in time where the world simply starts to warm because of the release of natural methane, and gets to a point where we can't stop. No matter what humanity does, we cannot stop the world continuing to warm and heat from that point on, regardless of anything we do. You know, we're not gonna speed that point coming upon humanity and all the living world, by burning fossil fuel to make hydrogen. We think that just simply isn't honest.
Good. Thank you. Any questions, any other questions on the REM report itself? Yes.
Good day. My name's Ted Keegan. I have a question. Two actually. Fortescue's target to achieve net zero emission steel making in our supply by 2040 is much more ambitious than other ore companies such as Rio Tinto and BHP. Can you please explain the market dynamics and transitions that will ensure the decarbonization target works as a competitive advantage for Fortescue? Why aren't other iron ore miners pursuing such ambitious targets?
You want me to deal with that?
Yep.
Thank you for that question. Look, I think there's no doubt that Fortescue has always set ambitious stretch targets.
Wait.
Look, I think there's no doubt that Fortescue has always set ambitious stretch targets.
I think-
I'll keep going.
Yep. Yep.
Look, that's been a hallmark of Fortescue since inception, is to set stretch targets. We have set an ambitious stretch target. Our view is that 2050 is too late, that we have to target 2040. We said that there are, you know, real commercial benefits for Fortescue across the whole range of producing green iron, for example, which will extract a premium from our customers. As well as the supply of renewable energy to our customers who ultimately are looking to decarbonize themselves. We've got very good engagement with our steel making customers in China. They're on part of this journey as well, and the technology is evolving. We're doing this for sound commercial reasons, and we genuinely think there will be a significant shift.
The fact that others haven't set such ambitious targets, I guess that's for them to, and their shareholders to address. At Fortescue, setting stretch targets is what we've always done, and those targets are driving real change and innovation across green iron, green steel, and the supply of renewable energy. We're confident in our ability to achieve that target.
Yeah. Well, put differently, leadership is not usually governed by doing what everyone else is doing. It's by actually taking the path that you most believe in, and that's exactly how we see our path toward green hydrogen and renewables. Can I ask if there are any other further questions? Wonderful. Thank you. If there are no further questions, I'll now put the resolution to a vote. Please complete your vote now. I now propose the resolution to re-elect Lord Sebastian Coe as a director. Details are on your screen. Just by way of context, Lord Coe was appointed as a director of the company in 2018, and chairs the Nomination Committee. He's currently a senior advisor with Morgan Stanley & Co. International, a non-executive director of the Vitality Group of health and life insurance companies, and he's also Chancellor of Loughborough University.
Lord Coe chairs CSM Sport & Entertainment within the Chime Communications group. He's currently serving his second term as President of World Athletics, and he's a director of the International Olympic Committee. A former member of the British athletics team, Lord Coe has won two gold and two silver medals, as well as breaking twelve world records in the 1980 and 1984 Olympics. In 1992, Lord Coe became a Member of Parliament and was appointed to the House of Lords in 2000. I would now like to ask Sebastian to make a brief statement. Seb?
Yeah. Thank you. Mark, thank you very much. Chairman,
Colleagues and shareholders, of course. Mark, thank you for reinforcing the old adage that you only ever reach perfection on your CV, but I'll take that this morning. Look, I'm very proud and incredibly privileged to be serving on the Fortescue board for the second time. The first time some 20 years ago was in the infancy of this amazing journey, a journey choreographed by our visionary chair and leader, Dr. Andrew Forrest. Some 20 years ago, Andrew set out to disrupt the iron ore business, not as a wrecker, although he's always been a pretty formidable dog in the fight when that's been necessary, but as a creator. A creator of low cost and safety at heart. He's done it with zeal and integrity.
History tells us that he and Fortescue have, of course, achieved this. I'm honored to be asking you for a fresh mandate to continue to serve in this extraordinary organization. This time in a Fortescue group that is diversifying with the same zeal and passion that it adopted in the early days in safeguarding the future of our planet so that all generations come to live in a balanced ecosystem and one not disfigured by the Billy Bunter-esque disregard to the planet that we live in. This is arguably a more important mission than the one Andrew pioneered two decades ago, and one I hope with your approval today that I'm able to continue to play my part. This is an outstanding business with outstanding people at virtually every level. It's a business of purpose.
It's a business of diversity, inclusion, and equality, and now it's a business of planetary renewal. COP26 has shown Fortescue at its very best. It sits at the moral hotspots, the crossroads of all the big issues of the day. It's brave in its ambitions, and because if we are not, we will let down future generations, and that is not anywhere remotely in the DNA of this organization. Elizabeth and Andrew have today articulated with aplomb the Fortescue state of the nation. I do not seek to add to those words, only to ask for your support today in the next exciting chapter in this organization. Thank you very much indeed.
Thank you, Sebastian. Well spoken. Are there any questions on the resolution? If there are no further questions, I now put the resolution to a vote. Please complete your vote now. Resolution three, the re-election of Dr. Jean Baderschneider. I now propose the resolution to re-elect Dr. Jean Baden-Schneider as a director. The details are on your screen. By way of context, Jean was appointed as a director of the company in January 2015 and is a member of the Audit, Risk Management, and Sustainability Committees. Highly regarded as a leader in both business and civil society, Jean brings 35 years of extensive international experience in procurement, strategic sourcing, and supply chain management. Jean retired from ExxonMobil in 2013, where she was vice president of global procurement. During her 30-year career, she was responsible for operations literally all over the world.
Jean served on the boards of the Institute for Supply Management and the National Minority Supplier Development Council, as well as the Center for Advanced Purchasing Studies and the Procurement Council of both the Conference Board and the Corporate Executive Board. Jean was a presidential appointee to the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Advisory Council for Minority Business Enterprises and is a past recipient of Cornell's Alumni Award also. As I mentioned earlier, in particular, Jean has had a very strong involvement in FFI, especially in terms of the direction that we're taking in North America. Jean, if I could ask you now to make a brief statement, please.
Thank you, Mark, and hello everyone. It's great, I wish I could see you in person. What an honor and a privilege it is to be on the Fortescue board and to work for all of you. This is the most unique company I know in the world. It has visionary leadership, bold enough to take on the biggest challenges, but always with a clear eye on what it will take to conquer those challenges. Fortescue has always been a mining and resources company, but it is also a world-class infrastructure and project execution company, now bringing those strengths to the global challenge of climate change without ever losing our focus on our roots. If you own one single share of Fortescue stock or you support the mission, vision, and values of Fortescue, you are part of the Fortescue family and that is a really big deal.
What does that mean? It means you invested in the best-run iron ore company, lowest cost, greatest effectiveness, leading edge on technology and innovation, and fostering the most unique and empowering culture I've ever been a part of. You invested in Fortescue Future Industries and a commitment to saving the Earth from boiling over while emphasizing all those social commitments that our chairman summarized earlier. At its core, Fortescue Future Industries is a real commitment to the future and growth of Fortescue and continuously delivering returns to the bottom line, because that's the only way we can stay competitive, and it's the only way you can sustain change. You know, we have always been willing to take on the bigger guys, and I love that about us. We're scrappy, and we're determined and so cool. Then we just rapidly leap over them to get it done better.
Now we're taking on the global challenge and even bigger guys and bigger leaps to be the leader in building the new green hydrogen energy economy. I hope you caught part of COP26 in Glasgow this past week because Fortescue, through our chairman, gave a master class in leadership. From becoming an inaugural member of the First Movers Coalition set up by President Biden to our chairman's strong statements challenging others to really step up their commitments, Fortescue is leading the way to a true green economy. Saving the planet, sure, it sounds bold and audacious, but that's Fortescue, right? No doubt about it. As a board member, you have my commitment to work as hard as I can every day across all of Fortescue businesses to achieve our objectives and deliver value to all shareholders and have fun while we're doing it.
Thank you so much for being here today, and I can't wait to share a cup of tea and chat with all of you next year in Perth, I hope. Thanks for your support.
Thank you, Jean. Unless I'm mistaken, I think it's 4:00 A.M. in the morning for Jean, so just imagine what she's like in about five hours time. Are there any questions on the resolution? Wonderful. If there are no further questions, I'll now put the resolution to a vote. Please complete your vote now. I'd now like to propose a resolution to reelect Dr. Cao Zhiqiang as a director. Details of this resolution are on your screen. Dr. Cao was appointed as a director of the company in 2018 as a nominated director from Hunan Valin Iron and Steel Company Limited. He's currently the chairman of Hunan Valin Iron and Steel Group Company Limited. He brings extensive experience in technology, in steel mill management, and has a very distinguished and pedigreed background in international cooperation and diplomacy.
As I explained, Dr. Cao is unable to be here today. He's prerecorded a brief statement which we will play for you now.
Thank you.
Can I ask if there are any questions on this resolution? Thank you. If there are no further questions, I'll now put the resolution to a vote, and please complete your vote now. Let me now move on to propose a resolution to refresh approval for the FMG Performance Rights Plan. The FMG Performance Rights Plan was last approved by shareholders at the company's 2018 annual general meeting. Approval for the performance rights plan is required this year to ensure that the securities to be granted under the plan would not be counted in the company's 15% annual limit. Accordingly, this resolution seeks to reapprove the performance rights plan. The details of this resolution are on your screen. Can I ask if there are any questions in regard to this resolution? Thank you. There being no further questions, I'll now put the resolution to a vote.
Please complete your vote now. Resolution six, the resolution for Elizabeth Gaines to participate in the FMG Performance Rights Plan. The details of this resolution are on your screen. Before we open for questions, let me just make a few comments on this, in accordance with strong corporate governance. Shareholder approval is being sought in respect of this grant of performance rights to Elizabeth in her capacity as an executive director for the financial year ending 30 June 2022. Full details of the maximum number of performance rights that may be granted to Elizabeth during the period and the relevant vesting conditions are provided in the notice of meeting and also in the 2021 annual report. This incentive is an important part of our pay for performance culture. I'll leave it at that and ask if there are any questions on this resolution.
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. If there are no further questions, I'll now put the resolution to a vote, and please complete your vote now. Okay, resolutions seven and eight. Resolutions seven and eight have been requisitioned by a group of shareholders led by the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility, ACCR, under Section 249N of the Corporations Act. Your board has considered resolutions seven and eight and the supporting statements put forward in relation to each of them and considers that the resolutions are not in the best interests of shareholders as a whole and recommends that you vote against them. Resolution seven, I now propose the resolution for the amendment to the constitution of FMG. Shareholder resolution seven is a special resolution, and as such, it requires 75% vote in favor to pass. The details of this resolution are on your screen.
Are there any questions, please? Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. If there are no further questions, I'll now put the resolution to a vote. Please complete your vote now. Based on the votes cast before the meeting, resolution seven cannot achieve the required 75% of the votes and hence cannot pass. We do have shareholder resolution eight, which relates to the WA Cultural Heritage protection laws. The validity of resolution eight is conditional on resolution seven being passed by the requisite majority. As resolution seven failed to pass, resolution eight is void. Now, despite resolution eight being void, we would welcome questions on the resolution, simply in the forum of openness and transparency. Are there any questions on this resolution? No. In which case, we will move.
As is customary, before we proceed to the closing poll and concluding remarks, I'm happy to take any final questions from the floor that are relevant to today's proceedings. This is our final opportunity, ladies and gentlemen, fellow shareholders, for any final questions.
There's a lady just here.
Please. I think a microphone is just coming your way.
Thank you. Angela Punch McGregor, a very proud shareholder. In The Australian yesterday, there was an article saying that Fortescue Future Industries would be costing up to AUD 145 billion across global projects.
They quoted it as a hair-raising amount, and I'd like to ask the Fortescue team if they regard it as either hair-raising or accurate or both. Thank you.
Take that one.
Yep.
Well, we regard that as a significant opportunity, and I think our chairman has outlined the opportunity that is ahead of us in terms of this, the transition to green energy and renewable energy. The fact that the FFI team have amassed a portfolio of opportunities, The Australian was suggesting that all of those are going to be funded immediately, but that's not the case. We've been very transparent in our capital allocation framework, 10% of net profit after tax to FFI. We've said all along that any projects that are developed by FFI will have their own funding sources secured without recourse to Fortescue. Protecting Fortescue and Fortescue's balance sheet. There's a significant opportunity. We don't see it as hair-raising or a concern.
We actually see it as an amazing achievement that the team have actually managed to pull together this portfolio of opportunities. The next stage of that is to consider the studies, the feasibility of those projects, the funding of those projects. Those are the opportunities ahead of the team, and we're undergoing that work currently. The first project that we've been working through is an opportunity in Tasmania at Bell Bay for a green ammonia production facility, and that we would expect to make a final investment decision on that in the first half of next calendar year.
As projects are assessed and approved, at that point, if there is a financial investment decision taken by the board, we would then advise the market on that opportunity and the funding of that opportunity. Always at the heart of it is it's got to make good commercial sense. You know, there's great reasons to undertake this transition to green energy, but one at the front of that, forefront of that is the commercial opportunity, and we will use the same discipline we've taken in the past to developing the iron ore business and applying that same rigor and capital discipline to any projects for FFI.
Yeah. Thank you, Elizabeth. Mrs. Punch McGregor, thank you for the question. But rest assured that having too many opportunities is a wonderful problem to have. Like with Eliwana, like with Iron Bridge, we will apply the fiscal discipline that we've applied with every project to date. Only if and when the return on those projects exceeds the cost of our capital will we invest, and when that situation is the case, financing it never really becomes the biggest issue. So, you know, we feel that for now, we're in a wonderful position where there are a plethora of opportunities. There is work to be done, but it represents a very exciting period in our growth path going forward. Any other questions, please?
Yes.
Yes, sir.
Can you hear me all right?
I can hear you well.
My name is Edward Tomlinson, and I've got a few questions on FFI. My first question on FFI, is it 100% wholly owned subsidiary of Fortescue Metals?
Yes, it is.
It is.
It is.
Thank you. The second question is there any indication, if you have any knowledge as to approximately how many years it will take to become profitable? That's obviously only an estimate.
Well, at the core of the activities of FFI is actually the decarbonization of Fortescue, and we see that as a very important part of FFI's activities. If you think about our goal to be carbon neutral by 2030, we see that as a significant commercial opportunity for Fortescue to generate more profits, to lower our costs, to get a premium for our iron ore, which will be green. Absolutely, we see that we will generate significant profits. There is some time between now and then. If we don't decarbonize, not doing that puts at risk that we will lose a diesel fuel rebate. We'll see a new carbon charge introduced. The cost of offsets will skyrocket. Not doing it will actually have a significant detriment on our overall profitability.
Okay. You may not necessarily want to answer the next question, which is, are you dealing with a company called Plug or Ballard Power Systems who deal with hydrogen, the production of hydrogen products for vehicles and trains?
I don't know.
I don't know if it's the same company we are dealing with, Plug Power, who provide a balance of system for electrolyzers for our manufacturing facility that we're looking to develop in Gladstone. I don't know if they're the same company.
Yes, that's the same company. Thank you very much indeed.
Thank you, Edward. Any other questions, please?
One more.
Sure.
Hello. Peter George is my name, and I wanted to question regarding the benefit to the iron ore business of transferring to the hydrogen power. My calculation is that we spend about AUD 3.80 of diesel per ton of iron ore produced. If that was transferred into hydrogen tomorrow, do you have a sense of what the saving might be to the business of iron ore production? Thank you.
Yeah, thank you for that question, Mark, if I take that. We model a range of scenarios, because you have to take a view on the diesel price in the future. One of the things we do know is the diesel price has significantly increased in the last six to 12 months. My view is we're gonna see increased energy volatility, so the cost of energy will be very volatile for some time, particularly fossil fuel energy. Our goal is to make sure that our hydrogen-powered mobile fleet will be cheaper than diesel. It will improve emissions performance obviously, and also be cheaper than diesel.
Putting an exact number on it, because by the time we get there, our goal is to remove diesel across our operations by 2030, you'd have to do your own estimate of the cost of diesel by then. I imagine it would be significant given the volatility we're already seeing. Our goal is to actually make sure that this is better for us both in a emissions sense, but also in an overall cost. Our view is it will significantly contribute to a lowering of our costs.
Yeah. I mean, we see FFI not as a cost, but as an investment, and, a very lucrative one at that. Any other questions before we wrap up? Yes, sir.
Hello. Alex Hillman from Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility. FMG is committed to decarbonizing steel production by 2040, which is great, but only a 7.5% reduction by 2030. With such a massive opportunity at stake, what can be done to accelerate that decarbonization journey?
Well, as I said before, we always set stretch targets, and we will be looking to accelerate, you know, that target. We've said an emissions reduction by 2030. These are obviously Scope 3 emissions largely outside our control. We will continue to be ambitious. We'll continue to work with customers. We've sought to align with the work that our customers are already undertaking in China across the steelmaking value chain. We think we always hope we can do better, but 2040 is certainly industry-leading to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040.
Any other questions, ladies and gentlemen? Okay. If there are no further questions, and thank you for those questions, they are important and, we do appreciate them. I'll now proceed to the closing poll. Kindly lodge your voting card in the ballot box that's circulating the room. Yep. Just leave it. I'll do it. Just in time filling in. I'll just pause while that collection process occurs. Thank you. I take it that all persons intending to vote have now done so. Ladies and gentlemen, fellow shareholders, I therefore declare the poll closed, subject to finalization of the poll. Final results of the resolutions will be announced on the ASX later this evening.
Let me also say in recognition of Remembrance Day on Thursday, I'm pleased to announce that the Fortescue family is donating AUD 1,000 to RSLWA's Poppy Appeal in lieu of purchasing the fabric and plastic poppies, which ultimately contribute to the growth in plastic waste. The Poppy Appeal is to assist our current and ex-soldiers, sailors and airmen with difficult issues such as homelessness and physical injuries and transitioning into the civilian world. If you too would like to make a donation to the Poppy Appeal, you can do so online at www.rslwa.org.au/donate. Ladies and gentlemen, this now concludes today's FMG annual meeting. Thank you for all attending today and being here.
Thank you for being so supportive of us, your board and your executive team, for making time to voice your thinking and we look forward to another very successful year ahead of all of us. Thank you.