Australian mining magnate Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest has called time on fossil fuel in a major switch to renewable energy in a move which has come under fire from some.
'The party's over. I know it, you know it,' he says in a powerful new video announcing his dramatic conversion.
'We've all had a great ride,' he says.
'If unchecked, carbon dioxide climate chaos is going to render humanity extinct.'
The iron ore billionaire has now thrown his weight behind developing green hydrogen technology, calling it 'the fuel of the future - pure, totally clean'.
Critics have derided the move as a bid by the tycoon to cash in on the green economy, but Mr Forrest, 59, is unabashed about his intent to reap the profits.
Australian mining magnate Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest (pictured) has called time on fossil fuel in a major switch to renewable energy
'The great thing is, when you make a serious dollar out of it, you can still go home and you can look your kids straight in the eye, not a lump of guilt in your throat,' he said.
Hydrogen activist Simon Holmes a Court believes Mr Forrest is sincere and trusted the billionaire 'cautiously, on this' after posting the mining boss's video with the comment: 'Oh wow.'
'I think it's an important moment in time,' Mr Holmes a Court told Daily Mail Australia.
'One of Australia's most successful businessman, with a significant history in fossil fuel, has very publicly come out to show where the "smart money" is going.'
But climate analyst Ketan Joshi was less convinced and claimed Mr Forrest was overstating the impact of green hydrogen.
'You're over-inflating the use-case for hydrogen for personal gain, even if it comes at the cost of worse emissions and under-consideration of alternatives,' he said.
'You're also building fossil fuel infrastructure, which is really bad.'
In a new video (pictured), Mr Forrest warns: 'If unchecked, carbon dioxide climate chaos is going to render humanity extinct'
The iron ore billionaire has now thrown his weight behind developing green hydrogen technology, calling it 'the fuel of the future - pure, totally clean'. (Pictured, Fortescue Metals Group Christmas Creek mine in the Pilbara, Western Australia)
In the video - released while Mr Forrest is still at the COP26 talks on climate change in Glasgow - he acknowledges coal and oil have powered civilisation to new heights.
'I just want to thank the fossil fuel sector for your great service,' he says across a breakfast table while reading a newspaper with the headline: 'Fossil fuel industry in terminal decline'.
'Warm houses, fast cars - three centuries of insane growth.'
He says his companies are now going to make a fortune from investing in the new technology and challenges others to buy into the evolving industry too.
'I'm already in,' he says to the camera in the video.
'You're not going to let me take it all, are you?'
The billionaire's video got a mixed reaction online (pictured) with many accusing him of simply cashing in on the renewable energy, while others stressed that was his point
The move comes after his company Fortescue Metals Group told shareholders it would be investing 10 per cent of its post-tax profits into Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) to develop renewable energy technology.
The company believes it is vital for it to decarbonise ahead of possible new taxes and penalties which could hit the business's bottom line in the near-future.
