Forrest, who grew Fortescue Metals Group into the world's fourth-largest iron ore miner in less than two decades, has more recently turned his attention to developing green energy projects such as hydrogen around the world.
Australia's richest man said the idea of reaching net zero by 2050 - a pillar of the upcoming COP26 climate summit in Glasgow - is a "smokescreen" that suggests climate change could be solved by burying or offsetting carbon emissions.
"It's not going to happen," said Forrest, speaking on a panel at the Reuters Impact conference. "The fossil-fuel industry has lobbied hard to get taxpayers to fund their attempt at a transition to 'clean' energy – on their timetable. But that's a highway to climate disaster."
Of the 60 million tonnes of hydrogen produced every year, 96 per cent is still made from fossil fuels, Forrest said: "Green hydrogen is the solution we need to get to absolute...