14 December 2022 Over 10% of Westpac’s shareholders defied the board to support a formal proposal calling on the bank to demonstrate how its funding won’t be used for new fossil fuel projects at today’s annual general meeting (AGM) in Melbourne. The bank was also grilled over the community costs … Read More
New Hope shuts out shareholders at its 2022 AGM
24 November 2022 New Hope’s 2022 annual general meeting (AGM) descended to new lows this year, with very limited accessibility for shareholders. A site visit for shareholders to the company’s Bengalla mine scheduled before the AGM was also cancelled. The company held its 2022 AGM in the regional New South … Read More
More than 20% of Whitehaven shareholders reject climate-wrecking new coal plans
26 October 2022 Whitehaven Coal faced backlash from big investors and community members both inside and outside its annual general meeting, held in Sydney today. Despite record coal prices and company profits, more than a fifth of Whitehaven’s shareholders demanded the company stop expanding and start managing down coal mining … Read More
CommBank chair says companies without transition plans by 2025 “un-bankable” at 2022 AGM
12 October 2022 Today, Commonwealth Bank faced a formal proposal from shareholders asking it to demonstrate how the company’s financing would not be used for the purposes of new or expanded fossil fuel projects. Despite trying to appear to be acting on climate change, the bank and its leadership were … Read More
Commonwealth Bank faces shareholder resolution after climate policy leaves door open to fossil fuel expansion
MEDIA RELEASE: Wednesday 10 August 2022 Environmental finance campaigning organisation Market Forces has responded to Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s latest climate report and targets with a shareholder resolution, calling on the bank to ensure its financing no longer enables the expansion of the fossil fuel industry. The Commonwealth Bank (CBA) … Read More
Legal advice says Deutsche Bank breaching own coal policy by financing companies building new coal mines
10 August 2022 As a lender to Whitehaven Coal and Adani Enterprises, both companies investing heavily in expanding thermal coal mining, Deutsche Bank has been a financial institution of concern for some time. However the bank’s 2020 policy on thermal coal mining, stating “we will not provide any financing for … Read More
Westpac: climate change commitments one week, financing climate-wreckers the next?
2 August 2022 Last week, Westpac announced it was joining the Net-Zero Banking Alliance and made some further climate change commitments that still fail to demonstrably align with the Paris Agreement’s goals. As Westpac made the announcement, another part of the bank was reportedly in talks with Santos, a company … Read More
Has Lockton put ethics aside to back Adani’s disastrous coal mine?
UPDATE 26 August 2022 Lockton has confirmed to Market Forces that it is not and will not broker insurance for Adani’s Carmichael thermal coal project. Find out more here. 23 June 2022 Two weeks ago, the #StopAdani campaign received a tip-off that on 29 May 2022, Lockton, a US-based insurance … Read More
Revealed: HESTA and other super funds investing in Adani coal mining subsidiary
23 May 2022 New regulations coming into effect last month require superannuation funds to disclose all of their holdings. With this data now available to the public, Market Forces checked the exposure of super funds to the two Adani Group subsidiaries directly involved in the climate-wrecking Adani Carmichael thermal coal … Read More
Win! Deutsche Bank abandons Whitehaven Coal’s bond issue
20 May 2022 A media report in Germany confirmed publicly this week that Deutsche Bank has withdrawn from its involvement in a bond issue for climate-wrecking Whitehaven Coal, following a concerted people-powered campaign coordinated by Market Forces. Business media outlet Handelsblatt reported on Wednesday that: “According to information from financial … Read More