After years of pressure from customers, shareholders, environmental groups and the broader community, Westpac’s climate policy update in 2017 effectively ruled out any loans for the controversial Adani Carmichael mega coal mine.

While Westpac’s updated policy was a big win for the Stop Adani campaign, the bank unfortunately has since ramped up its lending to dirty coal projects –  by an eye-watering 141% in the last financial year alone.

Use this form to tell Westpac they must uphold their pledge to the Paris climate agreement goal to keep global warming “well below” 2°C — by stopping the flow of money to this dirty industry.

In December 2015, Westpac publicly committed to taking action to support the international goal of limiting global warming to less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels. But as our latest scorecard shows, the bank’s recent lending remains completely inconsistent with that pledge.

A 2°C degree warming limit gives us a strict carbon budget to work within – 80% of known fossil fuel reserves must stay underground if we are to have even a 75% chance of not exceeding the limit. Find out more about the big banks and 2°C.

Westpac took a step toward backing up its 2°C commitment in April 2017, when it released a climate policy update. This ruled out finance for most new coal mines — including Adani Carmichael — and also makes it unlikely the bank will fund any new coal power plants. Although moving in the right direction, Westpac’s policy doesn’t go far enough to line up with its 2°C commitment. Check out our full analysis of what Westpac’s climate policy update means for their future fossil fuel support.

Despite its Paris climate pledge, Westpac still lends money to companies and projects that expand  fossil fuels, and has even helped finance a deal to enable the development of one of the biggest untapped gas deposits in Asia.

For example, our research found that in 2017-18 Westpac increased its exposure to coal mining by a massive +140%.

This is despite Westpac’s 2017 policy restricting finance to coal mines.

Find out more about the extent and impacts of banks financing fossil fuels, compare the lending positions of different banks and learn more about how to switch to a bank that aligns to your values.