8 March 2016 The US's biggest bank, with assets totalling around US$2.4 trillion, JPMorgan Chase today announced a significant withdrawal from financing the coal industry. The bank's updated Environmental and Social Policy Framework sets out their new...
Media release: Super funds lose billions on fossil fuels as divestment calls mount
NEW REPORT: Super funds lose billions on fossil fuels as divestment calls mount Sydney, 10 February 2016 Report identifies $5.6 billion in losses on fossil fuel stocks Funds lose an average $1109 per member over two years Colonial tops list of poor performers Website...
Media comments: Turnbull Government putting economy, environment at risk with Abbot Point approval
22 December 2015 In response to the news that Environment Minister Greg Hunt has approved the expansion of the Abbot Point coal export terminal, Market Forces Executive Director Julien Vincent said: "It's pretty clear that the Australian Government is prepared to take...
2015: coal loses, community wins.
21 December 2015 The global coal industry stumbled into 2015 looking pretty peaky. Analysts across the finance sector were increasingly using terms like “structural decline” to describe its state and its future, while the spin-meisters spent a fortune hitting back...
Westpac commits to action for “below 2 degrees”
11 December 2015 Westpac has today made a commitment to operate in line with an economy that limits global warming to below two degrees! CEO Brian Hartzer said to hundreds of shareholders in Sydney: Westpac is committed to operating, both directly and indirectly, in a...
Commbank’s climate credentials don’t make it through Paris
7 December 2015 Well that was short lived! A month ago we were celebrating Commonwealth Bank's new Group Environment Policy committing the bank to the goal of limiting global warming to less than two degrees. For a moment, it looked like Commbank really got the issue...
How does Westpac measure up on climate?
2 December 2015 We're in a time of year usually defined by the United Nations climate change negotiations, currently underway in Paris. But we're also in the middle of annual general meeting (AGM) season for Australia's big banks, and a parade of glossy brochures and...
The cost of HESTA’s half-arsed divestment? $165 million
26 November 2015 HESTA is an industry super fund for health and community services workers, managing around $32 billion for 800,000 odd members. In September last year, HESTA made a welcome announcement restricting future thermal coal investments across its...
Allianz, world’s largest insurer, dumps coal
24 November 2015 Allianz Investment Management, the money management arm of the largest insurer in the world, has committed to divesting coal from their portfolios. The firm manages in excess of EUR 600 billion of assets covering the liabilities of the insurer. In an...
Australia reluctantly agrees to OECD coal finance restrictions
18 November 2015 Finance ministers from the OECD group of wealthy nations have reached an agreement to stop financing the highest polluting new coal power plants. Originally proposed by Japan and the US, the deal ensures that all new coal plants will only eligible for...