3 April 2020 At its annual general meeting today, one of Australia’s biggest gas companies, Santos, proved it has no future in the clean, green economy we need to rapidly transition to. At the AGM, Santos fought tooth and nail against a shareholder proposal calling on the company to align … Read More
Bushfire survivors call on banks to stop funding climate crisis
20 March 2020 Today, anyone leafing through the pages of the Australian Financial Review can’t have missed this powerful ad on page 15: The Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action group has sent an open letter to the major Australian banks calling on them to stop funding new fossil fuel projects … Read More
Responding to COVID-19
16 March 2020 Market Forces, like the rest of the world, is changing the way we operate in order to help limit the spread of COVID-19. We are trying to stay ahead of government and health authority directives and are taking steps that do this while allowing our advocacy work, … Read More
Adani looking for Abbot Point investors
12 March 2020 Adani is asking investors to back the Abbot Point coal export terminal for the next seven years through a new bond. With take-or-pay contract protection now largely expired, whoever invests is placing a massive bet about the Carmichael coal project going ahead, but some key aspects of … Read More
Massive Sydney mural targets Westpac’s inadequate climate policies
9 March 2020 Market Forces has put up a powerful, 8 metre high mural on Sydney’s Elizabeth St in Surry Hills, targetting Westpac for its funding of coal, oil and gas projects, the industries most responsible for fueling the climate crisis and worsening bushfires. Since committing to the goals of … Read More
Australia’s major banks keep on fueling the climate crisis
7 March 2020 The latest data on bank lending to fossil fuels over the last four years shows that Australia’s major banks continue to undermine the Paris Agreement and global action on the climate crisis by lending to dirty fossil fuels. Westpac, Commbank, ANZ and NAB collectively poured a massive … Read More
Increased coal and gas lending as Westpac approaches policy due date
5 March 2020 Australia has faced years of worsening bushfires, storms and drought since Westpac last announced a climate policy. This policy is obviously inadequate as the bank has sunk $5.4 billion into fossil fuels, including $846 million to projects that expand the scale of the industry, since it pledged … Read More
QBE faces shareholder resolution on oil and gas support
5 March 2020 Shareholders coordinated by Market Forces together with the $4bn investment manager Australian Ethical have co-filed a resolution calling for the global insurer to align underwriting (insurance) and investment activities with keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees. QBE has confirmed to the ASX this morning that the resolution … Read More
13 fossil fuel companies named in climate risk complaint
2 March 2020 Market Forces has written to corporate watchdog ASIC to raise concerns about fossil fuel producers’ climate risk disclosures, or lack thereof. Like other financial regulators, ASIC has been stepping up its scrutiny of companies’ disclosure and management of the financial risks posed by climate change. ASIC’s 2018 … Read More
The Siemens fiasco should scare off Adani’s other European supporters
20 February 2020 The pressure on Siemens, the German multinational which last month destroyed its reputation over a $30 million contract, offers a cautionary tale about how dangerous business as usual can become if you haven’t noticed that the world around you has changed. Siemens, which trumpets its sustainability credentials … Read More