29 July 2021 Major Australian financial institution Macquarie was today challenged by shareholders and communities over its support for the oil and gas industry, and inconsistencies between this support and its commitment to net zero emissions by 2050. Just weeks after Macquarie’s commitment to “aligning our financing activity with the … Read More
ASIC investigation requested into New Hope statements
21 July 2021 Australian coal company New Hope has a track-record of dodging questions about the material financial risks to its business from climate change. That’s why this week EDO Australia, on behalf of Market Forces, wrote to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) requesting an investigation into potentially … Read More
Coal affair sinks Mark Vaile’s uni application
23 June 2021 Thanks to an enormous backlash from students, staff, alumni, donors and the NTEU, former Deputy Prime Minister and chairman of Whitehaven Coal Mark Vaile decided to walk away from his appointment as the next chancellor of Newcastle University [1]. Vaile’s decision underscores that associating with the climate-wrecking … Read More
Woah big spender! New Hope splashes out promoting climate-wrecking coal
11 June 2021 Data released last month shows that coal company New Hope splurged over $650,000 on the 2020 Queensland election, ranking fourth on a ‘big spenders’ list headed by Clive Palmer’s Mineralogy Pty Ltd [1]. The bulk of the company’s expenditure was on advertising, marketing and public relations advice … Read More
Spotlight on big banks after landmark court decision
28 May 2021 In a landmark judgment yesterday about Whitehaven’s proposed Vickery coal mine, Australia’s Federal Court decided that the national environment minister has a duty of care not to cause harm to young people from climate change. According to Ava Princi, one of the eight school students who brought … Read More
99% of Rio Tinto shareholders vote for Paris-aligned emission targets
6 May 2021 99% of Rio Tinto’s investors today voted in favour of a Market Forces-coordinated resolution calling for Paris-aligned emission reduction targets, on the back of a supporting statement which tears the company’s current targets to shreds. The vote came after Rio waved the white flag in the arguments … Read More
QBE’s do-nothing oil and gas policy critiqued at AGM
05 MAY 2021 Today’s QBE annual general meeting (AGM) saw a significant increase in the shareholder vote on a resolution calling for the insurer to set Paris-aligned oil and gas exposure targets, despite the company having attempted to placate investors with a lacklustre policy update in the interim. 21.4% of … Read More
10% of Oil Search shareholders call for fossil fuel wind up plan
30 April 2021 Almost a tenth of Oil Search’s investors today told the Australian stock exchange’s third largest undiversified oil and gas producer to wind up fossil fuel production and return capital to shareholders. The vote for the Market Forces-coordinated shareholder proposal follows votes of 19% and 13% for similar … Read More
Woodside faces shareholder and community opposition to gas expansion
15 April 2021 Woodside’s AGM in Perth today saw almost a fifth of the gas giant’s shareholders tell the company to wind up gas and oil production in line with the Paris climate goals. This was the second time in less than 12 hours that a significant proportion of investors … Read More
13% of Santos shareholders demand oil and gas wind up plan
15 April 2021 At today’s Santos annual general meeting, 13% of the company’s shareholders voted against the company’s management and for a Market Forces-coordinated shareholder resolution calling on the company to wind up oil and gas production in line with the climate goals of the Paris Agreement. Speaking after the … Read More