15 September 2021
The federal Environment Minister has just signed-off approval for Whitehaven’s climate-wrecking Vickery coal mine. But Whitehaven still needs to find enough money to match the mine’s $600 million price-tag.
Despite stating their support for the Paris Agreement, NAB and Westpac loaned a combined $220 million to Whitehaven last year, a company pursuing huge new expansions of the coal industry. Whitehaven could approach these banks for even more money, as the coal corporation presses ahead with its planned Vickery coal mine.
Take action:
1. Comment on these social media posts. If you don’t have social media, send the banks an email here.
2. Keep your comment polite, personalised and to the point. The bank will be more likely to listen to us if we’re respectful and clear in our ask.
3. Send your own unique message, asking NAB and Westpac to “rule out any more funding for Whitehaven Coal, and other companies pursuing expansion of the fossil fuel industry”. You might also want to include some of our talking points below – remember, a personalised message will be more impactful. For example:
@NAB loaned $110 million to @WhitehavenCoal in 2020, a company pursuing 3 new #coal projects. The @IEA warns no new coal mines can proceed to achieve #netzero by 2050 – a goal NAB says it supports. So when will NAB rule out further lending to Whitehaven? #StopWhitehaven
4. Share our social media posts on your own page.
Talking Points
Some other points your might want to make, or have up your sleeve if the bank replies to your comment:
- NAB and Westpac say they support the goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050, but the International Energy Agency warns against any investment in new coal mining projects to achieve this goal.
- In February 2020, NAB and Westpac each contributed $110AU million to Whitehaven Coal, as part of a total $1 billion loan provided by 12 banks.
- Since 2016, both NAB and Westpac have lent hundreds of millions of dollars to Whitehaven, contributing to lending deals worth billions of dollars.
- Whitehaven’s plans to massively expand the coal industry are completely at odds with net-zero by 2050 and the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5ºC. The mining corporation is planning to spend around $2 billion on three new coal mines and expansions (Vickery, Narrabri Stage 3 and Winchester South).
- When emissions from digging up and burning the coal are added, over their lifetimes these three mines would unleash almost 1.1 billion tonnes of carbon emissions, the equivalent of almost twice Australia’s annual emissions
You can find more information about Whitehaven, NAB and Westpac on our dedicated web pages.
