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...
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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...
New report puts the spotlight back on fossil fuel subsidies
12 November 2015 The huge ongoing problem of governments around the world pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into fossil fuel production has been brought back into the spotlight by a new report published by US-based Oil Change International and the UK's Overseas...
Media Release: Australia’s big four banks commit to 2 degree global warming goal – but which ones mean real action?
5Â November 2015 Market Forces have today welcomed announcements from Commonwealth Bank and NAB that acknowledge the need to limit global warming to less than two degrees, calling on the banks to back up their statements with action that matches this ambition. The...
IAG: We Need Climate Leadership
22 October 2015 It dawned on me yesterday at the Insurance Australia Group AGM, just how detached corporate Australia is from reality, when the IAG board became genuinely annoyed by questions related to climate change. If the board of an insurance company does not...
How to mismanage climate risk until it hurts
This article first appeared on Renew Economy on 19 October 2015 There’s an old saying that what counts is what gets counted, there’s a less well-known adage that says, what doesn’t get counted can cost you a fortune. The Australian insurance industry is finding out...
ANZ climate change policy leaves open the door for real leadership
6 October 2015 Market Forces is reacting to news this morning of a new set of commitments on ANZ regarding climate change and coal investments. "When it comes to leadership on climate change, the podium remains empty, and in desperate need of a bank to step up", said...