At its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Brisbane today, Suncorp chair Ziggy Switkowski made the quite unexpected commitment to reduce the company’s fossil fuel exposure to an ‘immaterial’ amount over the next two years. The revelation came in response to repeated questions from shareholders about climate change, including its management … Read More
Tell the big banks: Don’t cave on dirty coal finance!
18 September, 2017 News this morning has highlighted the utter lunacy of the current state of the energy ‘debate’ in Australia, with Trevor St Baker, Chairman of Delta Electricity, calling on the government to pressure banks to keep lending to dirty power stations like the ones he owns. We need … Read More
Media Release: Shareholders move to force Commbank to manage climate risk
28 August 2017 Shareholders have lodged a first-of-its-kind resolution with Commonwealth Bank that would embed climate change risk management into its constitution. It comes a month after shareholders began court proceedings against the bank over its failure to consider climate change as a material business risk. The resolution, coordinated by … Read More
Media release: Origin Energy faces three shareholder resolutions
Coordinated by environmental finance group Market Forces, shareholders in Origin Energy have filed a series of resolutions with the oil and gas major. View ASX announcement. The three resolutions, to be heard at Origin’s October AGM, call for greater disclosure of climate risks, the development of a transition plan, and … Read More
Commbank out of Adani but still in deep on fossil fuels
UPDATE: 28 August 2017 Shareholders have lodged a resolution with Commonwealth Bank, proposing that directors should manage the company in line with the goal of holding global warming to less than two degrees. Click here to see Market Forces’ media release about the resolution. Click here to view the resolution … Read More
Media release: Commbank to face new shareholder resolution after climate policy fail
Environmental finance group Market Forces will lodge a new shareholder resolution against Commonwealth Bank after its climate change position statement released today fell well short of its publicly-made 2 degree commitments. “Commonwealth Bank is not even pretending to make an effort on climate change with the position statement released today,” … Read More
Media Release: Coal funding dries up but $17bn funneled to fossil fuels by ‘Big Four’ banks since Paris Agreement
Monday 24 July, 2017: New analysis from environmental finance group Market Forces today reveals Australia’s Big Four banks have lent $17 billion dollars to expand the fossil fuel industry since declaring their commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement of keeping the world well below two degrees warming. The projects financed equate to … Read More
Two degrees scorecard update
In December 2015, the Paris climate talks saw 195 nations agree to limit global warming to well below 2°C, compared with pre-industrial levels. In the lead up to Paris, ANZ, CommBank, NAB and Westpac all publicly championed the two degree limit, committing to support the transition to a low carbon … Read More
Big 4 STILL financing fossil fuel expansion
On 22 June 2017, some 18 months after committing to support the aims of the Paris Agreement, Australia’s big four banks all contributed to a deal to finance more oil and gas exploration and production. Clearly, ANZ, CommBank, NAB and Westpac are yet to come to terms with exactly what … Read More
