Profusion of standards has allowed companies to obscure potential financial impact
Big four banks make strides, but action still dangerously slow in a climate emergency
16 November 2023 All big four Australian banks have now released updated fossil fuel finance restrictions this year that have, to varying degrees, moved the dial on what they can’t finance going forward. But, like everything with the banks – the devil is in the...
NAB commits to future fossil finance restrictions, business as usual for next two years
10 November 2023 Yesterday NAB announced that from 1 October 2025 it will require the majority of fossil fuel companies to have Paris-aligned transition plans in place in order to provide additional lending. From that deadline, to get a corporate or project...
Westpac takes two steps forward, one big step back
8 November 2023 This week Westpac announced a host of new project finance restrictions for new and expanded fossil fuel projects, but also walked back a key policy that restricts finance to the companies developing them. In a disappointing regression on its...
CommBank avoids resolution, but warned it’s not off the hook on climate action
11 October 2023 Today, Commonwealth Bank faced questions from shareholders over the remaining gaps in its climate policy. This year, Market Forces, along with hundreds of shareholders decided not to file a resolution on climate-related risk at the CommBank AGM. This...
Banks and regulators must smell the smoke: Coal is not a transition fuel
OPINION | Binbin Mariana, Energy Finance Campaigner at Market Forces in Jakarta, Indonesia. A former banker, Ms Mariana believes financial institutions have a duty to prevent the climate crisis. Indonesia is at a crossroads on climate change. Extreme disasters are...
CommBank’s climate policy update leaves ANZ, NAB and Westpac in the dust
9 August 2023 This morning Commonwealth Bank announced a host of new fossil fuel finance restrictions, bringing Australia’s biggest bank closer to alignment with its commitments to the goals of the Paris Agreement and net zero emissions by 2050. Announcing a series of...
Banks finally dump Whitehaven Coal
In a win that's been a long time coming, news broke this week that Australia's largest independent coal miner Whitehaven Coal is currently unbankable. This is a major development that further proves the effectiveness of the people-powered movement to drive finance out...
Warning sent to Commonwealth Bank ahead of crucial climate policy update
4 July 2023 Today Commonwealth Bank will receive hundreds of copies of a joint statement, calling on the bank to end all financing for new and expanded fossil fuels in its upcoming climate policy update. The statement, coordinated by Market Forces and endorsed by 35...
Indonesia’s Just Energy Transition must be transparent and green
OPINION | Andri Prasetiyo, Senior Researcher at Senik Centre Asia and Nabilla Gunawan, Indonesia Energy Finance Campaigner at Market Forces The Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) between Indonesia and its major trading partners is at risk of stifling...