Today’s release of the Royal Commission’s report into the financial services industry will chronicle the recent misconduct of the major banks and plot a course for how the industry can restore some integrity. It’s going to be a long road back, but one opportunity for redemption comes in the role banks can play reshaping our energy landscape.
Big four banks increase their fossil fuel exposure
January 2019 Australia’s major banks have been getting back into fossil fuels over the last year, casting doubt on their seriousness in tackling climate change through their investments. This study compares the banks’ reported exposures to fossil fuels and renewable energy from 2017 to 2018, finding some very worrying trends. … Read More
CommBank: All talk, still no walk on fossil fuel finance
Brisbane, 7 November 2018 At today’s Commonwealth Bank annual general meeting (AGM), chairwoman Catherine Livingstone told shareholders she believed it was unlikely the bank would finance any new ‘greenfield’ fossil fuels proposals. Such projects include coal mines, oil and gas fields, and fossil fuel infrastructure built on completely new sites. “It’s … Read More
Who’s coming clean on climate risk?
10 September 2018 If you’ve been following our work closely over the last couple of years, you’ll know we’ve put a lot of effort into forcing companies to come clean on the financial risks they face from climate change. If this is news to you, you may want to have … Read More
CommBank and NAB fund massive new LNG terminal despite 2°C commitments
8 June 2018 Last week we released our Banks 2° Scorecard 2018, an updated account of how the actions of Australia’s big four banks are tracking (or not) to their stated support of the Paris Agreement goal to limit global warming to well below 2°C, compared with pre-industrial levels. Market … Read More
ANZ finance the purchase of Rio’s last coal mine
5 April 2018 ANZ has contributed to a US$1.7 billion (AU$2.2 b) deal to finance the purchase of Rio Tinto’s last coal asset by Indonesian coal miner Adaro Energy and private equity manager EMR Capital. The deal comes despite ANZ’s repeated claims that the bank’s lending to coal is on its way … Read More
Australian bank policies still lag international peers
The fossil fuel lending policies of Australia’s big four banks have once again been found to fall short of international expectations. In the latest Banking on Climate Change Fossil Fuel Finance Report Card, only NAB’s coal mining policy, announced last year, scored higher than a C-. While it’s worth acknowledging … Read More
Beach Energy: leaking mercury
23 November 2017 In response to shareholder questioning at today’s Beach Energy AGM in Adelaide, the company’s board confirmed it would consider adopting the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations by the end of 2018, noting that much more work needed to be done. Shareholders also asked if … Read More
Media release: Commbank confirms coal exit
Chairperson Catherine Livingstone will use today’s AGM to confirm Commonwealth Bank’s exit from investment in coal. In a statement submitted to the ASX and soon to be delivered at the AGM, Ms Livingstone says “our coal funding is comparatively small and has been trending down for some time. We expect … Read More