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. … 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
Big banks still nearly $30 billion exposed to coal, oil and gas extraction
All four of Australia’s major retail banks have now reported their 2017 full year results and it is clear they are still heavily invested in fossil fuels. Collectively, ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB and Westpac are exposed to coal mining and oil & gas extraction to the tune of $28.9 billion. … Read More
Putting climate and human rights centre stage
Around Australia, shareholders are acting to make companies take climate change and human rights seriously. Super fund members like you can help their cause by telling your fund to vote your retirement savings in favour of resolutions that protect people and planet. Having coordinated support from more than 100 shareholders … 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