25 October 2019 At its annual general meeting (AGM) in Sydney today, IAG faced calls from investors to fully disclose its fossil fuel investment exposure and set targets to reduce that exposure in line with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees. IAG’s chair said getting fossil fuel exposure down to … Read More
APA’s gas pipe dreams A-OK with investors
24 October 2019 Australia’s biggest gas pipeline company’s plans for gas expansion are inconsistent with the climate goals of the Paris Agreement. But investors don’t seem to care. With gas use for primary energy expected to fall to 25% by 2030 under a 1.5°C warming scenario, shareholders attending APA’s annual … Read More
Worley rules out Adani, but fossil fuels still on the agenda
21 October 2019 After years of pressure, Worley has finally confirmed it “has no intention” of working on the Adani Carmichael coal mine project. Engineering firm Worley was previously engaged to provide the design and construction of Adani’s original railway plan to haul coal from the Carmichael mine to the … Read More
Media Release: Three major banks face shareholder resolutions on climate action
Westpac, NAB and ANZ called upon to reduce exposure to fossil fuels in line with the Paris Agreement’s climate change goals. Thursday 10 October 2019 Environmental finance organisation Market Forces is today lodging shareholder resolutions with Westpac, NAB and ANZ today. The resolutions call for a reduction in lending and … Read More
Suncorp and QBE abandon coal but are still undermining Paris Agreement
1 August 2019 The insurance sector globally is waking up to the fact that if it wants to avoid the growing impact on its profits caused by the climate crisis, it needs to stop providing insurance to and investing in the companies that are fuelling it. At least 16 major … Read More
Market Forces’ take on BHP’s latest climate commitments
31 July 2019 Last week, BHP Billiton CEO Andrew Mackenzie made a speech in London that grabbed global headlines for two main reasons: The language he used made it clear that, even if BHP has a long way to go on addressing climate risk, there’s no doubt that the company … Read More
Media release: Suncorp dumps thermal coal
26 July 2019 In response to Market Forces lodging a shareholder resolution, Suncorp has revealed it is exiting the thermal coal sector, meaning there are now no Australian insurers willing to underwrite new thermal coal mines and power stations. A Suncorp spokesman told InsuranceNews, “Suncorp does not directly invest in, … Read More
Norwegian sovereign wealth fund pulls $3 billion out of AGL, BHP and South32
The Norwegian government’s decision to tighten the Government Pension Fund Global’s (GPFG) coal exclusion criteria will see the world’s richest sovereign wealth fund withdraw a combined AU$3 billion from AGL, BHP and South32. The announcement comes at a particularly bad time for AGL, just days after the company’s share price … Read More
QBE’s unanswered questions
11 June 2019 It’s not often that an annual general meeting (AGM) can be described as compelling. QBE’s AGM held on 9 May, however, delivered the goods with several questions from the floor resulting in extraordinary exchanges between shareholders and the chairman Marty Becker and CEO Pat Regan. Unfortunately, these … Read More
Woodside CEO admits gas the loser if the world limits warming to 1.5 degrees
In a week where climate change dominated global headlines with the UK Parliament’s declaration of a climate emergency and school strikers taking to the streets in over 500 locations worldwide, corporate Australia was also facing increasing scrutiny on climate change. Woodside’s annual general meeting on Thursday 2 May 2019 in … Read More