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
NAB rules out new thermal coal
NAB has become the first of Australia’s big four banks to rule out lending to all new thermal coal mines or extensions! The bank’s updated risk appetite statement on coal mining, released today, says: “NAB will no longer finance new thermal coal mining projects.” Use the form below to acknowledge NAB’s … Read More
Media release: NAB’s coal mining exclusion raises the bar for its competitors
14 December 2017 NAB’s new coal mining risk appetite statement goes further than any other major Australian bank by ruling out lending to new thermal coal mines or extensions, according to environmental finance advocates Market Forces. “NAB has lifted the bar above its competitors by becoming the first major bank … 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
Big banks still supporting Whitehaven’s dirty coal operations
Whitehaven Coal’s Maules Creek mine was recently upgraded to the EPA’s highest environmental risk category, making it one of NSW’s three dirtiest mines. The company is also planning to expand its Vickery coal mine, which the local community is resisting due to grave concerns over environmental impacts. Despite Whitehaven’s appalling … 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
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