Bushfire survivors call on banks to stop funding climate crisis

20 March 2020 Today, anyone leafing through the pages of the Australian Financial Review can’t have missed this powerful ad on page 15: The Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action group has sent an open letter to the major Australian banks calling on them to stop funding new fossil fuel projects … Read More

Australia’s major banks keep on fueling the climate crisis

Big banks fueling the climate crisis

7 March 2020 The latest data on bank lending to fossil fuels over the last four years shows that Australia’s major banks continue to undermine the Paris Agreement and global action on the climate crisis by lending to dirty fossil fuels. Westpac, Commbank, ANZ and NAB collectively poured a massive … Read More

Shareholders fire a shot across NAB’s bow over climate failure

18 December 2019 After record levels of shareholder support for climate risk management resolutions at ANZ and Westpac, it was NAB’s turn today to face the music over its failure to adequately manage climate risk. Since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015, NAB has continued to lend heavily to … Read More

NAB climate commitments too little, too late

15 November 2019 NAB’s sustainability report, released today, signaled an end to the bank’s involvement in thermal coal mining, but places its exit far later than what is needed to help meet the Paris Agreement climate goals. The commitment to be out of thermal coal by 2035 is five years … Read More

Too little, too late: NAB’s new climate policy an exercise in greenwash

15 November 2019: NAB’s Sustainability Report, released today, is little more than greenwash and a recipe for climate catastrophe, says environmental finance group Market Forces.  In particular, its central announcement to exit thermal coal mining by 2035 is a clear example of too little too late, falling short of time … Read More

Our Future: clean energy a test for banks’ rehabilitation

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

NAB hauled over the coals at its 2018 AGM

NAB was forced to lay bare its contradictory climate and environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies highlighting the vast discrepancy between what the bank says, and what it does during question-time at its annual general meeting (AGM) in Melbourne.