11 August 2017
“We have been asked about our role in funding the Adani Carmichael mine. Whilst in general we do not comment on specific clients, we can confirm that we are not amongst the banks who have been, or will be, asked to consider this financing.”
That was a CommBank spokesperson being quoted in the Australian Financial Review this afternoon (paywalled – read the Guardian’s coverage instead).
While it’s not quite the unequivocal “We wouldn’t finance the project even if we were asked” quote we have all been pushing for, it clearly rules out any chance that the bank will finance Adani’s dirty Carmichael mega coal mine planned for Queensland’s Galilee Basin.
.@CommBank ‘will not be asked to consider financing’ Adani’s #coal mine. Weird way to rule it out! https://t.co/3KHAII1BDz #StopAdani
— Market Forces (@market_forces) August 11, 2017
Limited funding options
CommBank joins a list of 23 other banks from around the world that have ruled out lending to Adani Carmichael, either directly or through policies that prohibit lending to coal mines.
Importantly, all four big Australian banks – ANZ, NAB, Westpac and now CommBank – have ruled out funding the project. This is a huge result for a strong and sustained campaign to keep finance away from this disastrous project. Well done and congratulations to everyone that has contributed to the campaign over the last few years!
The news leaves Adani in a very difficult position. Our research shows that 75% of the major fossil fuel projects in Australia since 2008 have been financially supported by at least one of the big four. Adani must now try to buck that trend if it wants to get the dirty Carmichael project off the ground.
Policy update (over)due
CommBank’s climate change policies, or lack thereof, recently saw the bank awarded FAIL grades in all four categories of a new study into international banks’ fossil fuel lending policies.
The bank is due to update its climate change policy when it announces its annual report on Monday 14 August 2017.
We’re calling on CommBank to unequivocally rule out lending to all fossil fuel projects that would expand the fossil fuel industry, including Adani’s dirty Carmichael plans.
We’ll have plenty more commentary and analysis regarding CommBank’s approach to fossil fuels to come next week. Make sure you’re following Market Forces on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with the latest developments.