Big four banks slammed for profiting from fossil fuels
ANZ and Westpac are moving ahead of other major banks as the go-to financiers for fossil fuel companies, according to a report.
More than 70 per cent of fossil fuel projects funded since 2022 have been financed by ANZ and clean energy finance advocacy group Market Forces, which labeled Westpac’s current climate policies as “greenwashing”, two highlighted in the report.
The report found that in the decade since the Paris Agreement was signed, the four major banks provided $43.4 billion to coal, oil and gas companies, but the expenditures were not evenly distributed.
Rivals Commonwealth Bank and NAB have significantly reduced their funding for big polluters since 2022; Commbank dropped from second place in 2021 to fourth place today.
“Australia’s big banks should end all financing for companies that do not have credible plans for the transition to a safer economy and a liveable climate,” said the group’s head of research, Kyle Robertson.
“ANZ and Westpac are greenwashing by making deals with some of the world’s largest coal, oil and gas companies.”
The report found $15.9 billion has been provided by ANZ alone over the past decade, with nearly $6 billion spent since 2022 leaving the bank clear at the top of the report’s fossil fuel finance league table.
While Westpac ranked second with $3.8 billion, both banks took part in the $12.9 billion loan given to oil giant BP.
The company said it was ANZ’s “ambition” to transition its loan portfolios to net zero financed emissions in line with Paris.
“ANZ is a major lender to the energy sector, the most carbon-intensive part of the global economy,” an ANZ spokesman said.
Westpac has been contacted for comment.
The UN says emissions have continued to rise globally since the 2015 Paris Agreement, with fossil fuel production a major driver of the 3°C warming potential in the 21st century.
On October 1, all four major banks committed to choosing fossil fuel customers, provided they submit Climate Transition Plans in line with the Paris Agreement.
But Market Forces found that Commbank and NAB’s actions had far outperformed their rivals by October, with CBA reducing credit exposure to oil and gas by 75 per cent over the past three years.
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