Lending puts banks in ‘complete violation’ of commitments to Paris agreement, climate group says, even as overall funding to sector ebbs
Of the big four banks, ANZ has lent the most to the fossil fuels sector, reaching $20bn in early 2024, a Market Forces report says.Of the big four banks, ANZ has lent the most to the fossil fuels sector, reaching $20bn in early 2024, a Market Forces report says.Australia’s big four banks are in “complete violation” of commitments to the Paris climate accord by funding fossil fuel expansion even as their overall lending to the sector continues to ebb, according to a new report.
CBA offered the least last year with $271m in finance but Market Forces said it is lending to the APA Group that is planning pipelines for the Beetaloo gas project, which has been labelled a “carbon bomb”. Westpac had the smallest fossil-fuel financing during 2016-23 at about $10bn but had lately stepped up support for gas projects in Asia along with the ANZ.
One change since 2015 has been a drop in support for financing coal among Australia’s biggest banks. For instance, Whitehaven, Australia’s largest “pure play” thermal coalminer,“I think you can say that the thermal coal industry is firmly on its way out,” he said. “Banks around the world are generally trending away from it and financing coal less and less, but with that comes an increasing concern around the role of gas.
Last year, about 38% of fossil fuel financing was in the form of bonds. “ can be a way that can continue to fund these companies or arrange finance for these companies and keep them as clients even when they’re not showing up exactly on their books,” Robertson said.
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