According to a new report from Market Forces, 2023 was the first year that ANZ, NAB, Commonwealth Bank, and Westpac did not directly finance a new or expanded coal, oil or gas project since the Paris Agreement was signed.
However, according to Market Forces, the banks still loaned a total of $3.6 billion to fossil fuels last year, comprising $2.5 billion in funding for companies expanding these industries.
This move, Market Forces said, was despite all four companies nearly halving their funding to fossil fuels between 2022 and 2023.
“Customers are very concerned that big banks are pouring billions of dollars into companies expanding coal, oil and gas when we must accelerate efforts to limit climate change and deadly disasters,” said Kyle Robertson, banks analyst and report author.
Market Forces underscored that general purpose corporate lending and bonds are also being used as “backdoor” financing options for companies pursuing new and expanded coal, oil and gas developments.
Importantly, experts such as the International Energy Agency and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change agree that achieving the Paris Agreement’s climate goals requires no new development in these industries.
Robertson said: “The big four banks are engaged in a monumental facade as long as they continue undermining a safe climate by funnelling billions to companies steaming ahead with more coal, oil and gas.”
“When will the banks live up to their climate commitments, follow the science, and stop funding climate collapse?”
Key findings
According to the report, ANZ has been Australia’s biggest funder ($20 billion) of fossil fuels since the Paris Agreement, and in the last year, has loaned nearly $1 billion to companies developing new coal, oil and gas.
However, it was NAB that topped the charts in 2023, loaning $1.4 billion to fossil fuels over the year. Market Forces emphasised that this figure included $860 to companies with coal, oil, and gas expansion plans.
“NAB is taking steps to address shareholder concerns over its greenwashing, but giant leaps are needed to fix the bank’s policy,” the analysis outlined.
CBA, meanwhile, sat comfortably lower than its counterparts, lending $271 million in 2023. However, this figure was slightly up from 2022, indicating a stagnation in the climate progress of Australia’s biggest bank.
Market Forces added that CBA also loaned to APA Group, which is planning to construct pipelines that would light the fuse on the Beetaloo basin gas fracking carbon bomb, and continues to hold significant exposure to thermal coal miners with coal expansion plans including Glencore.
The report concluded that Westpac loaned the third most to fossil fuels in 2023 at $784 million, but also loaned over half a billion dollars ($533 million) to companies expanding fossil fuels in 2023, including oil and gas giants JERA and APA Group.
