Cutting off financing to fossil fuel expansion

To reach net zero by 2050, we need to switch off the funding that enables unsustainable fossil fuel expansion, and we need massive investment in clean energy systems.

Large financial institutions are the key to achieving this, as they can support the massive shifts in capital needed to combat climate change.

Funding a low-carbon future

For years we have leveraged our investment in the finance sector to help turn off sources of funding that enable unsustainable fossil fuel expansion to continue. We actively campaign for large financial institutions to:

Align their lending, underwriting and investing with the goals of the Paris Agreement

Stop financing fossil fuel projects that are not aligned with the Paris Agreement

Direct more funding to positive, clean and sustainable energy solutions

Influencing the finance sector to cut fossil fuels

Change of this magnitude requires coordination and persistence. We use all our stewardship tools to influence the banks and insurers, including collaborating with civil society, co-filing shareholder resolutions, AGM activism, using the media to call out recalcitrant companies, funding research, and where necessary, divestment.

Action we've taken

Latest

Support for our co-filed a shareholder resolution at Westpac’s December 2024 AGM was 14%.

A co-filed shareholder resolution with NAB was withdrawn in November 2025 after the bank updated its lending policy requiring fossil fuel companies to cap or reduce hydrocarbon production.

Our first ever co-filed shareholder resolution at Macquarie Group’s July 2025 AGM received 35% support.

We escalated our engagement with QBE by writing to the board to clarify their position and express our concerns, making our concerns public through the media, publicly questioning the chair and other directors at the QBE AGM and briefing other investors.

2023 – 2024

We spoke to shareholders to understand why climate resolutions were receiving low support, co-wrote a new resolution, produced briefs for investors to encourage votes and build pressure. The shareholder resolutions received increased support – rising from 10.15% in 2022 to 21.5% for Westpac, and from 6.67% to 28.4% at NAB.

We voted against QBE’s executive remuneration plan and the re-election of directors, including the chair, citing fossil fuel project underwriting.

NAB extended certain climate restrictions to capital markets activity, plugging a key loophole our resolution drew attention to. NAB also published details of how it will assess customer climate transition plans adopting many of the priorities we communicated and promoted through the resolution we co-filed in 2023.

There remained some ambiguity in how NAB will apply its scope 3 emission requirements, which meant we still co-filed a shareholder resolution despite NAB’s progress. This resolution received 14% support.

2020 – 2023

We divested from Marsh McLennan as their vague commitment to climate goals fell well short of what we asked.

We co-filed a shareholder resolution calling on QBE to align its underwriting and investments of oil and gas assets with the Paris Agreement.

We supported shareholder resolutions at NAB and Westpac AGMs calling for Paris-aligned targets to reduce fossil fuel exposures and transparency about how any new fossil fuel finance is consistent with their net zero by 2050 commitments.

Building on engagements with the Big Four banks, by 2021:

NAB announced a cap on its exposure to the oil and gas sector, along with restrictions on lending for greenfield oil and gas extraction projects.
Westpac announced requirements for public Paris-aligned business goals for new oil and gas exploration, production and refining customers.
ANZ set a reduction target of 50% for the emissions intensity of its global power generation portfolio by 2030.
All banks made commitments to publish further detail of climate-related targets and criteria in 2022.

2013 – 2020

We asked the Big 4 Australian banks to disclose the amount they lend to coal, oil and gas.
We asked the Big 4 Australian banks to disclose the amount they lend to coal, oil and gas.
In 2017 Westpac and NAB announced exclusions for new thermal coal projects, including Adani Carmichael.
In 2019, QBE announced a phase-out of its coal exposure following a shareholder resolution we co-filed with Market Forces.

We cannot take credit for all this work. We work with Australian and overseas investors, civil society organisations including Market Forces and the Australian Centre for Corporate Responsibility. All the wins we have had to date are attributable to pressure that has been applied from every direction.

Where we draw the line

We expect lenders to restrict both project and corporate loans to avoid funding high-emission activities.
We expect insurers to limit underwriting of projects not aligned with the Paris Agreement.
ANZ is excluded for not aligning institutional lending with the Paris Agreement.
CBA re-entered our investible universe (after 15 years) in 2024 after tightening fossil fuel policies.
We divested from Travelers and Arthur J Gallagher over inadequate climate policies.
We divested from Marsh McLennan due to vague climate commitments.