Australians urged to boycott banks that invest in fossil fuels
Green campaign group Market Forces is campaigning for customers to leave Australian banks that lend to fossil-fuel projects. Australia's top four banks have lent $5.6bn to the fossil fuel industry since committing to the 2-degree climate target agreed at December's Paris summit, compared with $1.5bn for renewables, according to the group. Commonwealth Bank has lent $2.2bn to the coal and gas sector, ANZ $2.1bn, Westpac $900m and National Australia Bank $400m.

Market Forces calculates that since the Paris accord, Westpac has loaned $11.60 to the fossil fuel sector for every $1 invested in renewable energy.

For ANZ the figure is $10.10, and for Commonwealth Bank $4.25. The figures are based on data from project finance databases and other financial information providers.

NAB is the only one of the four to have a positive ratio in terms of lending, even though globally clean energy secured twice as much financing as fossil fuels in 2015, says Market Forces, citing figures from Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

The group has released the findings as it steps up a campaign for customers to leave their banks in protest at the lending practices.

It says Australia's major banks are "behind the curve globally", and lagging peers in the US and Europe that have come out with explicit policies to limit their exposure to the coal sector.

An NAB spokeswoman reiterated the bank's commitment to its climate change pledges, but declined to comment on the findings, which it has yet to see.

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A Westpac spokeswoman pointed out that the bank's total exposure to the mining sector dropped by $2.6 billion in the six months to March 30, to $11.8 billion, and said the proportion of renewable energy financing had increased in the total generation portfolio to 61 per cent.

Other banks were restricted in commenting due to the blackout period before earnings.

The fossil fuel loans include a $512 million loan arranged by ANZ to Papua New Guinea gas explorer InterOil to drill the Elk-Antelope gas field, an inter-company loan arranged by NAB for the Australian subsidiary of coalminer Peabody Energy, and lending from Commonwealth Bank to US company Cobalt International Energy for the development of the Heidelberg deep-water oilfield in the Gulf of Mexico.

"While banks say they are conducting a whole-of-group assessment as to how best to tackle the issue in all its complexity, we're saying that shouldn't preclude them from taking simple, obvious steps like avoiding loans that expand the size of a sector that clearly needs to contract," Mr Vincent said.

He pointed to examples such as Bank of America, which has committed to reduce its "credit exposure" to coal mining companies and to divisions of diversified miners that focus on coal.

In Europe, Societe Generale's climate policy includes a commitment to end project financing for coal mines and coal-fired power plants in high-income OECD countries. ING also pledges not to finance new coal-fired power plants or accept new clients that earn more than half their revenues from coal-fired generators.

Correction: This article was first published with a graphic that incorrectly transposed the figures for Westpac and NAB.