BANKS DODGY DEALS CAMPAIGNS
Sections
Banks Dodgy Deals Campaigns
Our campaigns
Banks and Climate
Banks and Human Rights
Banks and Nature
Our projects
Tracking the NZBA
Banks and Russia
Banks and Steel
Tracking the Equator Principles
Tracking the PRBs
Find a Better Bank
Banks and the OECD Guidelines
Media
News Publications
Raiffeisen Out! Bank.Green End Coal Finance Plastic Banks Tracker Defund TotalEnergies Financial Exclusions Tracker Equator-Complaints.Org Don't Buy into Occupation Banks & Biodiversity Forests & Finance Drop JBS StopEACOP Fossil-Free Finance
BankTrack
About BankTrack Organisation Our team Our board Our annual reports Funding and finances Guiding principles 20 years of BankTrack – Our history BankTrack in the media Team up with us Our privacy policy Donate Visit us
Successes Contact BankTrack
Donate Mailing list Facebook Twitter Linkedin Login
Home › Partner news ›
Partner News

Shareholders move to force Commbank to manage climate risk

2017-08-28
By: Market Forces
Massive. Climate. FAIL. Market Forces' assessment of CommBank's 2017 climate policy. See marketforces.org.au/cbafail/. Photo: Market Forces
2017-08-28
By: Market Forces

Shareholders have lodged a first-of-its-kind resolution with Commonwealth Bank that would embed climate change risk management into its constitution. It comes a month after shareholders began court proceedings against the bank over its failure to consider climate change as a material business risk.

The resolution, coordinated by environmental finance group Market Forces, would ensure Directors operate the company in a manner consistent with the goal of holding global warming to below two degrees.

CommBank remains exposed to a myriad of physical, transition and legal risks from climate change, exacerbated by its continued heavy lending to fossil fuels and acknowledged lack of consideration of risks such as the impact of sea level rise on the property market.

“CommBank has made it perfectly clear it lacks either the intent or capacity to adequately manage climate risk”, said Market Forces Executive Director Julien Vincent.

“Avoiding runaway climate change will be fundamental to economic and financial stability over the coming decades. CommBank is Australia’s largest company and embedding climate change risk management into its constitution will increase its resilience and position the bank to take full advantage of the opportunities created by the transformation to a low carbon economy”.

Two weeks ago Commonwealth Bank released its first ever Climate Change Policy Position Statement, a one-page document lacking substantial commitment to reduce the bank’s support for fossil fuels.

Research from Market Forces shows that since Commonwealth Bank first committed to support the goal of holding global warming to below two degrees, it has loaned $6 billion to fossil fuels, more than four times its renewable energy lending.

It has also financed several new fossil fuel projects that, over their lifetimes, would add another 2.8 billion tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere, effectively cancelling out Australia’s 2005-2030 greenhouse gas abatement target twice over.

“CommBank’s public pledge to support a world limited to two degrees warming is impossible to reconcile with its continued multi-billion dollar lending to highly-exposed fossil fuel projects and dismal climate change policy”, said Mr Vincent.

“As such a huge part of Australia’s economy, CommBank needs to take the common sense approach of embedding climate change risk management into its DNA.”

Banks

Commonwealth Bank

Australia
Active
Sections
Banks Dodgy Deals Campaigns
Our campaigns
Banks and Climate Banks and Human Rights Banks and Nature
Our projects
Tracking the NZBA Banks and Russia Banks and Steel Tracking the Equator Principles Tracking the PRBs Find a Better Bank Banks and the OECD Guidelines
Media
News Publications
Raiffeisen Out! Bank.Green End Coal Finance Plastic Banks Tracker Defund TotalEnergies Financial Exclusions Tracker Equator-Complaints.Org Don't Buy into Occupation Banks & Biodiversity Forests & Finance Drop JBS StopEACOP Fossil-Free Finance
BankTrack
About BankTrack Organisation Our team Our board Our annual reports Funding and finances Guiding principles 20 years of BankTrack – Our history BankTrack in the media Team up with us Our privacy policy Donate Visit us
Successes Contact BankTrack
Vismarkt 15
6511 VJ Nijmegen
The Netherlands
Contact@banktrack.org
Donate Mailing list Facebook Twitter Linkedin
©2023 BankTrack
BankTrack is a registered charity in the Netherlands (ANBI) - RSIN 813874658
Find our privacy policy here

Stay up to date

Sign up now for all BankTrack's news


Make a comment

Your comment will be reviewed, before being posted