Despite net zero by 2050 commitments, NAB, ANZ, and Westpac have joined 18 global banks in lending US$3.49 billion ($4.85 billion) to a fossil fuel project, according to Market Forces.
The advocacy group said the banks lent to infrastructure fund manager Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for its purchase of a 49% stake in the Pluto LNG Train 2 gas processing facility. It said this project was equivalent to 15 coal power stations running for three decades.
Market Forces campaigner, Jack Bertolus, said: “The International Energy Agency (IEA) has made it clear there is no room for new fossil fuel supply projects if we are to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.
“Yet, despite a clear commitment to net zero, NAB has just led a global banking consortium to enable a 1.6 billion tonne carbon bomb, with ANZ and Westpac as part of the deal.
“The immensity of the fossil fuel project is matched only by the banks’ willingness to repeatedly con their customers and their investors, who are all demanding action on the climate crisis. In reality, their money is being used to fund a project enabling emissions equivalent to running 15 coal plants for three decades.”
Market Forces said NAB led the deal arrangement months after it released an updated oil and gas policy that had been criticized as a greenwashing exercise.
