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ur banks
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How Austr
pollution
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www.greenpeace.org.au
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Australia has some of the most abundant sources of
clean energy in the world. With the right investment and
supportive policies, we could quickly become a clean energy
powerhouse, creating jobs and boosting the economy while
cleaning up our environment.
Australia’s banks must stop pouring
our money into polluting coal power
and redirect it to pollution-free, clean
energy solutions.
Unfortunately, the big four banks are pouring money –
your savings – into the most polluting form of power: coal.
Burning coal is the single biggest contributor to global
warming. Global warming threatens the safety of our planet,
our health and our future.
Our coal Dependence
The first step to a clean energy future is
to stop building new coal power stations.
In Australia, the big four retail banks, ANZ, National,
Commonwealth and Westpac, are the biggest providers
of finance to the coal industry.i They invest billions of dollars
in coal mining, coal power stations and coal exports,
while promoting an image of community responsibility
and environmental sustainability. Financing the coal industry
is fuelling pollution and making global warming worse.
The impacts of climate change are being felt throughout
Australia and the Pacific region, home to the banks’
customers. Australia needs to undergo a clean energy
revolution, and the big banks have a vital role to play.
To become responsible corporate citizens, ANZ, National,
Commonwealth and Westpac need to stop financing
polluting coal projects and instead shift investment
to renewable energy. The banks have the power to help us
achieve the vision of making clean energy bigger and cheaper
through financing large-scale solar, geothermal, wind, ocean
and other clean energy technologies.
Instead, the banks are focusing their efforts on attempting
to look green, ignoring the huge environmental impacts
caused by the coal projects they finance.
With everything we know about global warming and the clean
energy technologies available, you would think that coal would
be on the way out. Shamefully, the exact opposite is true.
A lack of political courage by state and federal governments
in Australia has meant the expansion of the coal industry
has continued unchecked.
There are plans on the books for twelve new dirty coal
power stations around Australia. If built, they would increase
Australia’s total emissions by 7 per cent.
Australia is already one of the worst carbon polluters
per person in the world and it’s because most of our
electricity comes from coal power stations. Our power
stations are among the world’s dirtiest, with only eight
countries having more pollution-intensive electricity
than we do.ii
While Australia becomes
more dependent on coal
we are endangering our
health, polluting the air
and dirtying the water.
We are also hampering
Australia’s economic
competitiveness as other
countries move ahead
in the clean energy race.
y
ace/Murph
©Greenpe
The Dirty Dozen - new coal power stations proposed for Australia
Project Name
State
Size in mega
watts
Estimated emissions
Tonnes CO2-e per year
Mt Piper
NSW
2,000 MW
10,470,000
Delta Electricity (NSW Gov)
Bayswater
NSW
2,000 MW
12,428,000
Macquarie Generation (NSW Gov)
Coolimba
WA
450 MW
3,800,000
Aviva
Bluewaters 3
WA
208 MW
1,500,000
Griffin Energy
Bluewaters 4
Company
WA
208 MW
1,500,000
Griffin Energy
Zero Gen
QLD
380 MW
930,000
Zerogen (QLD Gov)
Galilee Phase 1
QLD
450 MW
2,345,000
Galilee Power
Galilee Phase 2
QLD
450 MW
2,345,000
Galilee Power
Wandoan
QLD
400 MW
643,000
Stanwell & GE
Arckaringa
SA
560 MW
2,943,000
Altona Energy
Hybrid Energy
SA
40 MW
196,000
Strike Energy / Hybrid Energy
HRL
VIC
550 MW
4,000,000
HRL
1 Pillars of Pollution
Dirty money
Our addiction to coal is not a cheap habit. Digging up
and burning this energy source is an expensive operation.
It can cost several billion dollars to build a new coal power
station – more than most energy companies can raise
on their own. This is where the big banks come in.
ANZ, National, Commonwealth and Westpac – Australia’s
largest retail banks – are also the biggest providers
of finance to the coal industry.iii Banks lend most of the
cost of building a new power station. About three quarters
of the costs will usually be financed from a large consortium
of banks providing a syndicated loan. For large projects,
up to twenty different banks can be involved but there
is always at least one bank acting as ‘lead arranger’
or ‘bookrunner’ to pull the whole deal together.
Energy companies must also find equity investors
to fund up to one quarter of the project.
If you bank with one of the big four,
your money is being used to finance the
expansion of the polluting coal industry,
making global warming worse.
The role of the big four banks is crucial for the financing of coal
power stations in Australia. If ANZ, National, Commonwealth
and Westpac all refused to finance new coal, it would
significantly increase the risk and cost of these projects.
International banks would also be less likely to get involved,
making it more difficult, more expensive and less likely that
coal power stations are built.
©Greenpe
ace/Hunt
/Murphy
©Greenpeace
Financing pollution - the Breakdown
The results have confirmed that all four big banks
are heavily invested in the coal industry.
ANZ is the biggest financier of coal
power stations and coal mines,
while Commonwealth is the biggest
financier of coal export ports.
Finance of Coal Power Stations
Finance of Coal Ports
Greenpeace commissioned a specialist finance research
group, Profundo, to determine who has been the biggest
financier of coal in Australia over the last five years.
600
$546
500
$454
ye
ar
600
s
$382
400
300
200
$–
400
$440
s
$309
300
$220
100
$–
0
$–
$–
$–
s
$350
200
U
M
ye
ar
1500
300
EC
N
BE
B
La
st
5
2000
A$ Million
ye
ar
NA
BC
W
A
AN
M
Total Coal Finance
500
400
CB
Z
U
EC
N
BE
$633
$600
600
B
La
st
5
$727
700
NA
BC
W
A
CB
AN
Z
0
Finance of Coal Mining
s
1000
500
100
$–
$–
0
ANZ – Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited
CBA – Commonwealth Bank of Australia (including Bankwest)
WBC – Westpac Banking Corporation (including St. George)
coal ports
U
EC
N
M
BE
coal mining
NAB – National Australia Bank Limited
BEN – Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited
MECU – mecu Limited
Spinning sustainability
Despite their large-scale investment in polluting power,
the big four banks all make concerted efforts to paint
a different public image.
Almost all of the big banks promote their policies to go
‘carbon neutral’ or to reduce the greenhouse footprint of their
operations. What they’re more reluctant to highlight is the part
of their business that has by far the biggest environmental
impact – their lending practices. There is little point installing
efficient light bulbs while continuing to finance the expansion
of the coal industry.
3 Pillars of Pollution
B
AN
coal power stations
NA
Z
U
EC
M
N
BE
NA
B
BC
W
CB
A
AN
Z
0
W
BC
A$ Million
500
ye
ar
200
100
800
La
st
5
700
CB
A
A$ Million
La
st
5
$650
A$ Million
700
Major banks such as ANZ and Westpac have happily
accepted sustainability awards while continuing to
invest hundreds of millions of dollars into polluting coal
power stations.
Despite their green rhetoric,
none of the banks have ruled
out financing new polluting
coal power stations, making
their continued greenwash
a triumph of spin over
substance.
©Greenpeace/Murphy
Spin or substance?
BANK
SPIN
ANZ
Policy & public statements:
SUBSTANCE
• ‘In May 2007, ANZ announced our objective to become
carbon neutral in Australia and New Zealand by the end
of 2009.’ iv
• ‘ANZ has committed to fund only new projects that can
be developed and operated according to sound social
and environmental standards.’ v
• Invested $650 million in polluting coal power
stations in Australia in the last 5 years.
• Invested $727 million in coal mining in Australia
in the last 5 years.
• A lead arranger of finance for Bluewaters II,
the most recent coal power station built
in Australia.
Awards:
• Dow Jones Sustainability Index – ANZ assessed as No.1
bank globally on corporate sustainability performance.
• Carbon Disclosure Project Leadership Index.
CBA
Policy & public statements:
• ‘We recognise that our organisation has both a direct
and indirect impact on the environment and believe that
managing these impacts is an important aspect of sound
business management.’ vi
• ‘We aim to build a sustainable future and contribute
to a better environment for all Australians.’ vii
NAB
Policy & public statements:
• ‘We are committed to making a contribution to the
sustainability of our planet by reducing both our direct
and indirect environmental impacts.’
• ‘We are leading by example to reduce our carbon
footprint and make our operations carbon neutral
by September 2010.’ viii
Awards:
• Listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.
• Climate Disclosure Project Global Leadership Index.
Westpac
Policy & public statements:
• ‘Westpac is committed to responsibly managing both
our direct and indirect environmental impacts.’ ix
• ‘We factor environmental considerations into our
investment and lending decisions and adhere to the
Equator Principles in managing environmental and social
risk in project finance.’ x
Awards:
• Ranked as one of world’s most ethical companies
by Ethisphere.
• Gold award for Climate Leadership – Money Magazine’s
‘Best of the Best’ awards.
©Greenpeace/Pratten/Arnold
• Invested $546 million in polluting coal power
stations in Australia in the last 5 years.
• Invested $654 million in coal mining in Australia
in the last 5 years.
• Invested $440 million in coal ports in Australia
in the last 5 years.
• Owns an 8 per cent equity share in Hazelwood
– one of Australia’s dirtiest power station.
• Invested $382 million dollars in polluting coal
power stations in Australia in the last 5 years.
• Invested $633 million dollars in coal mining
in Australia in the last 5 years.
• A lead arranger for finance of Bluewaters II,
the most recent new coal power station.
• NAB’s investment arm, National Nominees Ltd,
is the largest shareholder in Aviva Corporation.
Aviva’s projects include the proposed new
Coolimba coal power station in WA.
• Invested $454 million in polluting coal power
stations in Australia in the last five years.
• Invested $354 million in coal mining in Australia
in the last five years.
• Invested $220 million into coal ports in Australia
in the last five years.
• Co-manager of finance of Bluewaters II,
the most recent new coal power station built
in Australia.
©Greenpeace/Alcock
How can banks be part of the solution?
In Australia, while the big four ba
nks
all provide finance for renewable
energy projects, the vast major
ity
of their investments are in coal.
©Greenpe
ace/Lang
rock
ce/Murphy
©Greenpea
We have a choice about the kind of world we live in
today and what kind of world we leave for our children
tomorrow. Greenpeace has laid out a vision for an
Australian Energy [R]evolution xi showing how our society
and economy can be powered by renewable energy.
Modelling commissioned by Greenpeace has revealed that it is
technically and physically possible for all of Australia’s polluting
coal power stations to be replaced with a combination of
seven renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency
measures over the next decade.
clean technologies attracted US $140 billion compared
with US$110 billion for gas and coal power xii. This trend
looks set to continue and is an important signal that an
energy revolution is underway. However, despite the positive
developments, the transition is not happening quickly enough
to avert a climate catastrophe.
According to the Profundo research, over the last five years
Australia’s big banks have invested over $5 billion into mining,
transporting and burning coal and only $0.78 billion into
renewable energy.
Last year, for the first time, more money was invested globally
in renewable energy than in fossil fuels. Wind, solar and other
La
st
5
Renewable Energy vs Total Coal Investments
total coal investments
A$ Million
$276
$1686
5 Pillars of Pollution
$290
$77
$1586
ANZ
renewable energy
Commonwealth Bank
$1024
Westpac
ye
ar
$140
$1015
NAB
s
ment
For real progress, ending invest
in new coal power is vital.
While all the banks have a credit policy to guide their
investments, at the time of writing none of the big four banks
have a clear public policy that would stop them investing
in new coal power stations. Yet socially responsible policies
are not new for banks. Some have policies to not invest in
companies that make cluster bombs; others refuse to invest
in brothels, or in nuclear power stations. In 2008, the big
four Australian banks all agreed to not provide finance
to the controversial Gunns Pulp Mill in Tasmania.
We need the big four banks to stand with the Australian
community and make a clear decision to not finance new
coal power stations. And we need them to do it now.
With twelve new coal power stations on the drawing board
around Australia, and with governments unwilling to stand
up to the big polluters, banks have a vital role to play in driving
the clean energy revolution we so urgently need.
©Greenpe
ace/Red
ondo
ce/Rezac
©Greenpea
WHAT YOU
Methodology
Trying to find out which banks have invested in which coal
projects is a bit like trying to find needles in a haystack.
The information is often classified as commercial-in-confidence
and the banks all disclose investment information in very
different ways. Greenpeace commissioned Profundo,
an economic research consultancy based in Amsterdam,
to conduct the research.
We decided to look at the last five years of investment in
coal and renewables rather than the banks’ total investments
in these sectors, on the basis that the last five years would
give a more accurate picture of the banks’ current investment
strategy than total historical investments.
The investments were identified by using annual reports,
stock exchange filings and other publications, company
register filings, archives of international financial journals,
international press archives, archives of national press
publications as well as specialised financial databases.
PAGE >>
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Comprehensive information was not consistently available
so a number of assumptions and extrapolations were made,
using a similar methodology to that used by the banks
themselves. Full details on our methodology is available
in the Profundo report online here:
www.greenpeace.org.au/dirtybanks/profundo
References
i
ii
iii
iv
v
vi
vii
viii
ix
x
xi
xii
Profundo, 2010, Australian banks financing coal and renewable energy
http://www.garnautreview.org.au/pdf/Garnaut_Chapter7.pdf page 160
Profundo, 2010, Australian banks financing coal and renewable energy
http://www.anz.com.au/about-us/corporate-responsibility/environment/
environmental-footprint/carbon/ accessed 7.9.10
http://www.anz.com/aus/values/environment/Equator.asp accessed 7.9.10
http://www.commbank.com.au/about-us/our-company/sustainability/
environment.aspx accessed 7.9.10
http://www.commbank.com.au/about-us/our-company/sustainability/
accessed 7.9.10
http://www.nab.com.au/wps/wcm/connect/nab/nab/home/about_us/7/4/2/2
accessed 7.9.10
http://www.westpac.com.au/about-westpac/sustainability-and-community/
environment/ accessed 7.9.10
http://ww2.westpac.com.au/about-westpac/sustainability-and-community/
environment/policy-and-governance/ accessed 7.9.10
http://www.greenpeace.org.au/energyrevolution
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/03/renewables-energy
accessed 7.9.10
Pillars of Pollution 6
ce/Redondo
©Greenpea
What you can do
Your money should go where you want it to: creating a better
future with clean energy, not funding polluting coal power.
Banks spend millions of dollars each year to improve their
reputation, keep existing customers and attract new ones –
when we ask for change, they’ll be listening.
©Greenpe
ace/Sew
ell/Oculi
1. Let your bank know that you don’t want your money
used to invest in more pollution.
2. Drop into a local bank branch and ask to speak
to the manager about their coal investments.
You can take a copy of this report.
ANZ
•
•
•
1800 805 154
Complete the online feedback form:
http://bit.ly/DirtyANZ
Locked Bag 4050, South Melbourne VIC 3205
3.
Commonwealth Bank
•
•
•
1800 805 605
Complete the online feedback form:
http://bit.ly/DirtyCBA
Customer Relations, GPO Box 41,
Sydney NSW 2001
4. Credit unions and cooperative banks
Credit unions and cooperative banks offer competitive
services to the big banks but most don’t invest in polluting
coal. Our research showed that both Bendigo Bank and
mecu Credit Union had no money in coal. Unfortunately,
they also have no money invested in renewables.
National Australia Bank
•
•
•
1800 152 015
Complete the online feedback form:
http://bit.ly/DirtyNAB
Head of Customer Resolutions,
Reply Paid 2870, Melbourne VIC 8060
Credit unions are not-for-profit and every customer is an
owner. The incentive is to make your money work for you
and your community, not profit from dirty investments.
The Australian Credit Union and Building Society Group
(www.comesbacktoyou.com.au) represents more than
80 organisations and 4.5 million members.
Westpac
•
•
•
Become a Greenpeace Community Activist
or join a local Climate Action Group to join others
in your community taking action for a clean energy
future at bank branches across the country.
www.greenpeace.org.au/take-action
1300 130 467
Complete the online feedback form:
http://bit.ly/DirtyWestpac
Reply Paid 5265, Sydney NSW 2001
want it to:
Your money should go where you
p, readily available
creating a better future with chea
ing coal power.
clean energy, not funding pollut
Join Greenpeace. We do not accept funding from
governments or corporations; instead we rely on the goodwill
and generosity of people like you to continue our work.
Call 1800 815 151 or visit www.greenpeace.org.au/join
Greenpeace Australia Pacific
GPO Box 3307, Sydney NSW 2001
L 2, 33 Mountain Street, Ultimo NSW 2007
Ph: +61 2 9281 6100
Fax: +61 2 9280 0380
Email: [email protected]
www.greenpeace.org.au
Cover Image ©Greenpeace/Murphy
©Greenpeace/Redondo
Printed on 100% recycled paper
©Greenpe
ace/Hun
t