Climate Action Merribek: people in Brunswick, Coburg, Fawkner and Glenroy wanting action on climate change

CommBank Brunswick: stop funding Fossil Fuels protest

May 17, 2023 at 9:38 pm John Englart Leave a comment

Commonwealth Bank will announce their new oil and gas policy in August, and now is the time to pile on the pressure to make sure they don’t side with planet wrecking corporations.

Climate Action Merribek members organised a visit and a peaceful protest at 11am on Wednesday at the Commonwealth Bank in Brunswick as part of a broader action by 350 Australia.

From 2016 to 2022 the Commonwealth Bank financed Fossil Fuel Companies to the tune of Aus$14 billion (USD$8,148.69 million)

After the Paris Agreement was signed, Between 2016-2022 Commbank Invested in:

Tar Sands Oil USD$17 million
Arctic oil and gas ranked USD$2 million
Offshore oil and gas USD$1.530 billion
Liquefied Natural Gas USD$684 million
Coal Mining USD$374 million

In 2022 Commbank invested in the following fossil companies:
Santos USD$416.6 million
Glencore USD$46.4 million
ACS Actividades de Construccion y Servicios SA USD$18.9 million
IGO Ltd USD$12.4 million

All while closing bank branches, such as the current proposed closure of the Branch in Fawkner.

Actions

• If you are a customer you can also consider Become a divestment champion.
• Email CommBank Board to stop funding fossil fuels (Email Template)
• Sign the petition to Commbank to end funding fossil fuels
• Are you a customer for Commonwealth Bank shareholder? Contact them to stop funding fossil fuels and invest in renewables, energy storage as part of their new Sustainability investment policy.
• Volunteer to end Fossil Fuel Finance with 350 Australia

Background

In the latest Banking on Climate Chaos report, which tracks fossil fuel finance across the globe, we can see that CommBank has significantly reduced its fossil fuel lending. This means our pressure is working.

But we can’t let them roll back from here. We must solidify this reduction in fossil fuel exposure with a strong policy ruling out all new oil and gas lending, and phasing out existing clients.

One of CommBank’s few fossil fuel loans last year was $600 million for Santos’ massive expansion of gas fields in the NT, knowing full well there was an ongoing legal challenge over Santos’ consultation with Traditional Owners.

If we can get CommBank to break up with oil and gas in their upcoming review, we can stop other big fossil fuel corporations from securing Australian finance as they look to reach full-scale fracking and drilling.

More Information, read Our Big 4 Banks still subsidising climate chaos says report

Entry filed under: 350.org, divestment, Event, greenwashing, news. Tags: Banking, Brunswick, Commbank, Commonwealth Bank, divestment, fossil fuels, Glencore, Santos.