Financing coal power stations in Australia

The report Australian Banks Financing Coal and Renewable Energy, was prepared for Greenpeace Australia by the economic consultancy company Profundo. .

The Profundo report formed the basis of the Greenpeace report titled Pillars of Pollution: How the big four banks are propping up pollution. In this report Greenpeace Australia argued that "in Australia, the big four retail banks, ANZ, National Australia Bank (NAB), Commonwealth Bank (CBA) and Westpac, are the biggest providers of finance to the coal industry. They invest billions of dollars in coal mining, coal power stations and coal exports, while promoting an image of community responsibility and environmental sustainability. Australia needs to undergo a clean energy revolution, and the big banks have a vital role to play."

Table 1: Investments per bank in coal and renewables (A$ million)

Table 2: Investments in coal and renewables, corrected for size of the bank

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Australia and coal
 * ANZ and coal
 * Commonwealth Bank and coal
 * National Australia Bank and coal
 * Westpac and coal

External resources

 * Jan Willem van Gelder, Anna van Ojik, Julia Padberg and Petra Spaargaren for Profundo, Australian banks financing coal and renewable energy: A research paper prepared for Greenpeace Australia Pacific, February 2011. (Pdf)