Biggest Australian business lender to stop new coal mine funding
SYDNEY – National Australia Bank (NAB) pledged to stop funding new thermal coal mine developments and boost lending to renewable energy projects as part of global efforts to tackle climate change.
“While we will continue to support our existing customers across the mining and energy sectors, including those with existing coal assets, NAB will no longer finance new thermal coal mining projects,” the nation’s largest business lender said in a statement on Thursday.
National Australia said it has created a A$200-million fund that lends money to existing renewable energy projects. It’s part of a new climate policy to be unveiled at the bank’s annual general meeting in Sydney on Friday, the Australian newspaper reported earlier.
Australia’s largest banks have been restricting lending to high carbon emitters as they face pressure from activists and shareholders to mitigate climate risks. They’ve ruled out financing Adani Enterprises' $16.5-billion thermal coal project in Queensland amid opposition from environmentalists who say it will increase carbon pollution and endanger the health of the Great Barrier Reef marine park in the state’s north.
NAB has arranged A$6.2-billion in loans for renewable energy projects since 2003, the fifth largest globally, the bank said in a statement. Renewable energy capacity in Australia is expected to more than double by 2030 as coal generation declines, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
“We’re witnessing an emerging renewables economy,” said Mike Baird, the bank’s chief customer officer for its corporate and institutional arm. “We have seen tremendous growth in clean energy across our loan book.”
Comments
The
functionality
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation