Last week Ross McEwan, the CEO of NAB, fronted up to the Australian Parliament. When he was asked about the bank’s oil and gas policy review, he said they will be measuring their policy against the conclusions of the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) ‘Net Zero by 2050’ scenario.
If Ross really means it, this could be huge: the IEA report states that there must be no new fossil fuel investments after 2021.
This is a positive sign, and shows we are making progress – but we have to keep the pressure up. We know that NAB is in the final stages of deciding whether or not it will rule out oil and gas lending, or keep funding climate destruction.
But we have also learned in the last few days that other banks are reviewing their fossil fuel lending by the end of the year. We have the opportunity to shift billions away from fossil fuel companies – join the next working bee online to find out how.
Together we have made our collective voices roar, even under the most trying of circumstances, with so many of us in lockdown. We know our pressure is working.
Thousands have signed the petition calling on NAB to end oil and gas finance.
Folks turned out in the middle of Melbourne winter to NAB’s HQ to speak truth to power.
Our open letter, signed by 7 organisations, made sure NAB publicly committed to take the IEA report into account.
350 activists in the Gold Coast, Melbourne, Alice Springs, Darwin, Rockhampton, Toowoomba and beyond have visited local NAB branches to speak to staff about climate change and fossil fuels.
Together we funded a billboard to travel around the CEO’s neighbourhood and all of Melbourne with this eye-catching design.
We brought together over 40 NAB staff to a special webinar to learn about the latest climate science and what they could do to push their bank to do more.
We commissioned a report with DeSmog that found that bank CEOs are fossil fuel conflicted that got this great article published – we heard that it caused a stir internally!
And we had this full page ad in the AFR – the newspaper of choice of bankers and board chairs.
Together we’ve put NAB into the spotlight – each and every one of us played a part, and for that we should be so proud. But what’s next?
Market Forces released new figures yesterday that show NAB has invested $9.5 billion in fossil fuel projects since 2016, including $1.4 billion to expansionary projects that would enable 3.6 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions.
The big 4 banks have financed some massive fossil fuel projects since they signed up to the Paris Climate Agreement – with the next climate negotiations just over a month away, we have an opportunity to use global momentum, and the noise we’ve built through the NAB campaign to shift the other big 3 banks off oil and gas financing.
This is a powerful moment to dial up the pressure on NAB, and all banks, to end fossil fuel financing to protect our future from the climate crisis.
Corporations don’t act on their own accord – it’s people-powered movements like ours that hold them accountable and create the conditions for them to aim higher.
This is a powerful moment to dial up the pressure on NAB, and all banks, to end fossil fuel financing to protect our future from the climate crisis.
Corporations don’t act on their own accord – it’s people-powered movements like ours that hold them accountable and create the conditions for them to aim higher.