Big Four Banks Poured $43 Billion Into Fossil Fuels Since Paris Climate Deal
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Australia’s big four banks have funneled AU$43.4 billion to the world’s largest coal, oil and gas companies in the decade since the Paris Agreement committed nations to limiting climate change, according to new research that calls into question the banks’ climate pledges.
The analysis by Market Forces, released Wednesday, identifies 23 fossil fuel companies that should be cut off from further financing under the banks’ own policies requiring credible emissions reduction plans. The list includes Australia’s biggest oil and gas producers Woodside Energy and Santos, mining giant BHP, and international energy firms BP, Siemens Energy and GE Vernova.
ANZ and Westpac emerge as the sector’s biggest backers, accounting for more than 80% of all lending from the big four banks to major fossil fuel companies across 2024 and 2025, the research found. The findings reveal a stark divide between banks claiming climate leadership and their actual financing decisions.
“For the last decade, Australia’s biggest banks have violated their climate commitments by pouring tens of billions into companies expanding coal, oil and gas, but now they have a chance to avoid causing further harm,” said Kyle Robertson, head of research at Market Forces.
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ANZ Leads Fossil Fuel Financing
ANZ stands as the biggest funder of fossil fuels among Australian banks, having loaned or arranged more than AU$15.9 billion for the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies over the past decade, the analysis found.
The bank has maintained its position in recent years, providing and arranging $5.7 billion in loans and bond finance to major fossil fuel companies since 2022 alone. Westpac jumped to second place with $3.8 billion in financing over the same period.
“Australia’s biggest banks have well and truly given their fossil fuel clients long enough to prepare, if they’re still not transitioning it’s time to turn the money tap off once and for all,” Robertson said.
The research shows ANZ and Westpac have financed major companies expanding fossil fuels in recent years, including deals with Woodside, Santos, JERA, APA Group, GE Vernova, Siemens Energy, BHP, Glencore and BP, with significant transactions occurring in recent months.
Commonwealth Bank Shows Sharp Reversal
The findings reveal a clear split among the big four, with Commonwealth Bank and NAB demonstrating intent to exit financing for fossil fuel companies misaligned with global climate goals, while ANZ and Westpac’s policies amount to “little more than window dressing and greenwashing,” according to the report.
Commonwealth Bank’s requirement for fossil fuel companies to disclose credible climate transition plans aligned with the Paris Agreement has produced significant results since being introduced in 2024. The bank’s lending exposure to companies producing and exploring for oil and gas has dropped 75% in the last three years.
“Commonwealth Bank and NAB are slashing finance for fossil fuels but ANZ and Westpac are greenwashing by cutting deals with some of the biggest coal, oil and gas companies in the world,” Robertson said.
The divergence suggests major Australian banks can reduce fossil fuel financing when policies are enforced, raising questions about why ANZ and Westpac continue heavy involvement in the sector.
Economic Stakes Rising
Australians face mounting economic costs from climate change, made worse by expansion of coal, oil and gas projects, the report notes. Extreme weather events are forecast to cost Australians $35 billion annually by 2050, while agricultural and labour productivity losses could exceed $4.2 trillion by the end of the century.
“We can’t afford to wait any longer, Australia’s big banks must end all finance for companies without credible plans for the critical shift to a more secure economy and a liveable climate,” Robertson said.
The 23 companies identified in Market Forces’ blocklist lack credible transition plans despite banks’ stated commitments to the Paris Agreement goals of limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
The list includes two of Japan’s biggest energy companies, JERA and INPEX, alongside global energy firms. Further financing of any companies on the blocklist constitutes a violation of the banks’ climate commitments, the report argues.
Methodology and Scope
Market Forces obtained data from finance industry databases, company filings, reports and market disclosures covering the period from Jan. 1, 2016, through Sept. 1, 2025. The analysis tracks project and corporate loans and bonds for primary transactions, refinancing and acquisitions.
The research focuses on fossil fuel companies featured on Urgewald’s 2024 Global Oil and Gas Exit List, 2024 Global Coal Exit List and 2025 Metallurgical Coal Exit List. These databases cover companies responsible for 95% of global oil and gas production and 90% of global thermal coal production and coal-fired power capacity.
All four banks were given an opportunity to comment on financing attributed to them. None disputed participation in the deals featured in the dataset, according to Market Forces.
The analysis cannot be directly compared to previous years’ reports and should be viewed as standalone research, Market Forces noted.
Australian Energy Giants at Risk
The findings put Australia’s largest energy companies on notice. Woodside Energy and Santos, the country’s biggest oil and gas producers, both face potential exclusion from financing by the big four banks due to their lack of credible transition plans.
BHP, the world’s biggest miner, also appears on the blocklist despite being a major corporate presence in Australia. The company’s continued expansion of fossil fuel operations contradicts the emissions reduction pathways required under the banks’ climate commitments.
The research shows financing has continued flowing to these companies despite their expansion plans. Both ANZ and Westpac have funded significant deals with Australian energy companies in recent months, the report found.
International Energy Firms Included
Global energy companies also feature prominently on the blocklist. BP, one of the world’s largest oil companies, continues receiving financing from Australian banks despite questions about its transition plans.
Industrial equipment makers Siemens Energy and GE Vernova, which provide technology for both fossil fuel and renewable energy projects, also lack sufficient climate transition plans to meet banks’ stated criteria, according to the analysis.
Japanese energy companies JERA and INPEX, major players in Australia’s liquefied natural gas export industry, round out the international firms identified as requiring exclusion from further financing.
Policy Gaps Exposed
The research highlights gaps between banks’ public climate commitments and their actual lending practices. While all four banks have adopted policies requiring fossil fuel clients to demonstrate credible transition plans, enforcement varies dramatically.
Commonwealth Bank’s 75% reduction in oil and gas lending exposure demonstrates that strong policy implementation can shift financing patterns quickly. The bank’s requirement for disclosure of climate transition plans aligned with Paris Agreement goals has produced measurable results since 2024.
NAB has also shown intent to reduce fossil fuel financing, though specific figures were not provided in the report. The bank joins Commonwealth Bank in what Market Forces describes as genuine efforts to align lending with climate goals.
ANZ and Westpac, by contrast, continue financing fossil fuel expansion at levels that dwarf their competitors. Their combined $9.5 billion in lending since 2022 represents the vast majority of big four bank financing for major fossil fuel companies in that period.
Decade of Contradictions
The 10-year timeline beginning with the Paris Agreement’s adoption in December 2015 provides context for the banks’ climate commitments. All four banks pledged to support the agreement’s goals of limiting global temperature rise and transitioning to a low-carbon economy.
The $43.4 billion in financing over that decade tells a different story. Rather than winding down fossil fuel financing, Australia’s biggest banks have continued providing billions in loans and bond arrangements to companies expanding coal, oil and gas production.
The financing has continued even as climate impacts have intensified across Australia, with more frequent and severe bushfires, floods, droughts and extreme heat events affecting communities and economic productivity.
Market Forces argues the banks’ continued financing of fossil fuel expansion directly contradicts their Paris Agreement commitments and contributes to worsening climate impacts that will cost Australia hundreds of billions of dollars in coming decades.
What Happens Next
The report serves as a benchmark for measuring future bank behavior on climate financing. With 23 companies now identified as lacking credible transition plans, banks face a clear test of whether they will enforce their own policies.
Market Forces, a clean energy finance advocacy organization, will monitor whether ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB and Westpac continue providing financing to companies on the blocklist. Any new deals would demonstrate failure to implement stated climate policies.
The research also provides ammunition for shareholders, customers and regulators questioning banks’ climate commitments. Australian financial regulators have increased scrutiny of climate-related financial risks in recent years.
For the fossil fuel companies identified, the blocklist creates potential financing challenges. If Australia’s big four banks follow through on excluding companies without credible transition plans, those firms may need to seek financing elsewhere or develop legitimate emissions reduction strategies.
The stakes extend beyond bank balance sheets. Australia faces economic losses potentially exceeding $4 trillion by century’s end if climate change continues unchecked, making decisions about fossil fuel financing today critical to the country’s long-term economic security.
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