Antinuclear

Australia’s big banks lending to fossil fuels 6 times more than to renewables

Climate change: big four banks’ lending to Australian renewables projects falls, Guardian, Michael Slezak, 4 July 16   Market Forces finds only two financing deals closed in first half of 2016 despite banks’ purported support for sector Australia’s big four banks’ lending for Australian renewable energy projects has tumbled in the first half of 2016, despite all of them spruiking their continuing support for the sector.

Based on public announcements from the banks and their customers, the activist group Market Forces has found only two financing deals were closed this year in the Australian renewables sector.

The National Australia Bank lent money to a windfarm in South Australia and both NAB and Westpac helped finance one in New South Wales.

Although more financing could be revealed in the second half of the year, the figures seem to show the banks have slowed their flow of money to the renewables sector in Australia.

“This is what you see when you have years of stagnation and cutting into renewable energy policy,” said Julien Vincent from Market Forces.

The group has been collecting the data on financing for Australian renewable energy projects for the past eight years.

The first six months of 2016 have seen the big four banks lend only $162m to renewable projects. That is less than half the average amount loaned in all previous six-month periods since 2008 and the fifth-worst half-yearly figure in the dataset.

So far this year, according to public announcements, both the Commonwealth Bank and ANZ have not closed any deals for renewable energy projects in Australia.

Market Forces data previously showed the big four banks lent $5.5bn to the Australian fossil-fuel sector in 2015 and that the amount lent to the fossil-fuel sector was six times more than lent to the renewables sector since 2008. One bank had a ratio of 13 to one, favouring lending to fossil fuels over renewables……….https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/04/climate-change-big-four-banks-lending-to-australian-renewables-projects-falls

July 4, 2016 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, business, climate change - global warming