Shareholders sent a resounding message to the board of Macquarie Group Limited (ASX: MQG) last Thursday, with well over one-third of shareholders voting in favour of a resolution for the bank to aim higher on climate.
SIX has supported Market Forces’ resolution demanding that Macquarie Bank stop funding new oil and gas projects.
The resolution was sparked by the fact that although the company positions itself as a green financial institution, Macquarie’s record on supporting fossil fuels expansion tells a different story:
- Macquarie is lagging behind its competitors on climate, as they are the only major Australian bank with no policy restrictions on direct finance of new oil and gas fields, making them an outlier in the sector.
- Macquarie is a major funder of Empire Energy and Tamboran Resources, two of the leading oil and gas companies working to frack the Beetaloo Basin in the Northern Territory.
- Macquarie is the only major Australian bank to have withdrawn from the Net Zero Banking Alliance, a global member-led alliance supporting banks to align their commitments with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
- Last year, Macquarie didn’t publish an annual Climate Report and stopped reporting its fossil fuel lending exposure.
Dozens of community members, including heaps of NGOs, rallied outside the AGM in Sydney to demand answers from Macquarie about its funding of new fossil fuel projects, including the funding for fracking in the Beetaloo Basin.
10,000+ more voices were represented through Market Forces' huge petition that called on Macquarie not to frack the outback.
35% is an enormous vote and a resounding message from shareholders to the board. In countries where shareholder activism is more common, any vote over 15% generally prompts companies to take some action in response to a shareholder vote.
SIX and Market Forces will be watching closely to see how Macquarie responds next.
