> Deforestation threatens our forests and wildlife: Analysis of Queensland deforestation found that between 2018-2020, over 1 million hectares of forest and woodland were bulldozed, mainly for cattle farming. Almost 200,000 hectares was habitat for the endangered koala. Greater gliders, northern quolls, ornamental snakes, and Australian painted snipes also saw tens of thousands of hectares of their forest homes destroyed².

> The role of the big four: What the big banks choose to finance shapes the health of Australia’s landscape and our economy. An investigation by ACF identified 100 cases of deforestation between July 2023 and July 2024 that were linked to major banks through mortgages; NAB was most exposed to deforestation through their portfolio, followed by ANZ, Commbank, Rabobank and Westpac³. Westpac did set a no-deforestation target in 2023, but dropped the commitment two years later!⁴

> Risking banks’ reputation: Financing customers who are engaging is deforestation poses a risk to the banks’ reputation - particularly if the customer attracts penalties for illegal bulldozing under Australia’s national environment laws (the EPBC Act) which were recently reformed by the federal government⁵. If banks do not act to address this, the risk gets passed onto their shareholders. 

> Climate and nature, it’s all connected: Forest clearing worsens climate-related impacts - there’s a greater risk of drought in areas affected by deforestation⁶, while the removal of trees in catchment areas increases flood risk⁸. Australian banks are tied to this problem through their lending, with lending to the agricultural sector now at $140 billion⁷ - and the properties in banks’ portfolios are then exposed to climate-related impacts.