Banking on net zero
Despite rising anti-ESG sentiment in the US, Australia’s major banks remain committed to financing the energy transition toward net zero emissions.
Australian banks are not walking away from their commitments to financing the energy transition on the path to net zero emissions, despite a wave of anti-ESG sentiment in the United States following Donald Trump’s re-election last November.
While Macquarie Group notably exited the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) in January, alongside global investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, the big four domestic banks remain members, with all signs pointing to them getting on with the job.
Macquarie chair Glenn Stevens told the group's AGM late last month that investors should not read too much into the NZBA exit. "I think that was a useful body for us to be part of at a point in time when people were still trying to work out how to galvanise thinking and measurement and actions in this space but the world's moved on quite a bit since then," he said.
"We've got other processes in place now, we're moving towards mandatory sustainability reporting, which will be something that Macquarie is subject to for FY26, so we'll be reporting in next year's annual report, that's only nine months away now."
