NZ Stages Solidarity Action against Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Demands no financing for ‘Carbon Bomb’ coal proposals on Great Barrier Reef

Auckland-- Today, 350 Aotearoa took action at ASB Bank, the daughter company of Commonwealth Bank, a major Australian bank rumored to be in talks with Indian mining giant Adani to finance one of the world’s largest coal mines and port expansion projects in the Galilee Basin, Queensland.

350 Aotearoa activists marched into ASB's flagship building in Wynyard Quarter to deliver a giant postcard addressed to Commonwealth Bank, care of ASB, urging the bank not to fund the project in the Galilee Basin. They occupied the lobby of the building with banners reading "THE WORLD IS WATCHING YOU."

Over 100 actions are taking place at Commonwealth offices across Australia and around the world, including New York, London, Edinburgh, Tokyo, Ho Chi Minh, and Auckland.

According to recent Market Forces research, Commonwealth Bank is the largest financier of fossil fuel projects on the Great Barrier Reef. To further invest in the Galilee Basin and Abbot Point coal port expansion would put CommBank at odds with 11 other major international banks that have already ruled out involvement with the project.

“As our leaders prepare for December’s UN Climate Meeting in Paris, they should be reminded that if our banks finance this Australian ‘Carbon Bomb’, their well-intentioned meeting could be all for naught.”

Scientists warn that global average temperatures cannot warm more than 2° C if we hope to stave off the worst threats of climate disruption, which means carbon intensive fossil fuels like coal must stay in the ground. If developed, Australia’s coal mining and Abbot Point port expansion proposal alone would chew through a staggering 6% of the world’s carbon budget, and experts warn it could easily send us over the climate cliff.

“Communities across the planet are increasingly coming face-to-face with the devastating impacts of climate disruption,” said Niamh O'Flynn, National Director of 350 Aotearoa.

"We’re seeing the frequency and severity of droughts, flooding, wildfires and extreme weather worsen at a pace that we’re already struggling to keep up with.”

"Here in NZ we are not going to stand by and allow business as usual to continue across the ditch. This project has implications for us all, and ASB is a part of that."

“Sadly, those who are most disadvantaged are also suffering the most acutely from these climate related disasters, and by allowing a project like the Galilee to move forward will ensure the squeeze on these communities will only worsen.”

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