The revelation comes after continued pressure by customers and concerned community members who have staged numerous protests outside CommBank branches across the country and peppered the bank’s Facebook page with messages pleading for the bank to “dump coal” and “stop supporting the fossil fuel industry”.

“Despite clear proof that fossil fuel investments are toxic, the Commonwealth Bank would rather create a PR team than deal with their customers’ concerns,” Greenpeace Climate and Energy Campaigner, Nikola Casule, said.

“Customers started out angry that the bank they trusted with their money is investing in fossil fuels that are damaging the environment and killing the Great Barrier Reef and now they are furious that those concerns are being ignored.

“The only substantial thing CommBank have done since their customers started telling them they wanted action on climate change has been to set up a team of people to try to convince people not to take their business elsewhere,” Dr Casule said.

The Commonwealth Bank made a public commitment to take action to limit global warming to no more than two degrees in late 2015, but last year lent a massive $3.886 billion to coal, gas and oil mining and infrastructure projects, making it the biggest funder of dirty fossil fuels in Australia in 2016.

Under questioning at a parliamentary inquiry in March, CEO Ian Narev was unable to provide a single example of the bank’s climate policy affecting lending decisions and last month it was revealed that CommBank had been secretly working with Adani to facilitate the construction of the Carmichael megamine. It has still not ruled out providing finance to the proposed mine.  

A new international study into 37 banks’ fossil fuel lending policies by BankTrack yesterday put the Commonwealth Bank at the bottom of the pile because of its failure to evidence any policies to restrict coal, gas or extreme oil projects.

“I have been a CommBank customer for over 20 years. I have several mortgages and a business account,” Cabarita resident and business owner, Michael Rahme, said.

“Investing in new coal mines  and coal fired power stations has clearly and undoubtedly become an investment risk, a social risk, and an environmental risk that can no longer be ignored. The individuals on the Board of CommBank would be morally and ethically bankrupt to continue to do so.

“If Commbank do not publicly declare that they will no longer fund or lend or invest in new coal fired power stations, I will be leaving the bank and never coming back.”

Close to 85,000 people have signed a petition calling on CommBank to stop funding new coal, and over 4,500 CommBank customers have indicated they are considering changing banks over their support of dirty coal, oil and gas projects.

“Instead of action to address the concerns of their customers all we have seen is more empty repetition of the same PR rhetoric and spin in direct letters and emails to customers,” Dr Casule said.

“The Commonwealth Bank talks up the need to address climate change, invest in renewables and help us transition to a low-carbon economy, but they are not living up to their word.”

For interviews contact:

Rachael Vincent, Media Campaigner rachael.vincent@greenpeace.org 02 9263 0354 | 0413 993 316

Notes

Market Forces’ research shows CommBank is Australia’s dirtiest bank, lending $3,886 million to fossil fuels in 2016 and a total of $20.5 billion between 2008 and the first half of 2016 (including $4.523 billion to coal mines, coal fired power plants and coal ports).

Released today, the Steeling the Future report shows that Australia deliberately "sought and won its position as the world’s pre-eminent facilitator of the dirtiest steelmaking process" with nearly half of all coal exports now used to make steel.

“The coal industry are fond of pretending that you cannot have steel without coal,” Greenpeace Climate and Energy Campaigner, Nikola Casule, said.

“This report demonstrates that not only is that simply not true but coal is, in fact, standing in the way of cleaner steelmaking techniques.”

The report found that Australian metallurgical coal exports produce nearly half a billion tonnes of CO2 offshore - 88 per cent as much greenhouse pollution as we produce domestically.

“This cannot continue if we want to try to protect national icons like the Great Barrier Reef and make good on our promise as part of the Paris climate accords to curb global warming for future generations,” Casule said.

“Coal is a dirty and outdated method of producing power and a dirty and outdated method of making steel.”

The report urges the Australian government to learn from the lessons of thermal coal and to make a planned transition away from metallurgical coal.

“Coal communities across Australia have already been left in the lurch by the Federal Government’s failure to anticipate or accept the decline of thermal coal,” Casule said.

“We cannot afford to make the same mistake with communities who currently rely on the metallurgical coal industry.

“The government must immediately plan and implement a just transition away from all forms of coal and shift to cleaner steel production.

“We have the opportunity for Australia to become a leader in clean steel production while also ensuring that it makes a meaningful contribution to global efforts to combat climate change.”

Notes for editors:
“Steeling the Future” can be accessed at the below link: http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/en/what-we-do/climate/resources/reports/Steeling-the-Future/

For more information contact:
Simon Black
Greenpeace Senior Media Campaigner
0418 219 086 / simon.black@greenpeace.org

“The Government says one thing, but does another on the Reef,” said Ms Foster Vander Elst.

“Queensland and Australian government ministers say they are committed to preserving the Reef for future generations, but their actions make it quite clear they do not care enough to do what we need to save it.”

Both the UNESCO World Heritage Committee and the Government’s own Reef 2050 Advisory Committee have warned that the Government’s Reef 2050 Plan, which primarily addresses water quality and land clearing, is inadequate and will not work because it does not address the primary threat to the Reef—climate change.   

UNESCO’s scientific report on coral reefs released on 23 June warns the only way to save the Reef from certain destruction before the end of the century is to halt global warming at well below 1.5-2°C above pre-industrial levels.

“The Australian Government has the power to act on global warming. It is utterly irresponsible to suggest otherwise. And Australia must act if it is serious about protecting the Reef. This means we must keep 90 per cent of existing coal reserves in the ground [1],” Ms Foster Vander Elst said.  

“But instead, the Queensland and Australian Governments are pouring billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money into fossil fuel subsidies, talking up the construction of more coal-fired power stations and bending over backwards to facilitate the expansion of Australian coal mining in the Galilee basin, including a proposal for the NAIF to provide a $1 billion loan to the billionaire Adani mining corporation,” said Ms Foster Vander Elst.

“When the Government is spending fifty five times more on fossil fuel subsidies [2] than on its much-touted Reef 2050 plan, it’s quite clear what its priorities really are.

“What we should be doing is cutting fossil fuels subsidies, banning new coal mines and offering the world real climate leadership. If we do not act now, then when Australians mourn the destruction of the Great Barrier Reef in years to come, they will know who to blame: the Abbott-Turnbull Australian Governments who wilfully promoted fossil fuels over committed action on climate change,” Ms Foster Vander Elst said.

Notes
[1] See Greenpeace Report April 2016, ‘Exporting climate change, killing the reef’ at http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/Global/australia/reports/Exporting%20climate%20change,%20killing%20the%20reef.pdf

[2] The Reef 2050 Plan has a price-tag of $2bn over ten years—or $200m a year—but Market Forces has identified $11bn in tax-payer funded fossil fuel subsidies provided by the Government each year: ‘How your taxes subsidise fossil fuels, Market Forces, http://www.marketforces.org.au/ffs/tax/

Background briefing & timeline
Greenpeace’s newly updated 18-page report, ‘The double threat to the Great Barrier Reef: climate change and the Australian Government’ offers a  background briefing and timeline on UNESCO, the Australian Government and the Reef: http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/en/what-we-do/oceans/resources/reports/The-double-threat-to-the-Great-Barrier-Reef/

Photos and video
High resolution photographs and video for the media can be accessed in the Greenpeace media library here, including drone footage of bleached coral: http://media.greenpeace.org/shoot/27MZIFJJD68E1

For interviews contact
Rachael Vincent, Media Campaigner 0413 993 316 rachael.vincent@greenpeace.org

The mining giant’s chairman today gave his final investment approval for the multi-billion dollar Carmichael mine in central Queensland's Galilee Basin.

The company are yet to confirm financing or if a billion dollar loan from the Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility to fund the rail line between the proposed mine and the Abbot Point coal terminal has been granted.

“This mine will be a disaster for the climate, the Great Barrier Reef and frontline communities in Queensland and around the world,” Greenpeace Climate and Energy Campaigner, Nikola Casule, said.

“This toxic mega-mine is deeply unpopular with the Australian people and is not viable without massive handouts of public money through subsidies or loans from the NAIF and Queensland government.

“Any public assistance to the mine is a betrayal of the Australian public and the things they hold dear, like a healthy Reef and support for public services that lose out when billions of dollars are given to Adani instead of to schools and hospitals.

“Greenpeace are calling for state and federal governments to rule out any public funds being granted to this environmentally destructive and economically disastrous project once and for all.

“The people of Australia have overwhelmingly rejected this toxic project. The age of coal is dead and we need real leadership to ensure a just transition away from fossil fuels for the Australian community.”

For interviews contact:
Simon Black
Greenpeace Senior Media Campaigner
0418 219 086 / simon.black@greenpeace.org

Government representatives from the nearly 200 countries who are signed on to the Paris Agreement have gathered for high level talks in Bonn, Germany, this week at the United Nations Climate Change Conference.

While countries like China and India have been calling for tighter rules on business groups, at a meeting on Tuesday, the Australian representative vigorously defended the right of fossil fuel companies, including ExxonMobil and Shell—two of the world’s biggest polluters—to participate in the negotiations.

Fossil fuel lobbyists have long had backdoor access to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) treaty and climate policy talks, effectively delaying, weakening and blocking progress for two decades. But unlike many other UN entities, no conflict of interest rules currently exist in the UNFCCC process.

“It is outrageous and disgusting to imagine representatives of the Australian government would defend such a flagrant conflict of interest. But it shows the kind of hold that fossil fuel companies have had on Australian politics for too long,” said Greenpeace Australia Pacific CEO, David Ritter.

“The national interest and the interests of the Australian people are not the same thing as the destructive vested interests of multinational fossil fuel companies.

“The Australian government should be calling for the same standards of propriety and fairness that we would ask of our own public service in Australia. Principles behind conflict of interest rules are well-known and universal and we should be striving to uphold them.

“It’s particularly egregious after having a reputation for going slow in international climate negotiations, that the Australian representatives would stoop to the new level of actively promoting the ongoing participation of vested interests determined to hold up progress,” Mr Ritter said.

A new report by Corporate Accountability International on the role of lobbyists at the UNFCCC, “Inside Job: Big Polluters’ lobbyists on the inside at the UNFCCC” was released in the lead up to the talks last week, on 1 May 2017. The reports examines six of the more than 270 business industry NGOs currently admitted to the climate talks, including the Business Council of Australia: https://www.stopcorporateabuse.org/insidejob

For interviews, contact:

Rachael Vincent, Media Campaigner Greenpeace Australia Pacific
Tel 02 9263 0354 Mob 0413 993 316

The reality is that current efforts fall far short of what is required to protect our most treasured natural wonder.

“A short snorkel in an undamaged area of the Reef does nothing to show the true picture of the lack of effort by Government to - as Julie Bishop says - “conserve, preserve and manage the Reef,”” said Greenpeace Campaigner, Alix Foster Vander Elst.

“In fact, it masks the sad reality. Government inaction has already seen two thirds of the coral hit by back-to-back mass bleaching events.”

Ms Bishop has enlisted the support of optimistic marine biologists to tell the media that bleached coral can recover and rejuvenate “without any mass die-off.”

“But the sad fact is that while coral can recover from bleaching, the conditions need to be right … and conditions are not right. The longer it is stressed, the less likely coral is to recover,” said Ms Alix Foster Vander Elst

Recent reports by Terry Hughes, director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, show that record-breaking water temperatures have caused bleaching to over 1500km of coral over the last two summers, leaving only the southern third of the Reef unscathed. And it is widely acknowledged that already some 67% of corals have already died in the reef's worst-hit northern section.

The Reef is under very serious threat. But perhaps worst of all, the Government is actively contributing to exacerbating the greatest threat to the Reef: climate change.

“Just last week, the Foreign Minister’s own department sent an Australian diplomat to UN climate talks in Bonn, Germany, where he shamelessly argued for the inclusion of the fossil fuel lobby - including two of the world’s biggest carbon polluters - in international climate negotiations,” said Ms Foster Vander Elst

“And the Government has continuously expressed its support for the proposed massive Carmichael mine in the Galilee valley, including a proposal to lend nearly $1bn of taxpayers’ money to the project, which will ship millions of tonnes of coal out through the Reef and directly impact its health by contributing to climate change,” Ms Foster Vander Elst said.

Bishop’s assertion that we are “leading the world in coral reef preservation and conservation” would be laughable if it weren’t so wrong. Australia’s Reef 2050 plan - which involves a $2bn commitment to improving the health of the reef over the next decade - falls lamentably short of what’s required.

Julie Bishop should direct our government to take her own advice and take realistic steps to “lift the local pressures on the reef”, and commit to a “concerted global effort” to prevent escalating climate change.

“The government should stop putting money into coal mines, commit to the Paris Agreement, take immediate action to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and invest in renewable energy which is booming internationally,” Ms Foster Vander Elst said.  

For interviews, contact:

Rachael Vincent, Media Campaigner Greenpeace Australia Pacific
Tel 02 9263 0354 Mob 0413 993 316

Editor’s notes:

For a truer picture of the state of the Great Barrier Reef, we recommend a look at these photos and videos, including drone footage of bleached coral off Port Douglas, only 60km north of Cairns, here: http://media.greenpeace.org/shoot/27MZIFJJD68E1

Footnotes: 

1. As reported by the Courier Mail today [here]

2. “Two-thirds of the corals in the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef have died in the reef’s worst-ever bleaching event, according to our latest underwater surveys,” : 'How much coral has died in the Great Barrier Reef’s worst bleaching event?', 29 November 2016, The Conversation [here]

Released today, the Steeling the Future report shows that Australia deliberately "sought and won its position as the world’s pre-eminent facilitator of the dirtiest steelmaking process" with nearly half of all coal exports now used to make steel.

“The coal industry are fond of pretending that you cannot have steel without coal,” Greenpeace Climate and Energy Campaigner, Nikola Casule, said.

“This report demonstrates that not only is that simply not true but coal is, in fact, standing in the way of cleaner steelmaking techniques.”

The report found that Australian metallurgical coal exports produce nearly half a billion tonnes of CO2 offshore - 88 per cent as much greenhouse pollution as we produce domestically.

“This cannot continue if we want to try to protect national icons like the Great Barrier Reef and make good on our promise as part of the Paris climate accords to curb global warming for future generations,” Casule said.

“Coal is a dirty and outdated method of producing power and a dirty and outdated method of making steel.”

The report urges the Australian government to learn from the lessons of thermal coal and to make a planned transition away from metallurgical coal.

“Coal communities across Australia have already been left in the lurch by the Federal Government’s failure to anticipate or accept the decline of thermal coal,” Casule said.

“We cannot afford to make the same mistake with communities who currently rely on the metallurgical coal industry.

“The government must immediately plan and implement a just transition away from all forms of coal and shift to cleaner steel production.

“We have the opportunity for Australia to become a leader in clean steel production while also ensuring that it makes a meaningful contribution to global efforts to combat climate change.”

Notes for editors:
“Steeling the Future” can be accessed at the below link: http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/en/what-we-do/climate/resources/reports/Steeling-the-Future/

For more information contact:
Simon Black
Greenpeace Senior Media Campaigner
0418 219 086 / simon.black@greenpeace.org

“The Government says one thing, but does another on the Reef,” said Ms Foster Vander Elst.

“Queensland and Australian government ministers say they are committed to preserving the Reef for future generations, but their actions make it quite clear they do not care enough to do what we need to save it.”

Both the UNESCO World Heritage Committee and the Government’s own Reef 2050 Advisory Committee have warned that the Government’s Reef 2050 Plan, which primarily addresses water quality and land clearing, is inadequate and will not work because it does not address the primary threat to the Reef—climate change.   

UNESCO’s scientific report on coral reefs released on 23 June warns the only way to save the Reef from certain destruction before the end of the century is to halt global warming at well below 1.5-2°C above pre-industrial levels.

“The Australian Government has the power to act on global warming. It is utterly irresponsible to suggest otherwise. And Australia must act if it is serious about protecting the Reef. This means we must keep 90 per cent of existing coal reserves in the ground [1],” Ms Foster Vander Elst said.  

“But instead, the Queensland and Australian Governments are pouring billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money into fossil fuel subsidies, talking up the construction of more coal-fired power stations and bending over backwards to facilitate the expansion of Australian coal mining in the Galilee basin, including a proposal for the NAIF to provide a $1 billion loan to the billionaire Adani mining corporation,” said Ms Foster Vander Elst.

“When the Government is spending fifty five times more on fossil fuel subsidies [2] than on its much-touted Reef 2050 plan, it’s quite clear what its priorities really are.

“What we should be doing is cutting fossil fuels subsidies, banning new coal mines and offering the world real climate leadership. If we do not act now, then when Australians mourn the destruction of the Great Barrier Reef in years to come, they will know who to blame: the Abbott-Turnbull Australian Governments who wilfully promoted fossil fuels over committed action on climate change,” Ms Foster Vander Elst said.

Notes
[1] See Greenpeace Report April 2016, ‘Exporting climate change, killing the reef’ at http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/Global/australia/reports/Exporting%20climate%20change,%20killing%20the%20reef.pdf

[2] The Reef 2050 Plan has a price-tag of $2bn over ten years—or $200m a year—but Market Forces has identified $11bn in tax-payer funded fossil fuel subsidies provided by the Government each year: ‘How your taxes subsidise fossil fuels, Market Forces, http://www.marketforces.org.au/ffs/tax/

Background briefing & timeline
Greenpeace’s newly updated 18-page report, ‘The double threat to the Great Barrier Reef: climate change and the Australian Government’ offers a  background briefing and timeline on UNESCO, the Australian Government and the Reef: http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/en/what-we-do/oceans/resources/reports/The-double-threat-to-the-Great-Barrier-Reef/

Photos and video
High resolution photographs and video for the media can be accessed in the Greenpeace media library here, including drone footage of bleached coral: http://media.greenpeace.org/shoot/27MZIFJJD68E1

For interviews contact
Rachael Vincent, Media Campaigner 0413 993 316 rachael.vincent@greenpeace.org

Thai Union’s new commitments build upon its sustainability strategy SeaChange®, including efforts to support best practice fisheries, improve other fisheries, reduce illegal and unethical practices in its global supply chains, and bring more responsibly-caught tuna to key markets.

Today’s announcement follows a global Greenpeace campaign.

“This marks huge progress for our oceans and marine life, and for the rights of people working in the seafood industry,” said Greenpeace International Executive Director Bunny McDiarmid. “If Thai Union implements these reforms, it will pressure other industry players to show the same level of ambition and drive much needed change. Now is the time for other companies to step up, and show similar leadership.”

Thai Union has agreed to a comprehensive package of reforms, including commitments to: 

• Reduce the number of fish aggregating devices (FADs) used globally in its supply chains by an average of 50% by 2020, while doubling the amount of  verifiable FAD-free fish available in markets globally in the same period. FADs are floating objects that create mini ecosystems and may result in the catch of marine species, including sharks, turtles, and juvenile tuna.

• Extend its current moratorium on at-sea transshipment across its entire global supply chain unless new strict conditions are met by suppliers. Transshipment at sea enables vessels to continue fishing for months or years at a time and has the potential to facilitate illegal activity.

• Ensure independent observers are present on all longline vessels transshipping at sea to inspect and report on potential labor abuse, and ensure 100 percent human or electronic observer coverage across all tuna longline vessels it sources from.

• Develop a comprehensive code of conduct for all vessels in its supply chains, to complement the existing and strengthened Business Ethics and Labor Code of Conduct, to help ensure workers at sea are being treated humanely and fairly, and third party independent audits with publicly accessible results and clear timelines to ensure its requirements are being met.

• Shift significant portions of longline caught tuna to pole and line or troll-caught tuna by 2020 and implement strong requirements in place to help reduce bycatch. Longline vessels present a risk for catching non-target species like seabirds, turtles, and sharks.

• Move to full digital traceability, allowing people to track their tuna back to the vessel it was caught on and identify the fishing method used.

“Thai Union has fully embraced its role as a leader for positive change as one of the largest seafood companies in the world,” said Thiraphong Chansiri, Thai Union’s CEO.

“Thai Union looks forward to continuing to execute our SeaChange® sustainability strategy, strengthened and enhanced by the joint agreement with Greenpeace and our shared vision for healthy seas now and for future generations.” 

Greenpeace and Thai Union have agreed to meet every six months to assess the company’s progress and implementation. At the conclusion of 2018, an independent third-party will review progress to-date on the commitments.

“Thai Union has set a new standard for the seafood industry to deal with destructive fishing, labor abuse, and unethical practices,” McDiarmid continued. "This is a great day for the hundreds of thousands of people around the world who want the seafood industry to take stronger action to eliminate these problems."

Thai Union owns well-known tuna brands globally, including Chicken of the Sea, John West, Petit Navire, Mareblu, and Sealect. Nearly 700,000 individuals around the globe called on Thai Union to commit to selling more sustainable and ethical canned tuna. Following today’s announcement, Greenpeace, its allies, and the independent auditor will continue to track Thai Union and the broader industry’s progress to ensure these commitments lead to real changes on the water.

###

Note to Editors:

To learn more about Thai Union’s package of reforms, please click here: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/documents/oceans/Thai-Union-Commitments.pdf

Contacts:

Perry Wheeler, Greenpeace Seafood Communications and Outreach Manager, P: +1 301-675-8766

Greenpeace International Press Desk, pressdesk.int@greenpeace.org, phone: +31 (0) 20 718 2470 (available 24 hours) 

Yesterday the state government in Queensland announced a plan to join NSW, Tasmania, South Australia and the ACT in setting a net zero emissions target.

“It is heartening to see Queensland joining other state governments in setting a target of zero emissions by 2050 and stepping up while the federal government does nothing,” Greenpeace Campaigner Alix Foster Vander Elst said. 

“But if we do not reduce our exports of fossil fuels, primarily coal, this is only a half-measure and will do nothing to combat climate change and protect natural treasures like the Great Barrier Reef.

“Australia produces nearly twice as much carbon dioxide emissions through the coal we export than we emit domestically.[1]”

Ms Foster Vander Elst said it was two-faced to outline emissions targets at a time when the state government was pushing the largest coal mine Australia has ever seen.

“If mining in the Galilee basin goes ahead emissions from Australia’s coal exports will double [2],” she said.

“Worse than this, the federal government is considering giving a billion dollars of public money to the project to help it along.

“The choice is clear for Queensland - we can have coal or we can have the Great Barrier Reef, not both.”

NOTES FOR EDITORS:

[1] http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/Global/australia/reports/Exporting%20climate%20change,%20killing%20the%20reef.pdf

[2] https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/uploads/5cb72fc98342cfc149832293a8901466.pdf

For interviews contact:

Simon Black

Greenpeace Senior Media Campaigner

0418 219 086 / simon.black@greenpeace.org

The Senate today voted to establish an inquiry into the NAIF and any potential conflicts of interest on its board. This came after revelations that one of the board’s directors, Karla Way-McPhail, also runs mining labour and equipment hire companies and had made “hyper-partisan comments” online in support of the coal industry.

“A compromised board consisting of mining executives, some of them personally familiar with, and recommended by the resources minister, is no way to decide how to spend $5 billion dollars of taxpayers money,” Greenpeace Climate and Energy Campaigner, Nikola Casule said.

“For too long the NAIF board have been allowed to operate in the shadows, refusing to answer any and all questions put to them about how they were planning to spend billions of dollars of the public’s money.

“Former federal treasurer Wayne Swan has labelled the NAIF ‘a slush fund’ on more than one occasion and declared it would be a ‘disaster’ for Australia if it were allowed to continue to operate unchecked.”

Greenpeace welcomes today’s announcement, which should serve as an alarm for the Australian community.

“Facts which have recently come to light have shown serious questions need to be asked about the members who comprise the board and their agendas,” Casule said.

“This is particularly concerning when NAIF is currently considering a $1 billion loan to the rail infrastructure for the Carmichael coal mine: a project that’s an economic and environmental disaster.

“This inquiry must serve as a notice for the NAIF board and the dying coal industry that the country will not stand by while $1 billion dollars is used to prop up projects which would be a disaster for Queensland both environmentally and economically.”

For interviews contact:
Simon Black
Greenpeace Senior Media Campaigner
0418 219 086 / simon.black@greenpeace.org

The program heard from former workers who claimed as little as seven per cent of the donations were actually passed on to the desired charity, with the rest going directly to the Appco Group.

It also claims Appco staff mocked the very charities they were raising money to support. 

“The behaviour credited to Appco staff during the Sunday Night show is disgusting,” Greenpeace Deputy Program Director, Nic Seton, said.

“While Greenpeace Australia Pacific have never had any dealings with Appco we are nonetheless concerned by claims that any company would use a charity’s good name to gouge the public for donations."

Greenpeace use a number of different service providers to connect with the public for charitable donations all of which go through a rigorous due diligence process.

“Agencies are constantly reassessed as part of this due diligence process and any suppliers who show a lack of ethics or predatory behaviour will be terminated,” Seton said.

“We believe in protecting the environment and assisting impacted communities and every single dollar that we raise is budgeted to best maximize our impact.”

For interviews contact:
Simon Black
Greenpeace Senior Media Campaigner
0418 219 086 / simon.black@greenpeace.org

Ahead of the G20 Summit in Hamburg, the Greenpeace Germany-commissioned study also found that in about half of the G20 countries, renewable energy has been cheaper or equal in price to electricity generated from dirty coal or hazardous nuclear power plants since 2015.

Read the full report

"There can be no excuses anymore. Climate protection increasingly makes economic sense across the G20 as renewable energy becomes cheaper than dirty coal and nuclear,” Greenpeace Germany energy expert Tobias Austrup said.

“Any G20 country that is still investing in coal and nuclear power plants is wasting their money on technology that will not be competitive in coming years. The G20 now has a responsibility to send a clear signal that accelerating the clean energy transition is not only the right thing to do for the climate, but also for the economy.”

The Finnish Lappeenranta University of Technology study, commissioned by Greenpeace, calculates the electricity generation costs in all G20 countries for the years 2015 and 2030.

The study found that wind farms already generate the cheapest form of electricity in 2015 in large parts of Europe, South America, the US, China and Australia. Due to rapid technical progress and falling price, in 2030 solar energy will be so cheap that it will be even cheaper than wind power in many G20 countries.

Global investments mirror the results of the Greenpeace study. UN figures reveal that in 2016 investments in renewables were double that of investments in conventional power stations. About 55 percent of the added electricity capacities were based on renewable energies last year - a record figure.

US President Trump, however, is mistakenly promoting coal and nuclear power.

"Trump’s energy policy is simply a bad deal," Austrup added. "The US has excellent conditions for expanding its wind and solar energy capabilities and states like California, Texas or Iowa will not miss this chance."

Notes:

Greenpeace Germany study comparing electricity production costs: http://gpurl.de/9IHVS

UN study on global trends in renewable energy investment: http://fs-unep-centre.org/sites/default/files/publications/globaltrendsinrenewableenergyinvestment2017.pdf

Media contacts:
Gregor Kessler, Greenpeace Germany, Communications: gregor.kessler@greenpeace.org +49 151 7270 2918

Greenpeace International Press Desk: +31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours) pressdesk.int@greenpeace.org

The supermarket giant today announced they would no longer offer the lightweight plastic shopping bags across its entire store network in Australia.

“This announcement by Woolworths shows they are serious about their responsibilities as one of Australia’s largest supermarket chains,” Greenpeace campaigner Samantha Wockner said.

“This ban will stop billions of bags from being used each year in Australia, tens of millions of which can make their way into our waterways and eventually end inside marine life and our food.

“It’s disappointing that leadership on this issue has come from a large supermarket chain rather than from our politicians.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific is calling on state and federal governments and other major supermarket chains like Coles to follow the lead set by Woolworths.

South Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and ACT all have bans on single-use plastic bags. Queensland will introduce a ban in July 2018 while NSW and Victoria are yet to implement a policy on bags. Some Western Australian councils have indicated they could ban single-use bags.  

“The overwhelming majority of Australians support a ban on single use plastic bags - which are only used for minutes on average, but then take up to a thousand years to decompose,” Wockner said.

“There is no reason for the paralysis currently infecting some state and federal governments on this issue.

“It’s time for us to ban the bag at every level.”

This ban will include all stores across the Woolworths Group nationwide - which includes Woolworths Supermarkets and Metro stores, BIG W, BWS and Online. Dan Murphy’s and Cellarmasters are already single-use plastic bag free.

For interviews contact:

Simon Black

Greenpeace Senior Media Campaigner

0418 219 086 / simon.black@greenpeace.org

Leaked details [1] of the proposal this morning revealed Adani, the operator of the mine, would initially pay just $2 million a year in royalties when the $21 billion project was up and running.

This concession would mean they would sidestep paying anywhere up to $320 million in royalties to the Queensland community.

“This morning’s revelation that the Queensland Premier has sold out her own constituents is a disgrace,” Greenpeace campaigner Nikola Casule said.

“This arrangement is only the latest in a series of insults delivered by a government that seems to be putting the interests of big polluting fossil fuel companies before the community.

“It wasn’t enough simply to facilitate the waste of $1 billion of federal taxpayers money on the rail line for this project and to grant unlimited water access in one of the country’s most drought stricken areas.

“Now Premier Palaszczuk is taking hundreds of millions of dollars away from Queensland taxpayers and handing it over to a billionaire mining company at a time when we need to take urgent action on climate change to protect natural treasures like the Great Barrier Reef.

“During the election Palaszczuk promised there would be no taxpayer money funnelled into this project. This royalty holiday is a broken promise to the people who elected her and to the communities that rely on her to champion their interests.”

Greenpeace are calling on the Queensland government to immediately withdraw any plans which stop coal mines paying their fair share of royalties to the Australian public and to commit to keeping public money out of fossil fuels by opposing any funds for the Carmichael project via the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility.

“This is money that could be used to fund any number of community projects from schools to hospitals to providing assistance to our farmers or aid to the victims of natural disasters like Cyclone Debbie,” Casule said.

“There are countless people and organisations more deserving of the money that should go to the people of Queensland than a billionaire mining company.”

It is reported the royalty rate will then increase after several years.

NOTES FOR EDITORS:
[1] http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-18/queensland-government-gives-adani-royalties-holiday/8536560

For interviews contact:
Simon Black
Greenpeace Senior Media Campaigner
0418 219 086 / simon.black@greenpeace.org

New video released today shows crowds interacting with the standing exhibit, which was installed in central Sydney’s Pitt Street Mall in April.

The exhibit houses a three dimensional model iceberg with a polar bear perched on top and an invitation to interact.

Closer inspection reveals the iceberg is melting. Drops of water are steadily eroding the polar bear’s home. When someone interacts with the display with their mobile phone, immediately the descending drops begin to slow down, until they are completely suspended in thin air, even reversing to flow back up into the iceberg. The effect becomes stronger as more people get involved.

“One of the challenges of climate change is that people find it difficult to see the effect their efforts have on such a huge, global problem,” Greenpeace campaigner Nic Seton said.

“With this installation, we hope to illustrate that a collective effort can indeed make a real difference. It is only by rallying together that we will be able to slow down, stop, and even begin to reverse the damage that has been done to our environment.”

 “As a passer-by gets involved, the melting starts to slow down.  And as more and more people get involved, their efforts make a visible difference in the fight against climate change.”

Greenpeace worked with Ogilvy & Mather Singapore to conceptualise and build the reverse climate change interactive display.

Join the collective action by signing the petition at: http://greenpeace.org/reverse

Video & high-res images for the media are available at: http://media.greenpeace.org/shoot/27MZIFJJPY8GQ&SO=Id

For more information or interviews contact:
Rachael Vincent, Media Campaigner 0413 993 316 | rachael.vincent@greenpeace.org

They also released a new poll showing 65% of residents in NSW, VIC and WA supported a ban; with 79% support in states with existing bans (see below).

“The environmental and community verdict is in – it’s time for state governments to take action. The growing alarm about plastic pollution of the ocean is creating added urgency which can’t be ignored,” said Jeff Angel, Director of the Boomerang Alliance of 47 groups.

Greenpeace Senior Media Campaigner, Simon Black, said: "Australians use tens of millions of plastic bags each day". 

"An estimated 50 million of the littered bags end up in our waterways and oceans each year. There is now an estimated 1.7 million tonnes of plastic contaminating our waterways.” 

"Much of it in the form of invisible microplastics which cannot be seen but kill marine life and contaminating our food."

Ian Kiernan, AO, Chairman of CleanUp Australia said: “We’re seeing more and more businesses and local communities ditching the plastic bag. There are plenty of alternatives. Governments should take their guide from this and enact state laws.”

Omnipoll 25 May - 5 June 2017

Support or not the ban in "STATE" of single use plastic bags given out at supermarket and store checkouts. 

Further information:

Jeff Angel, Boomerang Alliance - 0418 273 773

Simon Black, Greenpeace, 0418 219 086

The revelation comes after continued pressure by customers and concerned community members who have staged numerous protests outside CommBank branches across the country and peppered the bank’s Facebook page with messages pleading for the bank to “dump coal” and “stop supporting the fossil fuel industry”.

“Despite clear proof that fossil fuel investments are toxic, the Commonwealth Bank would rather create a PR team than deal with their customers’ concerns,” Greenpeace Climate and Energy Campaigner, Nikola Casule, said.

“Customers started out angry that the bank they trusted with their money is investing in fossil fuels that are damaging the environment and killing the Great Barrier Reef and now they are furious that those concerns are being ignored.

“The only substantial thing CommBank have done since their customers started telling them they wanted action on climate change has been to set up a team of people to try to convince people not to take their business elsewhere,” Dr Casule said.

The Commonwealth Bank made a public commitment to take action to limit global warming to no more than two degrees in late 2015, but last year lent a massive $3.886 billion to coal, gas and oil mining and infrastructure projects, making it the biggest funder of dirty fossil fuels in Australia in 2016.

Under questioning at a parliamentary inquiry in March, CEO Ian Narev was unable to provide a single example of the bank’s climate policy affecting lending decisions and last month it was revealed that CommBank had been secretly working with Adani to facilitate the construction of the Carmichael megamine. It has still not ruled out providing finance to the proposed mine.  

A new international study into 37 banks’ fossil fuel lending policies by BankTrack yesterday put the Commonwealth Bank at the bottom of the pile because of its failure to evidence any policies to restrict coal, gas or extreme oil projects.

“I have been a CommBank customer for over 20 years. I have several mortgages and a business account,” Cabarita resident and business owner, Michael Rahme, said.

“Investing in new coal mines  and coal fired power stations has clearly and undoubtedly become an investment risk, a social risk, and an environmental risk that can no longer be ignored. The individuals on the Board of CommBank would be morally and ethically bankrupt to continue to do so.

“If Commbank do not publicly declare that they will no longer fund or lend or invest in new coal fired power stations, I will be leaving the bank and never coming back.”

Close to 85,000 people have signed a petition calling on CommBank to stop funding new coal, and over 4,500 CommBank customers have indicated they are considering changing banks over their support of dirty coal, oil and gas projects.

“Instead of action to address the concerns of their customers all we have seen is more empty repetition of the same PR rhetoric and spin in direct letters and emails to customers,” Dr Casule said.

“The Commonwealth Bank talks up the need to address climate change, invest in renewables and help us transition to a low-carbon economy, but they are not living up to their word.”

For interviews contact:

Rachael Vincent, Media Campaigner rachael.vincent@greenpeace.org 02 9263 0354 | 0413 993 316

Notes

Market Forces’ research shows CommBank is Australia’s dirtiest bank, lending $3,886 million to fossil fuels in 2016 and a total of $20.5 billion between 2008 and the first half of 2016 (including $4.523 billion to coal mines, coal fired power plants and coal ports).