Australia’s fifth largest bank invests big in oil and gas despite net zero ambitions

A report found the Macquarie Group invested some $5b in high-growth oil and gas production. 

The Macquarie Group, Australia’s fifth largest bank, invested some $5b in high-growth oil and gas production, a report found.

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) urged investors of the bank to question its investments, considering its net zero ambitions. 

“Our analysis finds that Macquarie Group’s actions directly contradict its climate commitments,” IEEFA Australia CEO Amandine Denis-Ryan and energy finance analyst Saurabh Trivedi, said in the report.

Read more: Australia is amongst fastest market to move away from coal: report

According to the report, Macquarie Group holds a 5% stake in Beach Energy, a company targeting aggressive new developments across five different basins in Australia and New Zealand in the next two years.

It also provided a AU$15m in finance to Empire Energy to support the development of the Beetaloo Basin gas project. 

It also has an undisclosed contribution to the AU$3b loan for Southwestern Energy, a US company whose expansion could lead to emission that is higher than Australia’s 2021 emissions. 

“The investments identified in this report add up to about AU$5b. A more comprehensive analysis of Macquarie Group’s exposure to upstream oil and gas companies through shares and bonds (excluding loans) found about AU$7.7b of exposure,” Denis-Ryan said.