A serious Australian superannuation fund is underneath fireplace for considerably growing its funding within the coal firm Whitehaven, and being getting ready to turning into its greatest backer, whereas nonetheless claiming to be dedicated to reaching web zero emissions.
Shareholder advocacy teams stated AustralianSuper was shifting in opposition to the pattern of its friends with latest share purchases within the firm, which they stated have been “flying in the face of environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments”.
Clear vitality finance organisation Market Forces stated the tremendous fund was “on the precipice” of turning into Whitehaven Coal’s largest investor, with shares value about $395m.
Current disclosures by Whitehaven, first reported by the Australian Monetary Assessment, reveal AustralianSuper now owns 70.9m shares within the firm, or 8.47% of shares on difficulty, after the latest purchases.
AustralianSuper is the second-largest shareholder within the coal firm and, in accordance with Market Forces, holds almost triple the mixed shares of the entire different high 30 tremendous funds of their default funding choices, based mostly on the most recent disclosures efficient as at December 2024.
Market Forces stated “after fully and publicly divesting from the company in 2020”, AustralianSuper now held its greatest curiosity in Whitehaven in 10 years.
“How on earth can AustralianSuper call itself a responsible investor after buying millions of shares in Whitehaven Coal?” Market Forces’ senior analyst, Brett Morgan, stated.
“AustralianSuper is backing Whitehaven’s expansion plans, which would result in nearly 5bn tonnes of carbon pollution from burning coal, equivalent to running all of Australia’s coal-fired power stations until 2062.”
Morgan stated the organisation had been contacted by dozens of AustralianSuper members involved “that their fund is greenwashing and endangering a safe future for their retirement”.
An AustralianSuper spokesperson stated the fund remained dedicated to its long-term aim of web zero by 2050.
“Whitehaven’s acquisition of BHP’s metallurgical coal assets changed the company’s revenue profile and made it a more attractive investment given their importance in steel making,” the spokesperson stated. Metallurgical coal is used primarily to make metal whereas thermal coal is primarily used for electrical energy technology.
“The energy transition is not linear, which means thermal coal will be an important stabilising source of electricity for the grid for some time to come, both domestically and overseas.”
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However Naomi Hogan, from the Australasian Centre for Company Duty, stated climate-aware buyers throughout the superannuation sector had been making an effort on ESG and emissions reductions and “this AustralianSuper move is going against the trend of its peers”.
“Metallurgical coal investing cannot be used to shield against scrutiny of coal,” Hogan stated.
“Last year ACCR published research based on a global survey of 500 investors in the steel value chain, which found that 80% of investor respondents believe metallurgical coal’s risk profile will increase in the next decade.”
Hogan stated AustralianSuper, having beforehand “talked up” the significance of its corporations aligning with the targets of the Paris Settlement, now has a “huge amount of work ahead to bring [Whitehaven’s] emissions into line”.
“ACCR will be looking closely at AustralianSuper’s disclosures outlining its ESG risk assessment of this investment,” she stated.
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