Financing a thermal coal project in Australia just got a little bit harder after Westpac Banking said it would exit the sector by 2030, leaving Australia and New Zealand Banking Group as the last of the country’s big four yet to commit to dropping the most polluting fuel.
Australia is the world’s second-biggest thermal coal exporter, generating A$26-billion ($16.6-billion) in export revenue in the year to end-June 2019, but it has become increasingly difficult to bring new resources on stream as financial institutions across the globe bow to pressure from shareholders and climate groups to avoid coal investments.