Dear ANZ,   

It's time to take a stand for women’s rights and gender equality, by ending your finance to fossil fuel companies once and for all. 

You see, fossil fuel finance is a feminist issue. From Vanuatu to Senegal, the fossil fuel industry is exploiting women in low-income countries in the Global South. Their oil, gas and coal projects are polluting the environment and violating the rights of local women and their communities. In the Niger Delta, Shell Oil's projects have polluted the rivers and killed the fish, they've prevented crops from growing, and they've harmed local people's health. 

These fossil fuels are also causing unimaginable climate destruction. More frequent and intense disasters - from cyclones to wildfires - are devastating communities, and the costs to recover and rebuild are pushing Pacific countries into extreme debt. Slow onset climate impacts like sea level rise are destroying communities' traditional ways of life, and leaving their lands uninhabitable. It's women, especially in the Global South, who are feeling these impacts the worst - despite having done the least to cause the climate crisis. The evidence is clear that climate change worsens existing inequalities, including between women and men, and erodes women's rights. 

Yet, still, in the face of global protest, overwhelming research, and grim news reports, you're continuing to bankroll this crisis to the tune of billions of dollars. Over $20 billion since the Paris Agreement was signed - more than any other Australian bank. 

It's not enough to say you aren't funding new fossil fuel projects. In 2023, 98% of banks’ global fossil fuel lending was through corporate loans. It's finance from banks like yours that is enabling this industry to keep expanding, at the same time as scientists say we should be rushing to shut the industry down. Companies you lend to, like Woodside and Santos, are behind projects that plan to lock in decades of new fossil fuel production. In Senegal, Woodside's new Sangomar oil field is producing 100,000 barrels of oil per day - and plans to operate for at least the next 25 years. 

ANZ, you've made a global commitment to supporting the Paris Agreement's 1.5 degree goal. But experts say there's no room for any new fossil fuels if we're going to achieve it.  

It's not too late - if you're truly committed to being a climate leader, you must commit to end all forms of financing to all fossil fuel companies, and adopt Paris-aligned transition plans that extend to your clients’ activities. 

We can't afford to continue to fuel the climate crisis - or to backtrack on women's rights. 

ANZ, it's time to show you can be a climate leader - and back a feminist, fossil free future.