Australia’s thermal coal miners are left in the lurch as another one of the nation’s Big Four banks cut back on investments and funding

Financing options open to Australia’s coal operators dwindled further after another of the country’s largest banks said it would end almost all investment in thermal mines and power stations by 2030.

The move by Australia and New Zealand Banking Group will add to the increasing difficulty miners face in funding new operations or expanding their existing assets in the nation, the world’s second-biggest exporter of thermal coal.

Financial institutions across the globe are bowing to pressure from shareholders and lobby groups to avoid investments in the fuel. Meanwhile, Australia’s mining lobby forecasts a booming market, on Tuesday saying that it expects Asian demand to rise 35 per cent over the next decade.

As of now, ANZ will not take on any new business customers with thermal coal exposure amounting to more than 10 per cent of total revenue, and will work with existing clients which have over 50 per cent exposure to support their diversification plans, the bank said in its 2020 climate statement published Thursday. It will also limit financing in power generation to natural gas and renewable projects by 2030.

“There is no question that people deploying capital, be it in equity or debt, are looking for companies to be more carbon focused, around how you’re moving to reduce that carbon footprint,” said Mark Whelan, ANZ Group Executive, Institutional, in a phone interview. The bank’s direct exposure to thermal coal mines and coal power generation had already been reduced to 0.1 per cent of the portfolio, or around A$500 million (US$352.9 million), he said.