Banks' environmental positions are important to customers
Forty-six per cent of Australians would consider moving to another bank if they learned that their bank was lending to projects that harmed the environment and contributed to climate change, new research shows.A survey commissioned by environment group Social Impact also found that about half of Australians would consider moving banks if their banks was a lender to coal and gas export projects in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area or coal seam gas projects near agricultural communities.Social Impact's Banks and Climate Change Survey, conducted by Essential Research, found that 65 per cent of people agree with the proposition that the big banks' support for the Paris Agreement (limiting global warming to below two degrees) should mean they avoid funding projects that expand the size of the fossil fuel industry.Seventy-two per cent of people think it is important that their bank invests in companies and projects that don't harm the environment or contribute to climate change.