Another 12 banks have pledged not to provide financing for a proposed $15 billion liquefied natural gas project in Papua New Guinea, in which Australia's Santos is a major investor.
Fifteen banks and credit agencies, including Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, NAB and Westpac, had already committed not to finance the TotalEnergies-led gas project, which would be PNG's second-biggest.
They have been joined by others including ING, Rabobank and Standard Bank, the Swedish Export Credit Corporation, five environmental groups said in a joint announcement on Tuesday.
“Many of the world’s major banks, including all of Australia’s big four, are recognising the growing risks and have ruled out funding the Papua LNG project, leaving MUFG (Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group) and other Japanese banks isolated," said Market Forces chief executive Will van de Pol.
French energy giant TotalEnergies has proposed building a four-train LNG plant next to ExxonMobil's facility in Caution Bay that would be capable of liquefying four million tonnes of gas per year.
A final investment decision on whether to move forward with the project has been pushed back for several years and is now scheduled for later in 2026.
Australia's Santos holds a 22.8 per cent interest in the joint venture, with ExxonMobil on a 37.1 per cent stake and TotalEnergies holding the remaining 40.1 per cent.
TotalEnergies said the proposed plant is ideally located to supply LNG to Asia, a region that still relies on coal to supply 85 per cent of its electricity.
PNG officials have called the project one of "national significance" and important to the country's economy.
Activists say it would be disastrous for the people of PNG, the local environment and the global climate.
They also argue it would breach many of the voluntary standards banks use to assess the social and environmental risks involved in financing large infrastructure projects.
Peter Bosip, executive director for PNG's Center for Environmental Law and Community Rights, said financing the project was like borrowing against the future.
"Our land, sea, forests, reefs and communities will pay the debt long term after gas is gone," he said.
TotalEnergies and Santos have been contacted for comment.
