Climate change

We’re here to serve customers well and help our communities prosper. The success of our whole economy depends on the health of our climate.

Climate change presents significant risks and opportunities to the economy. In 2023, research commissioned by NAB revealed the economic opportunity for Australia by looking at the difference between an Australia that only meets its 2050 net-zero targets, versus an Australia that competitively trades in global decarbonisation.  The research report, ‘All systems go: Powering ahead, opens in new window’ the second report in the ‘All Systems Go’ series by Deloitte Access Economics, opens in new window, finds by using Australia’s natural advantages in solar, wind and critical minerals could add up to $435 billion to the national economy by 2050.

Our climate strategy

Our strategy is designed to maximise the climate transition’s economic benefits for customers, NAB, and the community, and help to achieve emissions reduction targets consistent with a maximum temperature rise of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100.

We continue to take a relationship-led approach that supports customers to reduce emissions and realise associated opportunities. NAB is connected to all parts of the economy through our lending and other banking activities, and has a key role in supporting our customers’ transition to a low emissions future, as well as their ability to adapt and pursue new climate opportunities.

In 2022, we also appointed our inaugural Chief Climate Officer. This reflects increasing requirements of all parts of the economy, and all parts of the bank, to support our customers in making the transition to a low emissions future. 

For more details about our climate change strategy and governance, refer to our 2023 Climate Report (PDF, 3MB), opens in new window.

Action we're taking

Our main role in climate action is the financing we provide. Our actions are informed by the best science currently available. We’re investing in positive change and helping customers do so too. 

While we continue to focus on reducing our own greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions footprint, our greatest impact is through the finance we provide to customers.

We’re taking action to help our economy transition to one powered more by renewables, less by fossil fuels.

That's why we're continuing to provide finance to our energy generation customers and other high emitters as they transition to lower carbon operations, and working with them on their transition plans. 

Reducing our emissions

Since 2010, we have been playing our part by reducing our own operational footprint through emissions avoidance and reduction, and then offsetting residual emissions. NAB has been certified carbon neutral by Climate Active’s Standard for Organisations in Australia since 1 July 2010. BNZ and JBWere NZ are both Toitū net carbonzero organisation certified . 

We’re continuing to cut emissions in our operations. 

Progressing to net zero

Our ambition is to act as a catalyst for climate action, supporting emissions reduction and aligning with pathways to net zero by 2050, consistent with a maximum temperature rise of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100.

We fund more projects to expand the global supply of renewable energy than any other Australian bank.  At the end of 2023, 73.3% of our total lending to the power generation sector was for renewables. Our exposure to renewables has gone up 80% since 2017 and will continue to grow.

Helping customers act too

Our customers are working towards lower emissions, and we’re working with them as they evolve their businesses. That includes:

• Supporting 100 of our largest GHG emitting customers as they develop or improve their transition plans.
• Helping colleagues better support customers to decarbonise and build climate resilience through bank-wide foundational climate training as well as additional targeted, sector-specific training for colleagues serving customers in sectors for which we have set sector decarbonisation targets.
• Helping customers become more resilient to natural disasters.

We’re providing finance, opens in new window to help customers reduce emissions, with tailored products and services, and we’re continuing to build new products that support customers to take climate action. 

Working together

To help get Australia to net zero we’re working with industry on new technologies that tackle our toughest emissions challenges and participating in the:

• Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), opens in new window and UN Principles for Responsible Banking
• RE100 Initiative, opens in new window
• United Nations Global Compact Think Lab – Just Transition, opens in new window.

Lending less in some areas

As the world changes, so does our understanding of climate risk. We’re lending less in some areas based on this risk. We will develop a framework to assess Customer Transition Plans considering relevant external guidance. We expect Customer Transition Plans will consider elements such as: scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, interim and long-term targets consistent with the Paris Agreement, planned action to meet their targets, details about level of reliance on offsets and future technology development.

In 2022, we set interim 2030 sectoral decarbonisation targets for our lending portfolio in four of our most emissions-intensive sectors: power generation, oil and gas, thermal coal mining and cement production. In 2023, we set an additional three decarbonisation targets: iron and steel, aluminium, and transportation (aviation).

In setting these targets, we were informed by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative guidelines for Climate Target Setting for Banks (UNEP FI Guidelines).

Read more about NAB’s ESG risk management. Further detail is also available in  our 2023 Climate Report (PDF, 3MB), opens in new window.