YouGov: Australians want banks to stop funding fracking

A survey by YouGov has found there is significant opposition to gas fracking in Australia across all states and territories, age groups and regions (rural, provincial and metropolitan).

Environmental and community impacts of gas fracking are key concerns for most Australians:

• Almost two in three believe that gas fracking is harmful for the environment, including water sources, farmland, and the climate.
• More than half believe gas fracking brings more problems than benefits to local communities.
• A majority of Australians believe that ‘Expanding gas fracking will not benefit all Australians because the vast majority of gas extracted in Australia is exported’.
• Australians are significantly more supportive of expanding renewable energy to meet Australia’s energy needs, with three out of five agreeing that this is a better solution than adding gas power.
• More than one in three bank (35%) customers say they would consider switching banks if they discovered their current provider funds companies involved in the expansion of gas fracking in Australia.

Despite strong concern and opposition, Australia’s biggest banks continue to fund the companies hell-bent on developing Australia’s biggest proposed fracking project, the Beetaloo Basin in the Northern Territory.

The results from this survey are clear: there is no social license to expand gas fracking in Australia. It’s time for banks to align with public sentiment and meet their climate commitments by ending support for companies fracking the Beetaloo Basin.