Dear Nedbank,
Thank you for your response to 350Africa.org’s letter sent on 8 April 2016. We acknowledge your sustainability strategy and have noticed your support for a transition towards cleaner energy on various media platforms including billboards around the city. Your approach to meeting the countries socio-economic needs is commendable, but 350Africa.org can no longer speculate about your bank funding questionable transactions that prop up South Africa’s dependence on coal.
It is surprising that the coal industry has not been a bigger concern for you as a supposed ‘’Green Bank’’. The sustainability of the extractives industry, particularly coal mining is problematic. The industry has been on the decline and has experienced significant job losses in the last 3 years. 47000 jobs have been lost in the extractives industry, this signals the wider markets dissatisfaction with the gloomy prospects of continued fossil fuel dependence.
The withdrawal from Gupta linked businesses by other banks and financial institutions has been widely reported in the media over the last week. There have been various reports in the media regarding your bank’s ties with Oakbay Resources and Investments. Some stories in the media have reported on your possible exit from businesses tied to Oakbay Investments [1], while others report that Optimum Coal’s creditors, including Nedbank have approved the sale of the coal mining firm to Oakbay Investments on Friday, 8 April [2]. These contradictory reports have left much confusion, sparking the need for clarity on governance, systems and processes that are used to report on sustainability and what constitutes a responsible reduction in coal dependency amidst environmental and human rights violations in coal communities.
350Africa.org requests that you don’t detract from our enquiries into Nedbanks financing of fossil fuels, particularly coal stocks, bonds, loans and investments. How can you assure the public that you understand the ‘requirements for global economies to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels’ if you are unwilling to stop financing new coal and disclose the true value of your fossil fuel investments?
You may have allocated a considerable amount of money to be invested in driving the ‘’decarbonisation’’ of the economy, but your continued support for more coal leaves the public uncertain about the legitimacy of your Green Initiatives.
We urge you to take on a more principled position on sustainable development and a socially just economy. We believe that it is socially and environmentally irresponsible to support an energy transition in a questionable and inconsistent manner and encourage you to provide us with a list of projects that you are financing and how you plan on withdrawing from them.
Sincerely,
Ahmed Mokgopo
Divestment Campaigner
Notes to Editors