Copublished with CELCOR, JACSES, Jubilee Australia Research Center ans Market Forces
Twelve more financial institutions have said they will not finance TotalEnergies’ proposed Papua LNG project [1], following a formal complaint made to the banking industry risk standards body, the Equator Principles, concerning the risks to biodiversity, the climate and to human rights from extraction and production at Papua LNG [2]. In total 29 banks and export credit agencies have now excluded the project [3].
The 12 financial institutions, which include ING, Rabobank and Standard Bank, Export Finance Norway, KfW IPEX-Bank and the Swedish Export Credit Corporation, made the commitments in written responses after being contacted by the organizations behind the complaint, which alleged that the project was in breach of six of the ten Equator Principles.
Previously 15 banks, including 11 Equator Principles signatories, had committed not to finance the project, including French bank Credit Agricole, which withdrew as lead financial advisor on the project in 2024 after being alerted as to environmental and human rights concerns.
More and more banks and export credit agencies are recognizing the enormous risks posed by this project, which is in clear breach of the Equator Principles. We can only wonder how other signatory banks, including MUFG justify their involvement in a project which will be clearly disastrous for the people in Papua New Guinea as well as devastating for the local environment and the global climate.
Antoine Bouhey, campaign coordinator at Reclaim Finance, one of the organizations behind the complaint
With the 12 new commitments, one in six Equator Principle signatories has committed not to support the project, with a further four banks responding to say that they are not currently involved [4]. A further two banks did not substantively respond but have a clear policy that excludes financing for LNG projects [5].
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More than 1 in 6 Equator Principles financial institutions have ruled out financing Papua LNG. If the project goes ahead, and has the impacts we fear, this raises a question of whether affected communities could pursue financial damages from the banks backing the project. There has been far too much secrecy surrounding Papua LNG. Why are key assessments into its impacts on human rights and climate change being kept from the public?
Shona Hawkes, Director of Environmental Justice at Jubilee Australia Research Centre
The reluctance of banks to support the project raises questions about its viability, with the current reported lead financial adviser, Japanese bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) still seeking backers after the Final Investment Decision (FID) was again delayed in 2025 [6], having originally been scheduled for 2020 [7]. Some analysts have suggested that the project may be re-structured [8].
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 and other Japanese banks isolated. The shrinking number of banks willing to support Papua LNG demonstrates and magnifies the cost blowouts, human rights and biodiversity risks faced by this project which would undermine the critical shift to clean energy in Asia and the Pacific.
Will van de Pol, Chief Executive, Market Forces
The government of Papua New Guinea and TotalEnergies are organizing a development forum with representatives from the local community, a key step before the Final Investment Decision can go-ahead. But the oil and gas major has still not published several critical documents including its full environmental impact assessments, climate change risk assessment or up-to-date human rights impact assessment. If Indigenous Peoples do not know about the contents of these, and other, statements, it is impossible for the project to meet the “informed” requirements necessary for their Free, Prior and Informed Consent.
The people of Papua New Guinea depend directly on land and sea for their livelihood. By financing Papua LNG without addressing its climate, biodiversity and ecological risks, it is like borrowing against the future. Our land, sea, forests, reefs and communities will pay the debt long term after gas is gone.
Peter Bosip, Executive Director for CELCOR
The organizations that submitted the complaint, which include organizations in Papua New Guinea, Asia, Australia and Europe, are urging other Equator Principles signatory banks not to back the deal.
