Some of Australia's largest superannuation funds have been accused of going backward on action against "climate wreckers" who are expanding fossil fuel production.
According to an analysis released on Tuesday by shareholder activist organisation Market Forces, one in five votes by super funds failed to support climate action proposals that had significant investor support.
Further, Australia’s top 30 super funds were found to have backtracked on support for climate action at the companies most responsible for expanding oil and gas production worldwide.
The four worst super funds were Commonwealth Bank Group Super, TelstraSuper, Hostplus and Mine Super, the report said.
Market Forces campaigner Brett Morgan has put super funds on notice for climate votes at this year's annual general meeting season.
Mr Morgan said super funds have been telling their members for years they take climate action by voting at company AGMs, yet many funds fail to support proposals for genuine emissions reduction.
"As bushfires rage across the country, Australia's biggest super funds are failing to hold some of the world’s worst climate wrecking companies to account for their dangerous fossil fuel expansion plans," he said.
"Voting against the reckless fossil fuel expansion plans of companies like Woodside and Santos is essential for super funds with climate commitments, otherwise they are greenwashing."
The analysis found super funds were more likely to vote against climate action at companies on a "climate wreckers index", a list of 190 companies that includes Woodside Energy, Santos and Whitehaven Coal.
Support for climate-related resolutions at companies on the index dropped by 23 percentage points, compared with the previous year.
Out of the 10 largest funds included in the analysis, Rest and Hostplus failed to support a single proposal at companies on the list, according to Market Forces.
"Super funds are going backwards on climate action at a time when they must be pulling out all the stops to bring companies into line with their climate commitments," Mr Morgan said.
The analysis looked at superannuation fund votes at 194 Australian and international companies between 2017 and 2022.
