(Updates with a statement from Macquarie in the last paragraph)
Macquarie Group (ASX:MQG) faces a shareholder resolution at an annual general meeting on Thursday asking it to explain how its financing of new oil and gas projects aligns with global climate goals, environmental not-for-profit organization Market Forces said in a same-day statement.
Market Forces said some of Macquarie's major international investors, including the California Public Employees' Retirement System and the New York City Pensions fund, have voted in favor of the resolution, which now has backing from more than 160 shareholders.
The company has "abandoned its pledge to the global goal of net zero by 2050 and is supersizing its support for dangerous new fossil fuel projects," the environmental organization said.
It added that Macquarie tripled its oil and gas financing over the past three years, including the bankrolling of Australia's biggest proposed fracking development in the Northern Territory's Beetaloo Basin, while the country's four largest banks cut lending for oil and gas extraction by almost AU$8 billion over the same period.
In response to a query from, a Macquarie spokesperson said the company remains "committed to the goals of the Paris Agreement." Assets in Macquarie's green investment funds have grown six-fold since fiscal year 2022, the spokesperson added.