Australia’s 15 biggest super funds have more than $25 billion invested in companies that are expanding coal, oil and gas production, analysis by the Australian Conservation Foundation has revealed.

That’s despite international experts agreeing that new fossil fuel projects risk blowing out ambitions to keep global temperature rise as close as possible to 1.5 degrees.

The analysis found nearly a fifth of the total amount was invested in Australia’s top three biggest polluters – Woodside, Santos, and Chevron.

ACF corporate campaigner Jonathan Moylan says Australia’s biggest super funds have enormous influence when it comes to driving Australia’s clean energy transition, or blocking it.

“By the choices they make about how they invest our retirement savings, super funds can transform Australia from the world’s largest exporter of climate pollution to a country that manufactures low or zero emissions materials here with our abundant wind and sunshine,” Moylan said.

He pointed to efforts by Vision Super and HESTA, and now possibly the Australian Retirement Trust, to pressure Woodside towards genuine climate action as examples of super funds using their muscle to push companies they invest in to cut emissions.

“A growing number of Australians don’t want their retirement savings locking in greenhouse emissions with new projects when they could be building clean energy infrastructure for the twenty-first century,” Moylan said.