New Market Forces analysis finds that Australia’s top 30 superannuation funds have more than $33 billion invested in companies expanding fossil fuels globally, in their default or largest investment options, based on latest disclosures.
The research shows that these top super funds have more than three times invested in a global list of 200 companies with the biggest fossil fuel expansion plans (termed the FFX 200) than the $9.7 billion they have backing clean energy companies.*
The report reveals the FFX 200 companies have underperformed major sharemarket indices. An index of clean energy companies* achieved more than double (104%) the investment returns of FFX 200 companies over a seven year period, November 2018 to November 2025.
Brett Morgan, Head of Australian Campaigns, Market Forces, said:
“It’s outrageous that Australia’s largest super funds are propping up the expansion of coal, oil and gas with billions of dollars of our retirement savings.”
“Super funds are failing to demand and deliver an end to fossil fuel expansion as the impacts of climate change worsen, threatening member returns.”
For the first time, Market Forces has analysed the financial performance of FFX 200 companies against major global sharemarket indices, including the Bloomberg World Index, MSCI World Index, S&P 500 and ASX 300, finding that the companies expanding the fossil fuel sector underperformed across one**, three and seven year periods.
The analysis finds that only one out of the largest 30 super funds, Australian Ethical, had no investments in FFX 200 companies, a list which includes Australian oil and gas producers Woodside Energy and Santos, and coal miner Whitehaven Coal.
Emissions from the coal, oil and gas expansion plans of FFX 200 companies are equivalent to 300 years of Australia’s national annual emissions and would blow the entire carbon budget for limiting warming to 1.5°C, before all other global emissions are even considered.
“Pollution from coal, oil and gas expansion poses an unacceptable threat to a stable climate, economy, and super fund members’ returns,” said Mr Morgan.
“A growing number of members expect their retirement savings to be building a clean energy future, yet super funds are backing the world’s most unforgivable climate polluters.
“Super funds must secure a stable future for members to retire into by turning the blowtorch on coal, oil and gas companies and demanding an end to fossil fuel growth.”
* Companies in the Bloomberg Goldman Sachs Global Clean Energy Index.
** The ASX 300 was the only index analysed that underperformed the FFX 200 over one year.
Additional findings
The funds with the default investment options most exposed to the FFX 200 at 30 June 2025, as a proportion of share investments, are:
- AMP – MySuper 1970s (7.3%)
- Commonwealth Super Corp – PSS Default (7.2%)
- Australian Retirement Trust – Lifecycle High Growth Pool (7.1%)
The funds with the default investment options least exposed to the FFX 200 at 30 June 2025, as a proportion of share investments, are:
- Australian Ethical – Balanced (0.0%)
- ESSSuper – Balanced Growth Managed (4.2%)
- State Super – Balanced (4.5%)
Only seven of the super fund investment options analysed have seen a net reduction in exposure to FFX 200 companies as a proportion of their share investments since December 2021. 19 super fund investment options have increased exposure to FFX 200 companies over this timeframe, while Australian Ethical maintained 0% exposure, and MLC had the same exposure at both disclosure periods.^
- UniSuper – Balanced (-2.6%)
- Prime Super – MySuper Balanced (-1.6%)
- CareSuper – Balanced MySuper (-1.3%)
- IOOF – Balanced Growth (-0.7%)
- ESSSuper – Balanced Growth Managed (-0.3%)
- Hostplus – Balanced (-0.2%)
- GESB – My West State Super (-0.1%)
^ BUSSQ and State Super were excluded from this finding as they did not provide Market Forces with their December 2021 portfolio holdings disclosures upon request.
Projected emissions from the fossil fuel expansion plans of FFX 200 companies total 139.5 billion tonnes of carbon pollution, equivalent to 107% of the remaining global carbon budget (130 billion tonnes) for keeping global warming to 1.5°C. Emissions from existing fossil fuel infrastructure will already take us past the Paris Agreement’s critical 1.5°C global warming threshold, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), meaning additional pollution from FFX 200 companies’ expansion plans will guarantee a trajectory towards catastrophic levels of global warming.
