Coal is back in AustralianSuper’s portfolio. What happened to that net zero pledge?

Whitehaven Coal’s Narrabri mine. Some are questioning if AustralianSuper’s investment portfolio is aligned with its climate goals. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian View image in fullscreen Whitehaven Coal’s Narrabri mine. Some are questioning if AustralianSuper’s investment portfolio is aligned with its climate goals. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian Analysis Coal is back in AustralianSuper’s portfolio. What happened to that net zero pledge? Jonathan Barrett In 2020 Australia’s biggest super fund dumped its Whitehaven shares. Fast forward to 2026 and it is now the coalminer’s single biggest investor Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Almost six years ago, the country’s biggest superannuation fund announced a major policy update: AustralianSuper’s investment portfolio would be subject to a net zero carbon emissions target in line with the Paris agreement. To make the point, the fund dumped its holdings in the large thermal and metallurgical coalminer Whitehaven Coal . Fast forward to 2026, and the $388bn fund manager with 3.7 million members is now the single biggest investor in Whitehaven, which operates six coalmines in New South Wales and Queensland and is developing more. The investment is one of several that have perplexed many in the superannuation sector, raising questions over whether the industry leader is aligning its investment portfolio with the climate goals it committed to in 2020. Australian with retirement savings? You probably own SpaceX Read more While most super providers invest in fossil fuels, many heavily restrict their exposure to thermal coal, given it is such an environmentally damaging source of energy. There are also concerns that having the country’s most dominant pension fund invest so heavily in Whitehaven – its stake is worth more than $600m – makes it easier for other funds to make similar investments. Geoff Warren, an associate professor at the Australian National University, said the Whitehaven investment was “not good optics” for Australia’s largest super fund. “I looked at that investment and thought, why did they do that?” said Warren, who is research director at the retirement savings thinktank Conexus Institute. “They must have thought the investment was sufficiently attractive that they were going to invest, and that is a signal to me that the fund is focused primarily on the investment case and overlooking broader climate-related risks.” Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email An AustralianSuper spokesperson said the manager regularly reassesses investments in the energy and resources sectors, and that “the energy transition will not be linear”. “We invested in Whitehaven because it provided an investment opportunity given its market valuation combined with an expanded and geographically diversified asset exposure to metallurgical coal, which is currently a key component of steel production for the global economy,” the spokesperson said. Naomi Hogan, the head of engag