Greenpeace stages protest at Telstra’s AGM, urging the company to break ties with the Business Council of Australia over misalignment on climate

MELBOURNE, Tuesday 14 October 2025 — Telstra’s climate credibility has been challenged at its AGM today, as Greenpeace Australia Pacific, alongside climate and investment experts, called out the company for its silence while serving on the board of the board of the Business Council of Australia (BCA) — a vested interest group that has doubled-down on its support for new gas and lobbied against climate action.

Greenpeace is staging a protest outside Telstra’s AGM at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre today, using a mock Telstra phone booth to invite shareholders and the public to ‘call’ the company, demanding it clean up its act on climate, and walk away from the BCA. 

During the AGM proceedings Greenpeace campaigners will join internationally recognised expert in climate change, Professor Emeritus David Karoly from the University of Melbourne, and Senior ESG Manager at SIX, James Alexander, to directly challenge Telstra’s position on new gas projects and its alignment with the BCA.

Solaye Snider, Climate and Energy Campaigner at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said:  “Telstra talks a big game on climate, but by staying silent while the BCA doubles-down on its support for new gas and continues to lobby against climate action, Telstra is part of the problem. 

“Of all the BCA members we ranked on our Climate Credibility Tracker^[1], based on whether their actions match their climate commitments, Telstra sits at the bottom. Telstra’s ongoing support for the BCA directly contradicts the commitments it has made to its customers, shareholders and the Australian public, and the company should be held to account. 

“Communities across Australia, especially regional areas, are already facing the real impacts of climate change: extreme bushfires, record-breaking floods, and damaging storms, driven by the burning of fossil fuels like gas. They deserve to know when a company claiming to take action is backing those who are making it worse.

“If Telstra is serious about its climate commitments, it must walk away from the BCA.”

Professor Emeritus David Karoly, internationally recognised expert in climate change, said: “Telstra’s public climate commitments, including its pledge to reach net zero emissions by 2050 in line with the Paris Agreement, are in clear conflict with the Business Council of Australia’s advocacy.

“Scientific consensus shows that all fossil fuels, including gas, must decline rapidly to limit warming to 1.5C. The Business Council of Australia’s ongoing support for new gas developments, including the extension of the North West Shelf facility to 2070, is incompatible with the urgent reductions required. 

“Telstra cannot conceivably claim to be committed to its climate goals, while indirectly advocating for more fossil fuels through the Business Council of Australia.” 

James Alexander, Senior ESG Manager at SIX, said: “There is a growing expectation from institutional investors for more transparency in corporate climate lobbying and promoting lobbying aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement. This includes acting when a trade association is misaligned with the company policy by either trying to stop the organisation lobbying on an issue when there is disagreement amongst members or leaving the organisation if that isn’t possible.

“A recent legal opinion from the Environmental Defenders Officer found companies face risks for making net zero commitments then lobbying, directly or indirectly via industry associations, for policies misaligned with these commitments, including for misleading or deceptive conduct and increased shareholder advocacy. 

“Telstra’s Membership of the Business Council of Australia, whose CEO called for Woodside’s expansion of its North West Shelf gas project, is an example. The emissions from this project alone dwarfs any emissions reductions from Telstra’s efforts.”

ENDS

Images are available here^[2]. 

Notes to editor

• Greenpeace has recently launched the Climate Credibility Scorecard^[3], which ranks BCA members based on whether their actions match their climate commitments. Members of the public can email the CEOs of key companies to urge them to quit the BCA. 
• The Business Council of Australia is a lobby group stacked with some of Australia’s biggest polluters including Woodside and Santos.
• The BCA has consistently and successfully lobbied against climate action, including through its support of one of Australia’s most polluting fossil fuel projects^[4], Woodside’s North West Shelf extension, which the Federal Government recently approved^[5]. 
• The BCA recently used deeply flawed economic modelling that ignored the significant and escalating cost of climate inaction to create a case for the government to set a dangerously weak 2035 climate target. 

For more information or interviews contact Lucy Keller on 0491 135 308 or [email protected]^[6]