Thread by @David_Ritter

Today, Australia’s largest domestic climate polluter @AGLAustralia abandoned plans to ‘demerge’, to keep burning coal until the 2040s.
Combined with last weekend’s election result, this is a watershed for climate action in Australia.
Let’s unpack what it means 🧵: #ausbiz #auspol

@AGLAustralia is our country’s biggest climate polluter responsible for 10% of our annual domestic greenhouse gas emissions.
What happened today is totally unprecedented.
The restructure of a massive iconic corporation collapsed because of a failure to act on climate change.

To quote my colleague @Glenn_Walker_ AGL’s leadership has presided over the “most bungled and misguided attempt at a corporate restructure in Australian history”.
But it is a fiasco that was a long time in the making…
investordaily.com.au/markets/51424-…

In the mid-2010s, AGL’s CEO Andy Vesey had a plan: $AGL would respond to rapidly changing business conditions & transition away from burning dirty coal to embrace renewable energy.
But Vesey was pushed out with the connivance of @JoshFrydenberg:
thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/…

In the mid-2010s, AGL’s CEO Andy Vesey had a plan: $AGL would respond to rapidly changing business conditions & transition away from burning dirty coal to embrace renewable energy.
But Vesey was pushed out with the connivance of @JoshFrydenberg :
thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/…

In the mid-2010s, AGL’s CEO Andy Vesey had a plan: $AGL would respond to rapidly changing business conditions & transition away from burning dirty coal to embrace renewable energy.
But Vesey was pushed out with the connivance of Josh Frydenberg:
thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/…

Then, under new CEO Brett Redman, $AGL made the unwise decision to double-down on dead-end coal.
Bad decision, but no doubt kept the Morrison government happy... abc.net.au/news/2018-08-2…

Instead of responding to emerging market signals, $AGL increased the amount of electricity it generated from renewable energy by the pitiful amount of around 1% between 2016-2021. That’s less than 0.2% per year.
2019datacentre.agl.com.au/infrastructure…

Fast forward to 2020.
AGL’s fortunes were already in steep decline with a 22% fall in underlying full-year profit and a gloomy outlook. Then CEO Brett Redman noted the ‘considerable uncertainty’ of the company’s operations:
smh.com.au/business/compa…

In February 2021, AGL’s share price hit a record 52-week low, with underlying profit dropping 27% after the company posted a $2.27 billion bottom-line loss.
It was then that Redman suggested a business model restructure could be on the cards: afr.com/companies/ener…

In late March 2021, $AGL announced the proposed demerger to separate its coal-burning power stations from the retail arm.
Investors were immediately unimpressed, but AGL pressed on…
afr.com/policy/energy-…

Investor concern increased when less than a month later, Brett Redman abruptly resigned, effective immediately.
This boardroom turmoil was a clear sign of a company in trouble. But AGL pressed on… smh.com.au/business/compa…

In the middle of all of this someone inside $AGL decided to sue @GreenpeaceAP for parodying the company’s logo.
AGL overwhelmingly lost the case - but managed to generate enormous publicity about its status as Australia’s worst climate polluter: news.com.au/finance/busine…

On releasing further details of its demerger in June 2021, the plan was met with ‘a humiliating reception’. Investors recoiled, resulting in another 10% loss in market value. But $AGL pressed on… afr.com/companies/ener…

AGL Chair Peter Botten openly admitted that AGL’s leadership had failed to anticipate changes in the energy market. But $AGL pressed on… reneweconomy.com.au/inflection-poi…

AGL posted a $2 billion loss for the 2020/21 financial year due to its stubborn refusal to work out a plan to appropriately phase out coal.
But $AGL pressed on… businessinsider.com.au/agl-coal-plant…

In September 2021 at AGL’s AGM, the company faced an unprecedented investor revolt, as 55% of shareholders defied the board and supported a motion to set climate targets in line with the Paris Agreement. But $AGL pressed on…
smh.com.au/business/compa…

Earlier this year, $AGL finally announced details of the proposed demerger.
Enter @mcannonbrookes who systematically demolished AGL’s business strategy, bought a major stake in the company, and offered an alternative to the demerger.
But AGL pressed on…
keepittogetheraustralia.com.au

Other key investors also announced public opposition to the demerger on climate grounds, including @HESTASuper and @SnowCapResearch.
But $AGL pressed on... afr.com/companies/ener…

Meanwhile, on the ground, AGL’s biggest polluting coal station Loy Yang A keeps breaking down and falling apart - a physical embodiment of what was happening to the company’s business strategy:
theaustralian.com.au/business/minin…

These outages, one of which is likely to last until August, will cost $AGL (and its investors) upwards of $70 billion. No wonder shareholders were scratching their heads. But AGL pressed on…
thewest.com.au/business/agl-e…

AGL pressed on until the weekend.
After years of continuing down the same path of destroying the planet, destroying shareholder value & destroying the company’s reputation, $AGL pressed eject: and the Chair, CEO and two board members stepped down:
abc.net.au/news/2022-05-3…

So what is the lesson in all of this?
This is, without doubt, a huge mandate for stronger action on climate - and alongside the election result, should be a stark warning to any company or leader who fails to act. #auspol #ausbiz