O’Donnell v. Commonwealth

Summary:

On July 22, 2020, Equity Generation Lawyers filed a lawsuit in the Federal Court on behalf of Kathleen (Katta) O'Donnell against the Australian government. The lawsuit alleges that Australia's economy and reputation in international financial markets will be significantly affected by the adequacy of the Australian government’s response to climate change, and that as a result investors who trade in Australian government bonds face material risks from climate change that should be disclosed. The lawsuit further alleges that that government breached its duty of disclosure and misled and deceived investors in failing to disclose such risks.

O'Donnell seeks to represent other holders of and investors in Exchange-traded Australian Government Bonds who have the same interest in the proceeding. She seeks declarations that the Commonwealth has breached the law and an injunction from the Federal Court to prevent further promotion of bonds without informing investors about climate change risks.

At Issue: Holder of Australian bonds sued government to disclose climate risks.