decision

Abrahams v. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (2021) - decision

<p>This entry was provided by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. Please see the terms of use for citation and licensing of third party data.</p>

Litigation

Sabin

Sabin Litigation

petition

Abrahams v. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (2021) - petition

Filing Year For Action

On August 26, 2021, Guy and Kim Abrahams as trustees for the Abrahams Family Trust, shareholders in the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), filed an application in the Federal Court of Australia, seeking access to internal documents under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). The documents relate to the bank’s reported involvement with several projects including a gas pipeline in the US, a gas project in Queensland, a gas field and an oil field, among other projects that potentially infringe the bank’s Environmental and Social Framework (E&S Framework) and Environmental and Social Policy (E&S Policy). In particular, the E&S Framework and the E&S Policy require that the bank carries out an assessment of the environmental, social and economic impacts of the projects and whether the projects are in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

On November 4, 2021, the Federal Court of Australia held a hearing to consider proposed consent orders that had been agreed by the parties in previous correspondence. In essence, the proposed consent orders allow the Plaintiffs to inspect a limited scope of the documents sought at the beginning of the proceedings. The plaintiffs’ legal representative made short oral submissions on the evidence before the Court in order to establish that the plaintiffs were acting in good faith and that inspection was to be made for a proper purpose, as is required by law. CBA made a limited admission to the same effect. On the basis of the limited admission and the evidence before the Court, the Court was satisfied that the plaintiffs met the good faith and proper purpose requirements and made the consent orders. CBA must now produce the relevant documents to the plaintiffs for inspection in two tranches on December 9, 2021 and February 10, 2022. If the documents provided by CBA under these orders do not sufficiently alleviate the plaintiffs’ concerns as set out in their application, the plaintiffs have reserved their right to apply to the Court for production of the balance of documents sought in the original application.

The matter was listed for a further case management hearing on March 10, 2022. On November 1, 2022, the Court granted the plaintiffs the right to access information regarding the Bank's compliance with its environmental policies and commitments. Defendant's application for further information was dismissed on December 22, 2022. 

Abrahams v. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (2021)

The Climate Litigation Database

Find climate change litigation data and indicators for {text}.

{text} litigation

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law provides Climate Litigation Database, a comprehensive database of US and Global climate change caselaw

Quickly and easily search through the complete text of thousands of climate change law and policy documents from every country.

Search the Climate Litigation Database

An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Direct investments by the governments using public funds. This can be to support climate initiatives or integrate climate into other projects.

Climate change impacts our society by disrupting the natural, economic and social systems we depend on. Physical hazards and underlying vulnerabilities can lead to increased resource competition for food and water, which can heighten the risk of conflict.

Activities of businesses and institutions that provide financial services and products to individuals and organisations.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

Abrahams v. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (2021) - decision

Policy instrument

Risk

Fossil fuel

Economic sector

Finance