Category: Litigation & class actions
Ruling follows heightened investor interest in banking activities and claims HSBC sought to weaken net zero commitments Ruling follows heightened investor interest in banking activities and claims HSBC sought to weaken net zero commitm… Ruling follows heightened investor interest in banking activities and claims HSBC sought to weaken net zero commitments
Nov 11th, 2021
A Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) shareholder has been granted access to confidential documents to help it assess whether the country’s biggest bank has broken its own climate policy when lending to fossil fuel projects - in the latest sign that the greenwashing debate is turning its attention to the world’s lenders.
Last week, Australia’s federal court broke new ground by allowing the Guy & Kim Abrahams Family Trust to inspect internal documents relating to seven of the banks’ oil and gas deals, including its role in oil & gas giant Santos’ acquisition of the Barossa Gas Field.
Guy & Kim Abrahams Family Trust filed its request in August using Australia’s 2001 Corporations Act, which makes provisions for shareholders to apply to “inspect the books” of a company. The Trust is being represented by Equity Generation Lawyers’ David Barnden, who oversaw the 2018 climate lawsuit against Australian retail sector superannuation fund RES…