Australian Treasury acknowledges climate change risk to government bonds

Canberra, Aug 31 : The Australian Treasury on Thursday said that it has acknowledged the systemic risk that climate change poses to government bonds.

Global warming "presents significant risks and opportunities for Australias economy" and could affect the long-term value of bonds, Xinhua news agency quoted the Treasury as saying in a statement.

"As a consequence, there is uncertainty about whether the fiscal impacts of climate change may affect the value of government bonds," the statement, which also outlined the actions the government is taking on the climate crisis, said.

"The governments intention is that these reforms will assist investors to align their investment decisions with net zero emissions targets.

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The acknowledgment was part of a settlement in a class-action lawsuit brought by a group of climate activists, who alleged the government was misleading investors by failing to inform them that climate change could hurt the value of bonds.

The suit was filed in 2020 by Kathleen ODonnell, then a 23-year-old law student, who agreed to drop a request for a declaration the government had engaged in misleading conduct under the terms of the settlement.

"When I purchased these bonds as a 23-year-old in 2020, the government did not mention climate change.This was remarkable given that my bonds mature in 2050 and by that time Australia will be facing increasingly serious climate impacts," ODonnell said in a statement on Wednesday.

The settlement was an "important recognition" in realising the economic threat of climate change, she said.

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