Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says a sustainable finance strategy is in progress to “accelerate” New Zealand's appeal and competitiveness for investors who have a sustainable finance focus.
Watts made the announcement during a speech at the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) Conference on Thursday.
“Global expectations from consumers and trading partners are changing rapidly, and it’s essential New Zealand must adapt to these changes to be competitive on the world stage,” he said.
The Government will be partnering with the Centre for Sustainable Finance to develop the strategy.
“Once completed, the strategy will provide the necessary clarity for financing and investments, helping New Zealand align with global sustainability trends. This alignment will not only attract investment but also increase jobs and drive economic growth locally,” Watts said.
The Centre for Sustainable Finance (CSF) said the strategy is expected to consider opportunities to align NZ with developments in other countries including Australia, Singapore and the United Kingdom which have similar initiatives.
According to CSF Chief Executive Jo Kelly, New Zealand’s ranking on attractiveness for climate investment was low relative to other developed countries.
“A coordinated approach to mobilising sustainable and transition finance is key to decarbonising our economy, meeting our international obligations, maintaining access to international markets and ensuring a cleaner, healthier, more resilient economy here at home,” she said.
Watts also said work was progressing on the Government’s sustainable finance taxonomy, with the initial focus on agriculture and forestry.
He announced in March that an Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) had been asked to prepare and publish independent non-binding advice on the design of a sustainable finance taxonomy rulebook.
“Following advice from the Independent Technical Advisory Group, we are moving to the next phase, which involves establishing a governance structure to accelerate credible, science-based definitions for sustainable activities. This will guide government decisions and support sectors crucial to our economy,” Watts said.
According to Watts, the initial focus will be on agriculture and forestry, two “key sectors” for NZ’s economy and exports.
“Defining sustainable practices in these sectors will showcase our sustainable forestry and farming practices and unlock private investment in the activities,” he said.
“Both the sustainable finance strategy and taxonomy will position New Zealand to meet international expectations and capitalise on global opportunities.”
In a Q&A session with RIAA co-CEO Dean Hegarty after his speech, Watts told Hegarty a sustainable finance strategy was a ‘“fundamental building block” that needed to be put in place.
“I can get up there and talk about sustainable finance and all that, but we need the pillars and the meat on the bone in order to make that a reality,” he said.
“So the work that we're going to be doing around the strategy is to ensure that it is clear and concise and primarily being a signal to the market and those that are looking at New Zealand for opportunities that we are serious in this space and that we're going to be comprehensive in terms of our response.”
‘A quaint Amish community’
Megan Woods, the Labour Party’s spokesperson for Climate Change, spoke at the conference earlier in the day, describing climate risk as an investment risk and emphasising the significant opportunities in climate action.
She said climate action was no longer to be viewed as a “middle class luxury” and needed to be seen through the lens of workers and the business world.
“But we simply cannot wait for the market to deliver the green economic boom. We need a committed government to drive investment, set ambitious targets, have those clear targets and ensure a just transition that leaves no community or worker behind,” she said.
Woods described climate risk as an investment risk and that climate action presented huge opportunities.
“There is no dichotomy between decarbonisation and economic growth. In fact, decarbonisation is the economic development story of the 21st century. The transition to a decarbonised economy requires capital,” she said.
Climate Change Commission Chairman Rod Carr also appeared at the conference, telling attendees at a panel on navigating net zero emissions that the transition from a fossil fuel intensive civilisation was “underway”.
“The decarbonisation that is essential both through the electrification of energy production and use and change in land use represents an opportunity in the trillions of dollars,” he said.
“And all of the technologies necessary to decarbonise the combustion of fossil fuels in the open air exist today. Much of the way we produce and consume energy has been built around the extraordinary energy density and the release of that energy from fossil fuels laid down hundreds of millions of years ago.”
He said transitions were “never linear” and often occurred with disruptions, like how the internet has changed technology and communication.
“So there will be setbacks in this transition, but the fundamental drivers are in place and they are not environmental. They are actually now economic,” Carr said.
“Your investments, advice and leadership will shape whether New Zealand benefits from that transition or becomes part of a quaint Amish community,” he told the conference.
5 Comments
No, it cannot 'work well'.
It is horsepoo.
Carr's comment is horsepoo - and I challenge him; that he knows it is
Watt's comments are horsepoo - he likely doesn't understand that. I suspect he's out of his intellectual depth.
And Kelly seems to be a greenwash pimp - the kind usually employed to greenwash; This is our sustainability officer; see our solar panels and our pellet-driven boiler? We're sustainable (on our sustainability journey...)
Not.
The real definition of sustainable, is: able to be continued for a long period of time; more or less forever. Which means - ex resource draw-down.
Not some wishy-washy horsepoo like the AirNZ safety allusions; not some green-tick for Haber-Bosch fertiliser, big-pharma, water-sucking monoculture.
And where we are going, energy-wise, we'll be lucky to achieve the level of the Amish. Very lucky. That would require the loss of 6-7 billion off this planet, within less than a lifetime.
Where is the journalism?
I reckon.
And I reckon you're making that comment because you don't like it, ideologically.
I have a lot of respect for Carr - indeed have spoken at the same event, on the bill with equal footing - but I challenge what people posit.
Same with Professor Coleman - these folk are highly paid by society, and it expects them to be telling them the truth.
The last thing I'd 'invest' in, is anything to do with the global warming boondoggle.
When thousands of 'scientists' attend climate conferences in hundreds of private jets in countries that produce oil, creating the biggest single carbon event in history, you know it's a shady deal.
Sustainable mutual funds are tanking....the word's out.
https://www.theglobaltreasurer.com/2024/06/11/are-investors-abandoning-…
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