In World First, New Zealand Law Will Force Banks to Disclose Climate Impacts of Investments

Eco Watch reports..

New Zealand officials on Thursday heralded passage of a groundbreaking law requiring financial institutions to disclose climate-related risks.

“This is a landmark day,” Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark said in a speech to Parliament.

At issue is the Financial Sector (Climate-related Disclosures and Other Matters) Amendment Bill, which had its third reading Thursday.

A summary of the measure from the Business Ministry touts the bill as a step toward making the country’s “financial system more resilient” and reaching New Zealand’s goal of net zero CO2 emissions by 2050. According to the ministry, the goals of the bill are to:

  • Ensure that the effects of climate change are routinely considered in business, investment, lending, and insurance underwriting decisions;
  • Help climate reporting entities better demonstrate responsibility and foresight in their consideration of climate issues; and
  • Lead to more efficient allocation of capital, and help smooth the transition to a more sustainable, low emissions economy.

A joint statement Thursday from Clark and Climate Change Minister James Shaw frames the bill, which will require the annual disclosures starting in 2023, as the first of its kind across the globe.

“This bill will require around 200 of the largest financial market participants in New Zealand to disclose clear, comparable, and consistent information about the risks, and opportunities, climate change presents to their business,” Clark said in the statement. “In doing so, it will promote business certainty, raise expectations, accelerate progress and create a level playing field.”

Shaw, for his part, said the measure would “encourage entities to become more sustainable by factoring the short, medium, and long-term effects of climate change into their business decisions.”

“New Zealand is a world-leader in this area and the first country in the world to introduce mandatory climate-related reporting for the financial sector,” added Shaw. “We have an opportunity to pave the way for other countries to make climate-related disclosures mandatory.”

Reposted with permission from Common Dreams.

 

Mandatory climate-related disclosures

The Government has introduced legislation to make climate-related disclosures mandatory for some organisations. The requirement would apply to publicly listed companies and large insurers, banks, non-bank deposit takers and investment managers.

The mandatory regime would be introduced through an amendment to the Financial Markets Conduct Act (2013). If approved by Parliament, the legislation will require around 200 large FMC-reporting entities to start making climate-related disclosures for financial years commencing in 2022, with disclosures being made in 2023 at the earliest.

Find more information about the Financial Sector (Climate-related Disclosures and Other Matters) Amendment Bill on the Parliament website(external link)

The Financial Sector (Climate-related Disclosures and Other Matters) Amendment Bill(external link)

Purpose of mandatory reporting

The majority of large New Zealand entities provide limited or no information on what climate change might mean to them, or are reporting in inconsistent ways.

This information deficit is driving what the Productivity Commission termed in their Low Emissions Economy report “an ongoing and systemic overvaluation of emissions-intensive activities”.

The goal of mandatory climate-related disclosures is to:

  • ensure that the effects of climate change are routinely considered in business, investment, lending and insurance underwriting decisions;
  • help climate reporting entities better demonstrate responsibility and foresight in their consideration of climate issues; and
  • lead to more efficient allocation of capital, and help smooth the transition to a more sustainable, low emissions economy.

Mandatory reporting of climate-related disclosures would help New Zealand meet its international obligations and achieve its target of zero carbon by 2050. It would also help to address climate change risks outlined in the National Climate Change Risk Assessment by making our financial system more resilient.

Organisations that would have to make disclosures

Around 200 entities in New Zealand would be required to produce climate-related disclosures.

  • All registered banks, credit unions, and building societies with total assets of more than $1 billion.
  • All managers of registered investment schemes with greater than $1 billion in total assets.
  • All licensed insurers with greater than $1 billion in total assets under management or annual premium income greater than $250 million.
  • All equity and debt issuers listed on the NZX.

Managers of registered investment schemes would be required to make disclosures on a fund-by-fund basis. This would ensure investors receive the information needed to understand the impact of climate change on the future performance of their investment.

Overseas incorporated organisations would be required to make disclosures if their New Zealand business is over the thresholds outlined above. This would ensure their New Zealand stakeholders’ needs are met.

The thresholds would be increased from time to time to reflect the movements in the consumers price index.

What reporting would require

Reporting would be against one or more standards that would be issued by the External Reporting Board (XRB). These standards would be developed in line with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

Final Report: Recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (June 2017)(external link) – TCFD

The TCFD recommendations are structured around 4 thematic areas that represent core elements of how organisations operate:

  • governance,
  • strategy,
  • risk management, and
  • metrics and targets.

The recommendations are considered international best practice for climate-related financial reporting and are already being used in New Zealand and other countries on a voluntary basis.

Implementation

The XRB will prepare, consult on and issue new reporting standards for businesses required to disclose.

Elements of the disclosures relating to greenhouse gas emissions would be required to have independent assurance.

The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) would be responsible for independent monitoring, reporting and enforcement of the regime.

International guidance

Some international organisations have begun producing good practice handbooks, case studies and guidance for reporting climate-related risks and opportunities using the TCFD recommendations.

Opportunities for public input

We encourage you to provide input at the Select Committee stage of the legislative process.

The Select Committee page is available on the Parliament website(external link)

There will also be opportunities for stakeholder engagement when the XRB begins developing new standards and guidance material for producing climate-related disclosures.

The recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures [PDF, 2.4 MB](external link) — TCFD

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