- Rajiv Sondhi
The Impact of Mandatory Climate-Related Disclosures on major New Zealand businesses
The New Zealand Government has recently introduced legislation to make climate-related disclosures mandatory for large financial institutions and publicly listed companies. The mandatory regime is being introduced through an amendment to the Financial Markets Conduct Act (2013) that is currently at the final stage in Parliament. Once it is approved and enters into force, the legislation will require around 200 large FMC-reporting entities to start making climate-related disclosures for financial years beginning in 2022, with disclosures being made in 2023 at the earliest.
New Zealand is the first country in the world to introduce legislation for mandatory climate-related disclosure, which will be based on international standards recommended by an international Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The scope of mandatory disclosure will be significant for businesses.
This report summarises the broader ramifications of these changes, to trigger wider discussion among stakeholders on the challenges that may arise in implementing them, and inform the development of a roadmap to address these issues. It is based on a desk research of published analysis in the country and international experience in adopting climate related disclosure.
You can download the full report below.
