Climate-related financial disclosures

In September 2020 the government announced that it would introduce a mandatory regime (on a comply or explain basis) for climate-related financial disclosures for the following entities in New Zealand:

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

Reporting will be against a standard (consistent with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures) issued by the External Reporting Board (XRB). The XRB recently released a timeline for developing the standard which includes a consultation period from February – May 2022 and publication of the standard in September 2022.  

A Bill was introduced into Parliament in April 2021. Once passed, it is expected that disclosures will be required for financial years commencing in 2022, meaning that the first disclosures will be made in 2023.

For more see:

• our article Climate risk – key resources for boards
• MinterEllisonRuddWatt’s article A world first: Climate-related financial disclosure
• our submission on climate-related financial disclosures
• MinterEllisonRuddWatt’s article Climate reporting bill to receive first reading this week
• XRB’s website for more information on their work on climate related disclosures.