New Zealand to require financial sector to report on climate risk

New Zealand will be the first country in the world to require the financial sector to report on climate risks, the Minister for Climate Change James Shaw announced today.

“The changes I am announcing today will bring climate risks and resilience into the heart of financial and business decision making. It will ensure the disclosure of climate risk is clear, comprehensive and mainstream,” Shaw said.

The new regime will be on a comply-or-explain basis, based on the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework, which is widely acknowledged as international best practice.

All registered banks, credit unions, building societies, managers of investment schemes and liscenced insurers with assets over 1 billion are required to comply.