The Australian Sustainable Finance Institute (ASFI) and New Zealand’s Centre for Sustainable Finance (CSF) welcome the joint announcement from the New Zealand Minister of Climate Change and Energy the Hon. Simon Watts, and the Australian Minister of Climate Change and Energy, the Hon. Chris Bowen.
The Ministers’ statement emphasises the importance of internationally relevant standards for attracting investment, and their commitment to continue developing interoperable and comparable sustainable finance frameworks. These frameworks will provide clarity for businesses and investors and support individual countries to finance their net zero transformation.
The expansion of New Zealand’s sustainable finance taxonomy to the energy and construction sectors brings further opportunity across our Single Economic Market through the continued alignment of sector coverage, technical criteria and implementation through market use pilots.
Jo Kelly, Chief Executive of the CSF says: “We are pleased to see Ministers’ recognition of the importance of alignment on sustainable finance frameworks. We are continuing and deepening our work with the Australian Sustainable Finance Institute to learn from their market use pilots as we move into the piloting and implementation phase of the NZ Taxonomy.”
Kristy Graham, Chief Executive Officer at ASFI says continuing to align Australian and New Zealand sustainable finance frameworks sends an important signal to markets.
“The commitment from both governments to continue to pursue comparable and interoperable taxonomies will be critical as markets move from design into implementation. Aligning our frameworks gives investors greater clarity and confidence and reduces friction for cross-border investment. We welcome the expansion of New Zealand’s taxonomy and will continue working with the Centre for Sustainable Finance to share insights from market implementation with major financial institutions across both countries.”
ENDS
Comms contact:
Beth Johnson – Senior Manager, Engagement
[email protected]
About The Centre for Sustainable Finance (CSF)
The Centre for Sustainable Finance, established in 2021, is an independently governed charitable trust, working across the financial system to align financial markets settings and initiatives with long term resilience and prosperity.
About the Australian Sustainable Finance Institute (ASFI)
The Australian Sustainable Finance Institute (ASFI) was established in 2021 and is the peak body for the Australian sustainable finance sector. ASFI is a not-for-profit organisation committed to mobilising capital for climate, nature and social impact. ASFI’s members are large Australian financial institutions – including major banks, superannuation funds, insurers, asset managers, and financial services firms – that collectively hold over AU$16.5 trillion in assets.
