Second public consultation opens on the NZ Taxonomy for agriculture and forestry sectors
Public consultation has opened on the second draft of the Aotearoa New Zealand Sustainable Finance Taxonomy (NZ Taxonomy).
The NZ Taxonomy is a classification system for sustainable economic activities. It is a voluntary, market-driven tool, which supports decision useful information for investors interested in making capital allocation decisions that align with the transition to a resilient, low-emissions economy.
The NZ Taxonomy draft now includes criteria designed to support climate change adaptation and resilience in agriculture and forestry. These criteria do not have an emissions reduction component, instead, they enable financing activities that prepare farms and other assets to be resilient to, and adapt to, the impacts of climatic changes.
The public consultation seeks feedback on the adaptation and resilience criteria, and on updates made to the climate change mitigation criteria previously consulted on.
Following feedback from the first consultation, significant revisions have been made to the draft criteria. These include; the development of a transition whole-of-farm activity, edits to simplify and strengthen the core criteria, streamlining of requirements for small businesses, and additional protections against possible perverse outcomes. The mitigation criteria remain focused on climate transition activities, meaning taxonomy-alignment is possible for sectors that have higher emissions profiles, but are of cultural or economic importance to New Zealand and can take measures to make meaningful reductions to those emissions. By including these activities for taxonomy-alignment, the NZ Taxonomy aims to increase both incentive and support for NZ businesses’ climate transitions.
Consultation runs from 22 September, closing at 5pm NZT on 17 October. Submissions are invited from all members of the public and can be made via
Jessica Desmond, Head of Taxonomy for the Centre for Sustainable Finance: Toitū Tahua, says:
“The Centre for Sustainable Finance is an independent charitable trust that provides the secretariat function for the NZ Taxonomy development. We are pleased to hear Minister Watts’ announcement last week that the NZ Taxonomy will expand to two more priority sectors – first to energy, and then to building and construction. Experts in these sectors are encouraged to submit expressions of interest to join the Technical Advisory Groups:
New Zealand is joining more than 50 jurisdictions, including Singapore, Brazil and Australia, that are developing sustainable finance taxonomies. As an optional capital market, a domestically relevant taxonomy supports New Zealand’s trade and investment objectives.
ENDS
Comms contact:
Beth Johnson – Senior Manager, Engagement
About The Centre for Sustainable Finance (CSF)
The Centre for Sustainable Finance (CSF) is an independently governed charitable trust, working across the financial system to align financial markets settings and initiatives with long term resilience and prosperity.
