New Zealand businesses, boards and councils do not talk about climate risk

New Zealand does not talk about climate risk and finds a radical new analysis of hundreds of reports and annual statements.

Climate change threatens hundreds of billions of dollars worth of goods and infrastructure, and will require a leading political analyst was therefore shocked to find little information on climate-related risks in the world. reports from businesses, boards and government departments. They acknowledged that the risks were of great concern – suggesting that the boards had chosen not to publicly disclose the implications or had not discussed them at all.

"Both are horrible, but this one is particularly horrible," Wendy McGuinness said. , director general of the Wellington-based think-tank, the McGuinness Institute.

She was also alarmed to find few reports from the public sector.

Even one or more mentions of the word "emissions", "carbon" or "climate" are not found in nearly two-thirds of the annual reports of 11 ministries – and more than three quarters of the declarations of other Crown agencies and entities

.

Boards made a greater reference – nearly 70 percent acknowledged the risk – but only one-third of the top 200 Deloitte companies did it

. Climate risk information was audited as a cost and figure.

The details she could find did not cover the three basics either: identify the risk, understand what it meant and try to manage it. the companies most recognized by companies and groups in the sectors of electricity, gas, water and waste, or those that depend on our natural environment.

McGuinness says that the analysis published today suggests countless conferences and workshops on climate change. "If we do it, we do it in initiatives – I would call them green fuzzies – but we do not see real recognition of risk."

She suspected the region was difficult because climate risk was a consideration relatively new, and there were few models for companies.

McGuinness hoped this could change with a just-launched coalition The key players in the Climate Leaders Coalition – including Fonterra, Air New Zealand and Spark – have committed to work towards achieving the goal of the Paris Agreement to further limit warming within the coalition, 2C, and to measure and report regularly.

Convenor's Managing Director and Z Energy Mike Bennetts, whose company began working on climate-related revelations seven years ago, said it was "no doubt." 59002] "It is obvious While there will be some variability in reporting, we are seeing more and more that companies are adopting globally accepted standards to provide additional assurance to stakeholders about the integrity of the reporting process. from what they report. "

recently recommended that disclosure of climate risks be mandatory.

The New Zealand Stock Exchange also asked listed companies to report on their environmental, social and governance performance – or to explain why they were not.

Abbie Reynolds, Executive Director, said, "At the government level, climate risk was part of the current revision of the Reserve Bank Act and MBIE was taking a separate action.

But Climate Change Minister James Shaw said he was still not surprised by the findings of the new report

. Professor James Renwick stated that the bulk of national emissions came from the private sector –

. "The government can send price signals, through carbon taxes and incentives, and through the trading system of emission rights, but the business sector is the one that has to respond on demand.

The more time it takes to adapt green practices and reduce emissions, says Renwick, the more difficult and costly it will be to react and ultimately prosper.

"Climate change can certainly be seen as a business opportunity By taking leadership on the use of renewable energy and on finding low-carbon solutions," he said.

"J & # We would like to see New Zealand companies at the forefront of these changes. "

New Zealand and Climate Change

• This century predicts a rise in sea level of 30cm to 1m while average temperatures are expected to increase by several degrees, causing more floods, larger destructive storms, drought, species decline and ocean acidification

In 2016, national greenhouse gas emissions increased by almost 20% from 1990 levels. is already committed to reducing its emissions by 11% from 1990 levels by 12 years

• Government proposes to reduce carbon emissions to zero – if not all greenhouse gas emissions – by 2050, having reached 100% renewable energy by 2035.