New Zealand is forcing the financial sector to report on environmental impact

Sydney (Australia), April 13th (EFE). New Zealand’s financial sector will have to report on the environmental impact of its investments, after the CEO led by Jacinda Ardern proposed the first law of its kind in the world.

The peripheral country will also require banks, insurance companies, and investment managers to explain how to manage risks and opportunities associated with impacts on the environment.

“We cannot simply achieve carbon neutral emissions by 2050 unless the financial sector knows the impact of its investments on the climate.” Climate Change Minister David Clark said in a statement that this law will place risks and climate resilience at the center of financial and business decisions.

Clark said that the amendment to the Financial Sector Law, submitted to the Wellington Parliament, where the Jordanian Workers’ Party has an absolute majority, would mean that about 200 entities from the country report from 2023, in cooperation with the Minister of Affairs. Consumer, James Shaw.

The law will affect all registered banks, credit unions and mortgage credit associations, as well as investment managers and insurance companies with total assets of more than NZ $ 1 billion ($ 701 million or € 589 million).

The measure will also affect all issuers of equity and debt listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange, NZX, as well as public companies valued at more than NZ $ 1 billion.

The Ardern Labor government pledged that New Zealand would achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and that more than half of the country’s cars would be electric by 2035. In December, it also declared a climate emergency on its soil.

(C) The EFE Agency