Finance Sector Welcomes Government-led Strategy And Alignment On Trans-Tasman Sustainable Finance

The Centre is pleased to see the Minister of Finance, Hon. Grant Robertson and Minister of Climate Change, Hon. James Shaw highlight the importance of close cooperation on sustainable finance, at the Inaugural Climate Finance Summit between Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia today. This is critically important given the integrated nature of our financial systems and the need for interoperability and alignment to enable capital flow to support transition to a low-emissions, climate resilient economy in both countries.

Jo Kelly, Chief Executive of the Centre for Sustainable Finance: Toitū Tahua (CSF), said “We welcome this commitment from government which positions both countries to be leaders in sustainable finance. The financial sector in New Zealand is moving quickly and this will be further accelerated by policy certainty and cohesion. Aotearoa New Zealand can’t self-fund the green transition. Finance is a crucial enabler, and this leadership will unlock global opportunities.”

The statement gives strong recognition of the value and strength of Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand working together to ensure financial flows support emissions reductions through:

• Green sovereign bonds to finance government programs
• Aligning approaches to sustainable finance frameworks such as taxonomies
• Coordinating implementation of climate-related disclosure requirements using internationally aligned standards
• Developing best-practice modelling approaches to climate
• Strengthening the integration of climate into government budget reporting
• Establishing a sustainable finance strategy working group to support this work and position the region as a robust green finance market

It is excellent to see government recognition of the need for interoperability of emerging sustainable finance frameworks, and the essential role of strong intergovernmental cooperation to achieve this as a complement to the already strong finance sector integration and collaboration across countries.

The Centre for Sustainable Finance with our partners, the Australian Sustainable Finance Institute (ASFI) warmly welcome this statement, and the mandate and momentum it provides for government and the finance sector to build on the already strong collaboration to align the sustainable finance systems across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. We look forward to continuing to work with all of our partners working to build sustainable finance on both sides of the Tasman including Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) and the Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC).

Read the government statement

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