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promote greater transparency and more accurate pricing signals in the market • incentivise lowemissions investment • create a level-playing field for businesses already considering climate change Ultimately, it is considered that finance and insurance will be differentially priced based on action on climate issues providing the right incentives to: • the necessary investment on mitigation and adaptation (to address physical and transition risk) • ensure resilience in the face of Climate
change • reduce the risk of stranded assets We are starting to see increasing sustainable finance and green, social and sustainability bond offerings. We also have some clear analysis from both offshore (the latest IPCC report on physical climate change is the most strident yet) and here in New Zealand (in the form of the National Climate Change Risk Assessment out of our Ministry for the Environment, advice from the New Zealand Climate Change Commission a draft Adaptation plan and now an Emission Reduction Plan) on what is required in terms of climate response.
Legislation playing catch up Although amendments to the Local Government Act 2002 have been in place since 2019 requiring councils to promote social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being (the four well-beings) in other areas the law is playing catch up. Even the new RMA reform mirrors this change in approach moving from an effects to an impact based approach. It’s become increasingly clearer what the risks are and that we need to urgently take action to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change.
Glossary for readers less familiar with Te Ao Māori Te Ao Māori - Māori world view. Mātauranga Māori - knowledge of all types including scientific knowledge often derived from whakapapa (lineage)of both people and inanimate things. Knowledge and understanding were bestowed in the highest heaven to Tane via three baskets/kites of knowledge. Kaitiakitanga - stewardship - obligations to care created by relationships and connection particularly to land. The overarching concept is the land, and the natural world remains and endures beyond a single human life and it’s life sustaining force must be protected. Concepts of te Mana o te wai (now codified) and legal personhood conferred on things like rivers are an attempt to institutionalise this concept.
Tangata Whenua - people of the land. To Māori those living today are the living embodiment of their ancestors and descendants and all are connected to the land. They are the land and the land is them. Te Tiriti - The Treaty (of Waitangi) is widely accepted to be a constitutional document that establishes and guides the relationship between the Crown in New Zealand (embodied by our government) and Māori. The Treaty promised to protect Māori culture and to enable Māori to continue to live in New Zealand as Māori. Increasingly this phrase is used in shorthand to refer not only to the document, but manifestations of co-governance and other partnership type behaviours that breathe life into those obligations.
Decision makers Much has also been written about the responsibility of directors and decision makers. Suffice to say there are clear conclusions reached that suggest directors’ fiduciary duties and the role of those responsible for designing, building and operating assets are quite different than they once were, with a private member’s bill making it doubly clear for company directors. Sustainability also an opportunity Adopting a sustainable approach is both a way to address this risk, and opportunity to shine for those that understand and get ahead of the pack. As well as an ability to win work, there are benefits in the battle for talent. Recruitment and retention of staff will be easier for those that are on board and authentically leading with purpose. Organisations in the sector have a choice between choosing to adjust to this new approach and shine, or where they do not, run the risk of being left behind, as other organisations seize the opportunity that sustainability represents. A version of this article was written by Adrienne Miller as part of the COP26 discourse in what she calls the “third zone” in LinkedIn and Legalwise
The publishers of AsiaPacific Infrastructure, Property&Build and Industrial Safety News welcome Infrastructure Sustainability Council (ISC) as a Content Partner. General Manager, New Zealand Adrienne Miller, is a lawyer who, as well as her role at the ISC, has served on the Building Advisory Panel at MBIE, Infrastructure New Zealand’s WIN Advisory Board and is a trustee on the Board of Diversity Works New Zealand. She is involved in mentoring programmes and writes and speaks on issues facing the construction and infrastructure sector. Adrienne.Miller@iscouncil.org +64 27 693 9753 LinkedIn. 50 infrastructurenews.co.nz
