Topics tagged with 'Green finance'
Financial Markets Authority taken to task for failing to call out greenwashing
11 Aug 2022
The Financial Markets Authority has been accused of breaching its own code of conduct and failing to properly enforce ethical standards by refusing to define what makes an investment ethical.
Westpac offers low interest loans for e-bikes and EVs
11 Aug 2022
Westpac NZ has launched a new low-interest personal loan to support more New Zealanders to buy a range of electric vehicles, including EVs, e-bikes, e-scooters and e-mopeds.
IMF calls for global guidelines on climate reporting
10 Aug 2022
Global guidelines on corporate climate reporting must fall in line with those in Europe and the US or investors could be hit by fragmented and inconsistent information, the European Central Bank and IMF have warned.
Kiwibank to offer sustainable loans to all business customers
9 Aug 2022
Kiwibank is to offer preferential interests rates on sustainable loans to business customers beyond the agriculture sector for the first time from next month.
Youth scholarships to Climate Change and Business Conference up for grabs
2 Aug 2022
The Climate Change and Business Conference, being held in Auckland in September, has announced a scholarship for 18-30-year olds to allow them to attend the $975 event.
Banks far from hitting Paris climate targets, groups warn
29 Jul 2022
The world's most influential banks need to substantially accelerate climate efforts if global temperature rise is to be kept within the livability targets of the Paris Agreement, an assessment released Thursday by an institutional investors' group warned.
They helped create ESG. Two decades later, some see a mess.
28 Jul 2022
The story of how ESG investing began is almost as wonky as its name.
Australia’s three richest men are spending their billions on green energy transition
26 Jul 2022
The surprise bid for renewables and storage developer Genex Power announced on Monday morning by billionaire Scott Farquhar and his wife Kim Jackson tells two interesting stories about Australia’s green energy transition.
Octopus launches $10 billion renewables platform, buys Australia’s biggest solar farm
21 Jul 2022
Octopus Investment Australia has officially launched its new $10 billion renewables “platform”, that will seek to finance big solar, wind and battery storage projects and has already bought the biggest operating solar farm in Australia.
Europe's landmark test of banks' resilience to climate risk is softer than expected
7 Jul 2022
Europe’s landmark test of banks’ resilience to global warming was far softer than many lenders had expected, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mindful Money Ethical and Impact Investment awards winners announced
30 Jun 2022
Pathfinder Asset Managment has scooped the top prize at the Mindful Money Ethical and Impact awards for the second year running.
The Swedish city that asked its banks for an ultimatum
30 Jun 2022
If Gothenburg doesn’t meet its climate and social goals, its lending banks will charge it a fine — at the city’s request.
Global CEOs call on G7 leaders to step up climate action
28 Jun 2022
Large global companies are pushing world leaders to step up action to tackle climate change at the G7 summit in Germany this weekend, demanding large-scale carbon pricing and measures to increase demand for clean technologies.
Multi-million dollar fund set to address high failure rate of kiwi social enterprises
27 Jun 2022
Media Release - A new $20 million fund and incubation initiative designed to address the high failure rate of New Zealand startups with a social or environmental purpose has launched
In Turkey, study recommends investments in olive farms instead of coal mines
13 Jun 2022
In the wake of the recent regulation in Turkey opening olive groves to coal mining activities, a new report focused on the country’s Milas district found that the expansion of the olive oil sector represents a better alternative to mining for the local economy.
Circular economy discussion paper for investors released
10 Jun 2022
Media Release - The Investor Group on Climate Change today released a new discussion paper on The Circular Economy – the systemic approach that has risen to prominence as a key method to address climate change.
Temasek commits US$3.6 billion to launch climate-focused investment platform
7 Jun 2022
Singapore's state-owned investor Temasek said on Monday it would invest an initial amount of S$5 billion (US$3.64 billion) to establish an investment platform GenZero, in a step towards driving its net-zero emission targets.
EU spending on climate action ‘overstated’ by €72bn, auditors say
1 Jun 2022
Spending on climate action in the EU’s 2014-2020 budget was “not as high as reported” in official documents, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) said in a report published on Monday (30 May).
G7 ministers declare 2035 clean grid target, postpone decisions on climate finance
31 May 2022
The Group of Seven western industrialized countries set a 2035 deadline to decarbonize electricity generation, promised to end international public financing of fossil fuels this year, cited Russia’s war in Ukraine as a catalyst for a faster fossil phaseout, but left themselves a long list of agenda items on climate finance as they tied up a marathon series of ministerial meetings in Germany last week.
Finalists in Mindful Money Awards announced
27 May 2022
Media Release -Finalists Announced for Mindful Money Ethical and Impact Investment Awards: Celebrating leaders in the transition towards ethical investment
Carbon credit standards body Verra suspends blockchain, crypto tokenization
27 May 2022
Yesterday Verra, the Washington-based non-profit that sets voluntary carbon credit standards, said it is immediately stopping the practice of creating blockchain tokens or instruments based on retired credits
How a French bank set the gold standard for climate action
24 May 2022
The headquarters of La Banque Postale resemble a towering greenhouse in a quiet residential neighborhood of Paris, about a mile east of the Eiffel Tower.
HSBC AM global head of responsible investing: 'Who cares if Miami is six metres under water in 100 years?'
23 May 2022
HSBC Asset Management global head of responsible investing Stuart Kirk has questioned the risk climate change plays for financial markets, arguing that it is not one investors should worry about.
Your money is your carbon
23 May 2022
If you've got $125k in the financial system, it's doing as much damage as your cooking and your heating and your flying. These are the most important new climate numbers for many years
Sustainable bonds poised for growth, but standards remain a potential bottleneck
13 May 2022
A recent study estimates that green, social and sustainability bond issuance may reach €1.6tn in just four years, but also highlights concerns on standards and the liquidity of the market.
Barclays and Standard Chartered shareholders reject climate plans
6 May 2022
The annual general meetings of banking giants Barclays and Standard Chartered were disrupted by climate activists calling for heightened climate targets, with shareholders failing to align with current efforts from the organisations to meet net-zero emissions.
West African countries pledge $294 billion to fight climate change
4 May 2022
The leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional, political and economic union of west African countries, recently agreed to spend $294 billion over the next 10 years to fight against climate change.
Credit Suisse investors push for faster climate action
27 Apr 2022
A group of Credit Suisse investors pushing for faster climate action at the Swiss bank has more than doubled in size, raising pressure on its board ahead of its annual shareholder meeting on Friday.
IIGCC launches framework to ‘raise bar for investor climate stewardship’
22 Apr 2022
The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) has launched a ‘Net Zero Stewardship Toolkit’, described as aiming to “raise the bar for investor climate stewardship”.
IMF expects 'significant' pledges for new climate, pandemics trust
19 Apr 2022
The International Monetary Fund expects to members to make "significant" pledges of support for its newly approved Resilience and Sustainability Trust during the IMF-World Bank spring meetings beginning this week, a senior IMF official said.
Nasdaq launches carbon removal indices
1 Apr 2022
Nasdaq has launched the world’s first commodity reference price indices tracking the price of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Super Fund teams up with Danes to explore massive offshore wind project
29 Mar 2022
The NZ Super Fund and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners have formed a joint company to explore the feasibility of an offshore windfarm in Taranaki that could supply 11% of New Zealand's current electricity demand.
Biden wants record $11 billion in climate aid to poor nations
29 Mar 2022
President Joe Biden is asking Congress to dedicate $11 billion in taxpayer dollars to help other nations deploy clean energy and withstand the growing consequences of climate change -- more than 10 times the amount lawmakers doled out to the effort in fiscal 2022.
Carbon trading platform launched in Singapore
23 Mar 2022
Climate Impact X (CIX), a global carbon exchange and marketplace, has launched a new, Singapore-based digital carbon credit trading platform called Project Marketplace.
Mark Carney scales back plans as doubts grow over carbon offsets
18 Mar 2022
Former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney’s initiative to boost the market for carbon offsets is being scaled back, in the wake of fierce debate around whether the traded assets really help avert global warming.
Investors launch global climate standards for companies
15 Mar 2022
Investors on Monday launched a 14-point plan of action for companies to stick to or risk having their actions put to a shareholder vote, stepping up pressure on corporate climate lobbying.
NZ Green Investment Finance confident it’s not funding muscle cars
9 Mar 2022
The chief executive of the NZ Green Investment Finance told the Finance and Infrastructure Committee, this morning, that the green bank had sufficient safeguards in place to ensure it didn’t end up funding muscle cars instead of EVs.
Almost all climate-related corporate disclosures are inadequate: CDP
4 Mar 2022
Just 1% of companies who submit climate change-related data to nonprofit environmental disclosure platform CDP provide investors with the information they need to assess whether they have a credible plan for the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Climate risks are wake-up call for sovereign bonds
4 Mar 2022
The government bond market needs to wake up to climate-related risks, according to a report calling for more countries to follow Chile’s lead in issuing debt linked to sustainability targets.
Government commits $2 million to lithium recovery
23 Feb 2022
A government holding company is taking a $2 million stake in Geo40 Ltd to help it upscale is lithium recovery technology at Ohaaki near Taupo.
Green groups slam HSBC's new targets for cutting financed emissions
23 Feb 2022
HSBC has published new targets for reducing financed emissions from its clients in the energy sector, claiming they are "net-zero-aligned". But campaign groups argue that they defer important decisions on coal and could lead to the bank financing oil and gas expansion.
Three banks join initiative for voluntary carbon market platform
21 Feb 2022
Three more banks have joined an initiative to develop a new platform for settling transactions of voluntary carbon credits.
UK renewables auctions to be held annually in green energy push
11 Feb 2022
The UK government has re-stated its faith in green technologies with a decision that it says will create a steady stream of renewable energy projects.
U.S. markets regulator flags risks for ratings firms in ESG boom
8 Feb 2022
Credit ratings agencies face new risks as they throw themselves into the fast-growing business of environmental, social and governance (ESG)-based investing, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) warned in a new report.
Greenflation is real: opinion
3 Feb 2022
Like the cicadas that plague the Atlantic seaboard of the United States every 17 years, inflation has awoken from its most recent hibernation. The hike from about 2 percent in a typical year in the United States to 5.3 percent in the third quarter of this year marked roughly a decade since the last time economists took to op-ed pages and talking head circuits to warn of an uncontrollable rise in prices.
Corporations using misleading climate pledges to greenwash their image
3 Feb 2022
Media Release - Major global companies are avoiding meaningful climate action and are instead using false, misleading or ambiguous green claims, a new report shows.
Investors urge government to support a global climate disclosure regime
27 Jan 2022
The Investor Group on Climate Change says the government should support the creation of a global reporting regime for climate risk disclosures.
Economist proposes carbon backed currency
27 Jan 2022
With alternative coins flourishing and Central Banks designing their own digital currencies, there is a potential hard-backed currency which cannot be ignored: carbon. Using carbon to back a global currency would redistribute wealth, incentivize low carbon technology and avoid the environmental taxes which hit the world’s poor the hardest, writes Australian economist Steve Keen.
Why big central banks are becoming climate warriors
17 Dec 2021
The world’s largest central banks have been joining the fight against climate change, figuring that they can’t ignore the mounting risks of doing nothing. Melting glaciers may be a huge leap from monetary policy, but policy makers say they must respond to threats that have the potential to disrupt the global economy.
World's largest asset managers fail to back climate-action resolutions
16 Dec 2021
Many of the world's biggest money managers have pledged to make their investment portfolios reach net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions by the mid-century. But they still aren't using their shareholder voting power to place more pressure on the companies whose stock they own to take action on climate change.
Farm-level emissions cuts possible, but almost everything stands in the way
18 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Progress to slash farming emissions is being blocked by limited farmer confidence in mitigation tools, inconsistent engagement, misinformation and a lack of clear policy signals, according to a new report.
State-owned farmer drives profit growth with emissions reductions
19 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Government-owned Landcorp, trading as Pāmu, is one-third of the way to meeting its 2031 emissions reduction targets, with five years left to run to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30.3% against 2021 emissions.
NZ’s government wants tourism to drive economic growth – but how will it deal with aviation emissions?
22 Oct 2025
By Robert McLachlan, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University | Following a brief dip during the COVID pandemic, aviation is back in a growth phase.
Air NZ inks deal for its first internationally verified carbon credits
9 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Air New Zealand has committed to buying 8000 tonnes of carbon removals by 2030, in partnership with local native forest investment platform My Native Forest.
‘Cali Fund’ aiming to raise billions for nature receives first donation – of just $1,000
16 Dec 2025
A major biodiversity fund – which could, in theory, generate billions of dollars annually for conservation – received its first donation of just $1,000 in November.
Govt launches strategy backing wood-based heat sector
23 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Forestry biomass could replace as much as 40% of fossil fuel-generated process heat by 2050, but access to supply, regulatory settings and business cases for converting to wood-based heat sources are required, the Government says in a series of documents released yesterday.
Climate law change spanner in the works for Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry
19 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s controversial changes to New Zealand’s legal framework for climate policy have thrown a spanner in the works for a long-running Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry into climate change.
Seven quiet wins for climate and nature in 2025
19 Dec 2025
This year's environmental backdrop is familiar: emissions are rising and nature is continuing to decline. But there have nevertheless been bright spots in 2025.
Govt unveils plans for carbon storage regulations – and ETS rewards
18 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government has released plans to regulate carbon capture and storage in natural geological formations, which include Emissions Trading Scheme incentives, with the aim of introducing related legislation in 2026.
Global coal demand hit record high this year but is set to decline by 2030
18 Dec 2025
Global coal demand reached a record high in 2025 but is expected to decline by 2030 as renewables, nuclear power and abundant natural gas squeeze its dominance in power generation.
Investors must support positive climate-tech
28 Nov 2025
OPINION: We need better leadership than the current ‘climate opportunism’ that is rife in the Beehive, and we need to back a marketplace that will make it happen, writes Rob Campbell.
RMA’s successors hinge on two untested bets
17 Dec 2025
Two ideas sit at the heart of the Government’s replacement for the Resource Management Act: regulatory relief and spatial planning.
India at COP30: A mismatch between grandstanding and climate action
11 Dec 2025
Despite India’s attempt to anoint itself as the leader of the developing world, at the COP30 summit, New Delhi’s track record remains contradictory.
Govt warned that scrapping ag emission pricing comes with risks
11 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s move to halt plans for agricultural emissions pricing without replacing it with any other action will leave New Zealand facing a bigger gap to meet its third emissions budget, Environment ministry officials have warned.
NZ hydrogen regulation to catch up with the world
18 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The government has announced a regulatory reset for New Zealand’s emerging clean tech hydrogen sector.
DOC trims costs and winds down jobs for nature
10 Nov 2025
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is entering a new phase of tighter budgets and structural change as it winds down the pandemic-era Jobs for Nature programme and reshapes its operations to absorb long-term cost pressures.
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With New Zealand's $1.3 billion international climate finance commitment set to end with no clarity on what follows, the Auditor-General says oversight of that funding remains patchy and long-term outcomes are unclear.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transport pollution was the biggest contributor to an increase in New Zealand’s consumption-based emissions in 2023, with emissions from household travel up 12%, and consumption-based emissions totalling 58.3 million tonnes – up 1.6% from the previous year.
Hydrogen emissions are ‘supercharging’ the warming impact of methane
19 Dec 2025
The warming impact of hydrogen has been “overlooked” in projections of climate change, according to authors of the latest “global hydrogen budget”.
RMA to speed up fossil fuel consents
18 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | An energy lobby group has welcomed a last-minute amendment to the RMA that puts fossil fuels on the same footing as renewables, however a sustainable energy expert says the move “beggars belief.”
NZ ‘clearly’ breaching international law on climate – Vanuatu Climate Change Minister
12 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister, Ralph Regenvanu, says New Zealand restarting fossil fuel exploration and subsidies is an obvious breach of international law, exposing the country to international and domestic litigation.
Govt slammed for weakening methane target
15 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams The Government has pushed through legislation under urgency to almost halve New Zealand’s 2050 methane target – a move Opposition parties say disregards scientific advice, breaks the country’s hard-won political consensus on climate action, and shifts the burden of higher warming and higher future costs onto the next generation.
COP30 microcosm of difficult geopolitics, says Vanuatu's Climate Minister
15 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Despite ‘intransigent’ states blocking multilateralism and a disappointing official outcome, Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu says he left the COP30 climate summit feeling more positive than after previous UN climate conferences.
Hiringa eyes green methanol plant near Whanganui
29 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Green hydrogen pioneer Hiringa Energy is deep in planning to develop an “eight-to-nine figure” methanol plant near Whanganui, using a combination of biomass and hydrogen produced using renewable energy.
Insurers welcome govt decision to keep NHC levy unchanged
21 Nov 2025
Media release |The Insurance Council of New Zealand | Te Kāhui Inihua o Aotearoa (ICNZ) has welcomed the Government’s decision to leave the Natural Hazards Commission levy unchanged, amid ongoing concerns around the cost-of-living.
Why I’m not outraged at the Govt’s latest climate backsliding
7 Nov 2025
COMMENT: The Government’s latest climate rollbacks underline New Zealand’s long history of a lack of genuine desire to cut emissions, writes Geoff Bertram.
Three Greenpeace activists removed by police from Fonterra
17 Dec 2025
Media release | Three Greenpeace activists were removed by police from Fonterra’s downtown Auckland offices, following a protest on Monday at the Shareholders’ Fund meeting over the corporation’s role in the contamination of rural communities’ drinking water.
Oil and gas majors would create $78bn more value by stopping exploration
11 Dec 2025
Media release | Ten of the world’s largest oil and gas companies would create significantly more shareholder value by ending exploration and sharply curtailing upstream development, according to new analysis released today by ACCR.
Wetlands and biodiversity at risk as mining rules loosen: Greenpeace
19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Greenpeace says Government changes to national direction instruments under the RMA paves the way for mining in wetlands and biodiversity hotspots and will expose some of Aotearoa’s most fragile ecosystems to irreversible damage.
NZ could become ‘dumping ground’ for dirty vehicles: Commissioner
16 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Simon Upton, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, has warned the Government that its changes to the clean car standard could turn the country into a dumping ground for high emitting cars, making future emissions budgets harder to achieve.
NZ's latest climate target 'weak' – Climate Action Tracker
24 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand's new international climate target to 2035 is weak, and could even allow for higher emissions than the 2030 target, according to a global scientific project that tracks government climate action.
Offshore windfarms enhance function of coastal waters and diversity of aquatic life
19 Dec 2025
Media release | A study conducted by researchers from Murdoch University in Australia and Dalian Ocean University in China has found that offshore windfarms can improve marine ecosystems and diversify aquatic food chains.
‘A shift no country can ignore’: where global emissions stand, 10 years after the Paris climate agreement
16 Dec 2025
The watershed summit in 2015 was far from perfect, but its impact so far has been significant and measurable.
Govt consulting on Pacific Resilience Facility
12 Dec 2025
The Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee is calling for submissions on its international treaty examination of the Agreement to Establish the Pacific Resilience Facility.
Govt green lights rural recycling scheme
4 Dec 2025
The Government has approved new regulations to bring rural waste schemes under one unified framework.
KiwiRail pauses coal trains amid rising climate protests
9 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate activists are ramping up actions this week, with a Christchurch protest leading to KiwiRail pausing some coal train operations on Saturday, and another protest against the Fast-Track Amendment Bill planned for parliament today.
Straterra has a new name: the New Zealand Minerals Council
16 Apr 2025
Media release | Straterra has been renamed as New Zealand Minerals Council, says chief executive Josie Vidal.
Could tidal energy one day power NZ?
18 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New research suggests Aotearoa holds some of the world’s strongest tidal-stream energy potential – enough to generate up to 93% of today’s electricity use – but one expert cautions that extracting energy at such a scale could have significant impacts and remains highly uncertain.
NZ could lose nearly all glaciers this century without stronger climate action
16 Dec 2025
New Zealand could see 97% of its glaciers vanish by 2100, with new international modelling projecting a rapid acceleration in glacier extinction from the 2030s onward – even under lower-warming scenarios.
Solar households to get little-noticed tax break
23 Sep 2025
A provision in the government’s latest tax bill would exempt households from paying tax on income they earn by selling excess electricity back to the grid.
Last minute change to oil and gas legislation over cleanup costs
31 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government is expected to repeal the oil and gas ban today, with a last-minute amendment handing discretionary power to two ministers over the controversial issue of decommissioning.
The surprisingly convincing case against cars
19 Dec 2025
Life After Cars dares to imagine how different, and enriching, a car-free world could be.
Kaicycle celebrates ten years of collective climate action in Pōneke
14 Nov 2025
Media release: Kaicycle | Since 2015, Kaicycle has grown from a humble pilot project growing kai and collecting compost on bicycles into the thriving urban farm and composting hub that Wellingtonians know and love.
Heatwaves, downpours and droughts – Auckland on track for more extreme weather
1 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show Auckland will face more heatwaves, heavier downpours, worsening droughts and growing coastal threats as climate extremes intensify, according to a new report from Earth Sciences New Zealand.
NZ just had its hottest spring in at least 116 years
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | This year New Zealand had its hottest spring since records began, with widespread heat, rainfall extremes and destructive wind driven by sudden stratospheric warming.
Media round-up
12 Dec 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Another offshore wind firm exits New Zealand over a clash with seabed mining; Fonterra falls behind on its climate goals as farm emissions remain flat; and the businesses trapped by the gas 'death spiral'.
