Our submission highlighted the role of Government in incentivising investment in emissions reduction technologies and in removing policy uncertainty and regulatory barriers.

We welcomed the recent announcement of a sustainable finance strategy for New Zealand and encouraged the Government to secure multi-partisan support for the design of the strategy.

We expressed our support for the Government’s work to develop a standardised calculation methodology for on-farm emissions measurements, but raised concerns that farmers may be required to use this tool to report on their emissions from 2025, despite the tool not yet having been developed.

We also drew attention to the role accountants could play in this space as trusted advisers to farmers and with access to much of the information likely to be required.

On forestry, we noted the native forests provide native ecosystem and biodiversity benefits, and that this will need to be balanced against the planting of exotic forests for carbon-capture.