IGCC appears before Aotearoa New Zealand Parliamentary Committee: International capital wants climate reporting
12 December 2025
IGCC’s Executive Director - Policy, Frankie Muskovic appeared before the New Zealand Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee to raise concerns about proposed amendments that would slash the number of entities required to publish climate reports.
IGCC told the Committee that the proposed changes stand to weaken New Zealand’s climate disclosures regime by substantially shrinking its coverage. This could send a signal to international investors that New Zealand companies are not prepared to manage the risks of climate change disruption to their operations.
IGCC noted that climate disclosure is fast becoming a basic expectation of businesses worldwide with many jurisdictions, including key trade partners, introducing mandatory climate reporting. IGCC’s submission highlighted that 80% of New Zealand exports are going to countries with rules in force or proposed.
Once a leader, Aotearoa New Zealand risks falling behind countries like China, Chile and Singapore which are some of the 40 jurisdictions looking to adopt the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) standards for mandatory climate reporting.
While there are legitimate issues that need to be addressed, these should be dealt with via adjustments to the standards and not by excluding such a large number of reporting entities.
At a time when New Zealand is looking to attract international investment and support economic growth, weakening the climate disclosure regime risks undermining investor confidence in New Zealand businesses.
Watch a recording (from 5:45)
Download IGCC’s submission