(Reuters) – New Zealand’s central bank said on Tuesday it continues to support plans from an independent government body to strengthen climate-related disclosures by the country’s financial firms.
Last year, New Zealand became the first country to pass laws requiring banks, insurers and investment managers to report the impacts of climate change on their business.
Officials had said that the disclosure requirements will be based on standards from New Zealand’s independent accounting body, the External Reporting Board (XRB), which is responsible for implementing accounting, auditing and climate standards.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) said on Tuesday it was engaging closely with the XRB on how to implement the laws.
“Our goal is to see entities manage their own climate-related risks in a transparent manner that ensures these risks and opportunities are incorporated into business decisions and long-term strategies,” RBNZ assistant governor Simone Robbers said in a statement.
(Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
