Climate change poses risks but New Zealand’s Minister for Climate Change says it also offers capital and funding opportunities for the financial services sector. Watts said a key driver of the country’s emissions came from energy which accounted for 40% of NZ’s total emissions. Federated Farmers has said they will use the new Pasture Sector Group, also announced on Tuesday, to negotiate for no on-farm emissions pricing at all. Federated Farmers President Wayne Langford said he hoped the new group would focus on reducing, rather than pricing, on-farm emissions. Watts told interest.co.nz after the FSC event on Wednesday that he hadn’t heard Federated Farmers comments on no on-farm emissions pricing and that the Government had been “very clear” it would be working towards emissions pricing by 2030.
