Climate Change
Simpson Grierson provides true insights into New Zealand’s climate change legislative regime and comprehensive legal advice on transitioning towards a low carbon future. We are New Zealand’s pre-eminent, full service, climate change legal services provider for both the private and public sector.
Our key advisory services
Climate-related risk and disclosure requirements
- Director and other decision maker liability and risk mitigation (private and public sector)
- Climate-related legal risk exposure, and assessing, managing and reporting ongoing climate related physical and transitional legal risks
- Reporting of climate-related financial legal risk (TCFD) including governance, strategic planning, and risk management
Emissions Trading Scheme
- Compliance advice and due diligence in respect of all sectors in the Emissions Trading Scheme
- Forestry specific issues
- Contracts for trading in emissions units, including ISDA and spot trades
- Contractual pricing provisions dealing with emissions costs in products
- Voluntary off-setting
Local government and resource management
- Implications of climate change for local government decision-making
- Regulatory responses to climate change risk, including plan changes
Legislative developments, and adaptation and mitigation strategies
- Submissions on policy and proposed legislative changes
- Decarbonisation and transitioning to a low emissions economy
- Publications, seminars, and workshops on climate change developments and strategy
Key contacts
Climate change strategy and policy development
Key contact: Mark Baker-Jones
Climate-related legal risk, disclosure and reporting, and directors’ duties
Key contacts: Josh Cairns, Charlotte McLoughlin
Financial institutions, and green financing (bonds and funds), insurers and asset owners and managers.
Key contacts: Josh Cairns, Helen Smith
Forestry, emissions participants and emissions-intensive industries (including energy producers, agriculture, transport, industrial processes and waste).
Key contacts: Greg Allen, Nick Wilson, Joanna Lim
Government engagement, policy and legislative reform.
Key contact: Sally McKechnie
Iwi and Māori.
Key contact: Gerald Lanning
Lifeline utilities and renewable energy
Key contacts: Don Holborow, Chris Browne
Local authorities, council-controlled organisations, and Crown entities.
Key contacts: Gerald Lanning, Matt Conway, Sarah Scott
Recent activity and workshops
A Near Horizon (virtual roundtable featuring Mark Carney, Adrian Orr and James Shaw) - Seizing the opportunities and managing the risks in the transition to net zero: The importance of climate-related financial disclosures [May 2020]; co-hosted with the McGuinness Institute and the Climate Disclosure Standards Board - click here to watch.
Preparing a Climate Change Policy for Local Authorities workshops [Feb 2020]; read the summary report here
Click here to register your interest for any of our upcoming climate change events. Click here to join our climate change updates mailing list.