About the Climate-related Disclosures Register
A public register of climate statements and notices of exemption
Some large FMC reporting entities are identified as climate reporting entities (CREs) and must lodge climate statements or notices of exemption with the Registrar of Financial Service Providers (the Registrar). The information lodged is publicly available on the Climate-related Disclosures (CRD) Register.
Which entities are climate reporting entities (CREs)
Some overseas and New Zealand entities are identified as climate reporting entities or CREs and must prepare and lodge climate statements. CREs are a subset of FMC reporting entities, and include:
- Large registered banks, credit unions, and building societies.
Those with total assets of more than $1 billion. - Large managers of registered investment schemes (other than restricted schemes).
Those with greater than $1 billion in total assets under management. - Large licensed insurers.
Those with greater than $1 billion in total assets or annual gross premium income greater than $250 million. - Large listed issuers of quoted equity securities or quoted debt securities.
An equity issuer is large if the market price or fair value of all of its equity securities exceeds $60 million and a debt issuer is large if the face value of its quoted debt exceeds $60 million. Issuers listed on growth markets are excluded from the climate reporting entity definition.
The thresholds for each entity are calculated as at the balance date of their 2 preceding accounting periods.
Managers of registered investment schemes must make disclosures for each scheme. This ensures investors receive the information needed to understand the impact of climate change on the future performance of their investment.
Entities incorporated overseas must make disclosures if their New Zealand business is over the thresholds outlined above.
Climate statements
Climate statements explain how climate change affects a CRE's business, including any funds managed by a scheme manager. They help investors and shareholders understand climate-related risks and how the organisation plans to respond to them.
Climate statements need to follow the reporting standards that have been set by the External Reporting Board (XRB).
Roles and responsibilities
The public register
The Registrar of Financial Service Providers (the Registrar) and the Companies Office are responsible for maintaining an online register of climate statements and collecting the related fees and levies.
- CREs upload their climate statements or notices of exemption to the register, and
- The general public can search the register to view copies of each lodged climate statement.
Monitoring and enforcement of the regime
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) is responsible for independent monitoring and enforcement of the climate-related disclosures regime — providing guidance about compliance expectations and reporting on monitoring activities and findings. The FMA is also responsible for granting exemptions and lists current exemptions on its website.
Reporting standards
The External Reporting Board (XRB) developed the Aotearoa New Zealand Climate Standards. Each CRE must follow these standards when compiling their climate statements. They also provide guidance and resources to help CREs apply these standards.