The Zero Carbon Bill will lay the foundation for New Zealand’s low-emission economy. The ZCB was introduced by government on 8 May and select committee submissions are due on 16 July.

You are invited to a business briefing to engage with Motu’s independent policy experts and other leading businesses on how to shape a Bill that puts New Zealand’s response to climate change on track with its international obligations.

The briefing will explore key aspects of the ZCB in depth and enable an exchange of ideas under the Chatham House Rule to help inform corporate submissions. It will focus on strategic design issues rather than politics around target ambition. It is designed for participants who want to be part of the climate change solution and need to understand the ZCB for their business. This could include corporate treasury and finance managers, compliance managers, strategy managers, environmental and sustainability managers, sector associations, consultants, and legal advisors. Media organisations are not invited.

In particular, the briefing will cover:

• how the ZCB proposes to tackle the climate change challenge.
• the implications for the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme, other policies, and the economy.
• key opportunities and risks for businesses – and New Zealand – from the proposed approach.

The briefing will be led by Catherine Leining and John McDermott.

• Catherine Leining is a Policy Fellow at Motu, where she leads the Low-Emission Future programme. As an official, she helped design the NZ ETS and served on the New Zealand’s government’s negotiation team under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
• John McDermott recently joined Motu as Executive Director. He was formerly Assistant Governor and Chief Economist at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand: Te Pūtea Matua, and worked at Victoria University of Wellington, National Bank of New Zealand, and the International Monetary Fund.

Spaces are limited. Tea and coffee will be available upon arrival and afternoon tea will be provided. For more information, contact Catherine Leining, catherine.leining@motu.org.nz. The briefing will also be presented in Wellington on 27 June 2019.