Climate and ESG

From involvement with core climate change legislation and development of New Zealand's Emissions Trading Scheme, to advising on the world's first avoided deforestation project and pioneering emissions trading activity, through to advising clients on greenwashing and mandatory reporting requirements, for the past 20 years our work has been at the leading edge of developments in this field.

Our firm advises on a full array of issues related to climate change, sustainability and ESG, from carbon trading to renewable energy and major infrastructure projects. We combine leading legal expertise with advice on all areas of law impacted by the regulation and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Our advice includes assisting clients with:

Substantiating environmental claims and avoiding 'greenwashing'.
Directors’ duties, statutory due diligence and disclosure obligations.
Mandatory emissions disclosures and verification of related statements.
Transitional projects, transitioning from high to low emissions within their businesses.
Contentious regulatory issues and climate related litigation.
Managed retreat and incorporating both climate change mitigation and adaptation to its impacts.
Sustainable finance.
NZ ETS, NZU trading and related derivatives.

We have significant domestic and international carbon trading expertise. Our clients include pioneers in the emissions trading market and we advised on the world's first avoided deforestation project, authored the first International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) agreement tailored to the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme and performed the first trade in New Zealand's Emission Unit Register. We have provided advice to a large number of global investment banks, along with regional governments or government groups from Indonesia, Bangladesh and the Pacific Islands.

^{Chambers Asia Pacific 2023 Climate change, the only New Zealand team ranked.}

^{The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2025, Projects and resources management including environment, 'Band 1'.}

^{The Legal 500 Green Guide Asia Pacific 2022.}

New Zealand's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)

Sole legal adviser to New Zealand's Ministry for the Environment on commercial legal issues associated with the development of the ETS. This built on the firm's previous advice to the Ministry of Economic Development on the design of the legal framework for emissions trading.

Carbon issues in corporate transactions

Advise global law firms, local and international clients, on due diligence and sale and purchase agreements for M&A transactions, including the sale and transfer of emissions units, liabilities and benefits arising under the ETS and warranties associated with regulatory liabilities.

Disputes over pass-through of carbon costs under older oil and gas contracts

Advise on disputes as to whether agreements drafted prior to the release of ETS policy and the implementation of the ETS Bill enable carbon costs to be passed through to the customer. We regularly advise on carbon pass-through in gas and other energy supply contracts.

Carbon forestry advice

Advised Māori groups including iwi and iwi consortia, as well as local authorities, councils and corporates on various forestry issues arising from the ETS and the Permanent Forest Sinks Initiative (PFSI), including on the allocation of potential liabilities between landowners and forestry companies.

Fletcher Building EITE allocation and ETS alignment issues

Advised on proposing amendments to legislation on the alignment of the New Zealand ETS with the Australian carbon scheme (which was repealed in 2014). Advised on its level of emissions-intensive trade-exposed (EITE) allocation, to enable it to obtain a comparable level of EITE assistance in New Zealand to that its competitors would obtain in Australia.