The Climate Change & Business Conference is delivered by the Sustainable Business Council, Climate Leaders Coalition and Environmental Defence Society.
Aside from the plethora of information, one of the most valuable aspects of this event is the opportunity to connect. Attracting around 600 people from business, government, councils, universities, NGOs and media, it provides a valuable space to engage with others working in the same field. To converse with people with similar values, to meet potential clients and to share kai with people who each care deeply about the state of our planet.
You cannot underestimate the value of that combination of learning and connection. If you’re the sole sustainability professional in your organisation or in a small team, it can be particularly motivating to know you’re among hundreds of others working in the same field, all striving to make a difference.
If you were there, the challenge now is to transform the knowledge shared into action. That, and strengthening the connections made with others.
Whether you attended or not, here are ten takeaways that were especially memorable.
1. Several climate tipping points will likely be crossed in the next 50 years.
First, the bad news. The presentation by internationally-renowned scientist Johan Rockström (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research) was sobering. He said that without faster action, several global tipping points are likely to be crossed within 50 years – including melting of the Greenland ice sheet, loss of the Amazon rainforest and slowdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (the giant ocean conveyor belt that circulates water within the Atlantic Ocean). These are the systems we depend on for life support. The window to change course is still open, but it's narrowing.
Professor James Renwick (Victoria University of Wellington) said that on our current trajectory, by 2050 storm rainfall will be 25-30% above historic norms, sea levels around 15cm higher and global food production down as much as 15%. We need to organise and fund adaptation regionally, nationally and globally, and prepare for regional conflict and mass migration.
2. We don’t have to choose between prosperity and reducing emissions.
Mike Burrell (Sustainable Business Council) said that a more productive, low emissions economy would make Aotearoa New Zealand more resilient to shocks and uncertainty. However, those gains require investment, infrastructure, businesses prepared to change and enduring policy settings. Driving Sustainable Growth, the report published by the Sustainable Business Council earlier this year, found that an economy driven by innovation and productivity, and underpinned by renewable energy, could add $22 billion a year by 2035 – while driving down emissions by 6% per year.
The potential savings are huge. John Lang (Climate Trunk and Net Zero Tracker) said we could save a million dollars an hour if we speed up our electrification journey.
The phrase ‘energy security is economic security’ was a recurring theme of the conference.
3. There’s a huge gap between potential and action.
We know what to do, but we lack the incentives and structures to take more action. Villy Kladi (Westpac) said: “Energy transition is actionable now, both from the supply side and demand side, but we’d like to see more pace”. She identified three barriers holding back this transition: upfront cost, technological uncertainty and matching future energy supply with demand. She said all three are solvable, for example through financing and supportive policies.
Tracey Hickman (Genesis) said there’s no silver bullet. We need to invest in multiple things at both the grid and distributive level. That requires a 60/95/100 approach to meet our 2050 climate commitments: 60% of the economy electrified, 95% from renewable sources, 100% reliability.
4. Policy is moving too slowly but there are pockets of agreement.
Multiple speakers said policy is moving much too slowly, particularly on incentives to electrify vehicles, homes and businesses.
An election panel with representatives from the major and minor parties was characterised by the expected disagreements. However, one of the most interesting moments came when panellists were asked to name one area of agreement or a goal related to climate. They each responded without hesitation.
David Seymour (ACT) said efficiency – reducing emissions and insuring against the effects of climate change in the most efficient way. Qiulae Wong (The Opportunity Party) said energy security – a low emissions, affordable future for our children. David Wilson (NZ First) said innovation and producing more renewable energy. And Chloe Swarbrick (Green Party) said criteria as to what constitutes successful policy for emissions reduction and climate adaptation.
As Izzy Fenwick (New Zealand Climate Foundation) put it, “In an increasingly polarised world we need to look for opportunities for alignment”. She said: “We need durable discussions and policy settings that will outlive election cycles.”
That political volatility is impacting capital. Owen Hackston (Meridian Energy) said political instability is the single biggest thing holding Aotearoa New Zealand back from being a more investable destination. Hong Paterson (Greenbridge Capital Management) said that while capital can price in risk, it cannot price in policy gaps. Investment mechanisms need to be able to withstand political volatility to succeed.
For more details about what the politicians said and their climate policies, see Marc Daalder’s Newsroom article and Daniel Street’s LinkedIn post.
5. Communication is your superpower.
Grow your climate shadow. This is the concept that dominated a lot of the conversation during the breaks. John Lang said it matters more than your climate footprint. Your climate shadow is your influence: who you talk to, who you work for, what you buy and who you vote for. John said we need to normalise conversations about climate for people in our orbit.
“You can’t underestimate the role of communications in making a difference,” said Tim Bamford (Department of Conservation). Amplifying stories about the state of the environment is key, alongside investment and changing business practices. The focus on communications was echoed by a number of speakers, including Mike Casey (Rewiring Aotearoa), who emphasised the importance of a strong narrative to encourage electrification.
6. The question isn’t whether we pay for climate adaptation, but how and when.
According to Alana Lampitt (Chapman Tripp), our accounting frameworks don't capture long-term climate risk well. Getting the finance and insurance sectors on board is critical to funding resilience at scale
Bryce Davies (IAG) likened the question of who pays to a cul-de-sac. He said the costs of action and inaction will be borne by all of us, whether as a ratepayer or taxpayer. The real question is whether there’s a better, cheaper, fairer way of sharing those costs.
7. Aotearoa New Zealand has climate tech strength, but needs partnership to scale it.
Our size means capital and collaboration matter as much as ideas. Aotearoa New Zealand has a strong incubator model for climate tech to be developed here – the challenge is capital and partnership to scale it into an export industry.
AI featured as both a tool and a risk. Ashleigh Adair (Data Loom) asked if the speed at which AI solves complex environmental problems can outpace the speed at which AI makes them worse.
8. Know your natural capital.
To be resilient, businesses need to understand their stocks of natural capital, said Sam Parsons (Boffa Miskell). Start with your impacts and dependencies: understand what your business depends on in nature and how resilient that makes you. Then ask what the opportunities are to do things better and reduce your impact.
For some businesses, that dependency isn’t obvious until it’s tested. Nicky Preston (One NZ) said Cyclone Gabrielle was a turning point for how her business, and the whole country, thinks about resilience. The cyclone meant the fundamentals of daily life weren’t working, such as the ability to communicate and to get cash out, forcing the business to rethink resilience.
9. Good decision making needs to include everyone.
For effective and enduring results, everyone needs to be at the table – businesses, communities, iwi, councils, government. Shyann Raihania (Petāne Marae) spoke about the importance of taking people with you on the journey – being honest, sharing solutions, understanding different viewpoints and ensuring decisions taken now benefit 500-year resilience plans, not just the next 10.
As Nate Wilbourne (Wellbeing Economic Alliance) put it: “What kind of legacy will you leave behind for future generations?”
10. Do the mahi.
“It’s great to have a kōrero, but the kōrero has to be followed up with some mahi.”
That’s how Taiaha Hawke (Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei) set the tone for the event during the opening mihi.
The plea was echoed by Izzy Fenwick at the close of the event: “If you are not walking out of here thinking about what you can do differently, then why are you here?”
“We have solvable pathways here, we can take action, we can rebuild New Zealand’s brand and be a lighthouse for good climate leadership. Not only can we do those things, we absolutely must.”