Abstract
In April 2021, the New Zealand Parliament introduced a seminal bill that would require climate-related disclosure for select corporate entities. The adoption of this mandatory framework was the first of its kind in the world. As regulators debate whether mandatory disclosure requirements will assist global efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. New Zealand has decisively crossed the fence in search of greener grass. This establishes a pivotal role for financial markets law as we aim to move into a carbon-neutral economy. As we make these unprecedented changes, it is vital to ask: Is the grass really greener?
This dissertation explores the debate between mandatory and voluntary climate-related disclosure. In doing so, it identifies potential tension between the purposes of financial markets law in New Zealand and the new mandatory climate-related disclosure regime. This paper then introduces Lisa M Fairfax’s novel view of the debate, namely the 'dynamic disclosure' conceptualisation, and argues that principles of this view could alleviate this tension.