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July 20, 2025 6 mins

Farmers need to be very wary about the threat finance taxonomy from the Centre for Sustainable Finance poses to the primary sector. So says one of our leading rural academics. 

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Be very, very worried out there New Zealand farmers because
the Center for Sustainable Finance wants an equitable, inclusive financial
system that enables a resilient, sustainable at Rower, New Zealand.
What a load of bollocks, Jacquelin, Rowath, Doctor Jacquell and Rowath.
Why should we be so concerned about finance taxonomy because

(00:23):
I know I've got a lot of people chewing my
ear about it.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yeah, and I'd be saying, let's be a fast follower.
UK dumped it last to the last week, just really
recently that UK said it's unworkable. It adds a layer
of complexity that adds no value. Move on. And unfortunately
for the Center for Sustainable Finance, their report came out
at the same time, and I think it's already dated. However,

(00:49):
the well meaning they are actually when one reads the
green finance rules for New Zealand federated farmers are right, ideological, unworkable,
real harm likely, and the things that are being suggested
that agriculture actually mean our farms aren't green, even though
per unit of product we are amongst the greenest in

(01:13):
the world.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
Oh, Jacquelin, I'm sorry to interrupt here. But tell me
who the hell is the Center for Sustainable Finance? How
did they come about?

Speaker 2 (01:21):
Uh Atra Circle which is Rob Finick and Sir Rob
Finnix Rip Baby have funded this in twenty twenty one
and it has received government support. Remember Sir Rob was
on one of Prime Minister Justinda Ardern, Dame Justinder's think
banks trying to get them through COVID and get some

(01:42):
economic sustainability, I suppose, And there are some good, well
meaning people on it. It does receive government funding. It
involves the banks and the major accounting type firms, and
they've come out with what they think is a great
report on sometimes a show that actually you're doing really

(02:02):
well already and what's being suggested will add no value.
And I think that is the case here.

Speaker 1 (02:08):
Fine, hence taxonomy. Look what don't banks just stick to
doing what they're meant to do, lend money and not
rip me off on my farm overdraft? Am I show
the grumpy or what?

Speaker 2 (02:20):
Well? I don't blame you for funding grumpy. The issue
is always people didn't realize that companies that are farming,
in particular because it's so up and down, actually get
charged more interest by the banks. But what the banks
have been doing for some time is pick farmers go
through what they're trying to do. Think it's a good

(02:41):
advance in terms of environmental sustainability technologies, and they are
doing green loans already, but they are doing them knowing
the farm and the farmer and the eater system and
the goals and all of those sorts of things. We
don't need another level saying here's the taxonomy, the framework
really of how we evaluate your farm and property are.

(03:04):
We're getting all of this through our processes already. We're
doing constant as farmers entry of data so that our
processes can calculate what sort of environmental impact we're having.
And then they reward us if we're good, and they say,
you can't have the rewards if you're not so good,
and they're kind of struggling to keep up with some
of our environmental advances, so don't bring in another layer.

Speaker 1 (03:27):
Absolutely, these green lines are effective, effectively just being subsidized
by the great unwashed US.

Speaker 2 (03:35):
Well, yeah, very positively. But what they're not being subsidized
by is the housing type loans. The people who do
domestic housing, they get better loans than the farmers do.

Speaker 1 (03:48):
Okay, so the Brits have dropped this. What do we
need to do? I know Federated farmers bless them or
on to the job. But do the rest of us
need to jump up and down about the Center for
Sustainable Finance and their finance taxonomy.

Speaker 2 (04:03):
No. I think we need to just work with the
government and say not workable for these reasons. Look how
far in advance we already are, and keep going with
the doing everything we can to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
in a manner that does not threaten food production. And
Paris Agreement is our friend here.

Speaker 1 (04:23):
Well. Bryce McKenzie from ground Swell sent me a text
this morning and said, good on Jack Willan for getting
stuck into the finance taxonomy. He's one hundred percent support
of there. But he said to me, She'll just say
we've got to stay in the Paris Agreement now. Bryce
and Laurie don't want us out, and Winston wants us out.
Should we be out, No, I.

Speaker 2 (04:45):
Don't know who we'd be left trading with, and Pontero
has made it pretty clear that they are already supplying
the top market sawn with some of the other processes,
So what would we be left with Fonterra's words are,
if we pull out A one and two because we're
no long we're in the Paris Agreement, then we're down
to one hundred and fifty or the in terms of markets,

(05:05):
and that just costs more, which means less two less
returns to the farmer. So no, I'm not in support
of pulling out of the Paris Agreement. We need to
be doing our part. But the point is that we
can start. We're about to be at the position I
think where we are. We can't reduce greenhouse gas any
further without new technologies that haven't yet been developed. And

(05:30):
we are about to be in the threatening of food production,
which dairy isn't quite but sheep probably is, but we
need to look at beef, which has increased a bit.
So those are the issues. Can we actually say we've
reached a plateau in terms of food production, so we
can't take any further hits in terms of trying to

(05:52):
reduce greenhouse gas emissions until there are new technologies to implement,
and the banks are already poised to help with some
of those new PA knowledges in terms of lens.

Speaker 1 (06:01):
Yes, And I will repeat your quote in a manner
that does not threaten food production. Doctor Jack olon Rower,
thanks for your time.

Speaker 2 (06:09):
Thank you,
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