Businesses that make up 36% of New Zealand's private sector GDP participated in the BusinessNZ Climate Change Survey. BusinessNZ also released a Business Brief on Climate Change today.

BusinessNZ's Head of Climate Change Policy, John Carnegie said that through the survey, business is clear about what needs to happen during the COP21 negotiations.

"Business will take action regardless of what happens at Paris. But this is still an opportunity for negotiators to set climate goals that give businesses the confidence to invest, to innovate and to act to mitigate climate change.

"We need to see an agreement that sets a predictable and transparent regulatory environment. It needs to provide the direction to enable scaled-up action at a country level.

"New Zealand businesses want to work with Government to develop and implement market-driven solutions to address emissions while maintaining our international competitiveness. This means supporting the development of international carbon markets to facilitate the global transfer of low emissions technology and finance to where it is needed most.

"Through to 2020, businesses in New Zealand will focus on reducing emissions in the transport sector, improving energy efficiency beyond transport, improving urban infrastructure and being strong leaders on climate mitigation and adaptation."

John Carnegie will be attending the COP21 Paris Climate Conference as a member of New Zealand's official delegation.

Key survey findings:

• 52% of respondents said climate was a material issue that warranted a business response.
• 61% have introduced initiatives to reduce climate emissions.
• Two-thirds of respondents have emission reduction targets in place, with strong representation from energy, transport, telecommunication and retail sectors.
• 85% of business climate activity sits within business operations, working with customers and through supply chains.
• Climate reduction plans range from 12 month targets to open-ended. One business has targets out to the end of the century.
• Many respondents still find it hard to quantify the potential value from longer-term thinking about climate change impact with the business benefits of resource efficiency, risk mitigation and other avoided costs.
• Over half of respondents are publicly reporting their emissions reductions through an independent accreditation or framework.
• At Paris, business wants to see leadership, clarity of direction, ambition and a unified commitment at a global and national level.
• Beyond Paris, businesses would like to see cross party agreement on New Zealand's approach to climate change, sustainable government procurement, transport initiatives and a greater focus on adaptation.

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