Latest news with #Para
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Government can't be the de facto insurer of property after weather events
For example, the communities of Port Waikato and Bluecliffs have seen properties irreparably impacted by coastal erosion and sea level rise but have been treated differently to the properties impacted by single destructive events such as Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland Anniversary flooding in 2023. Not having a clear policy on the Government's response after an event has created this unfairness in outcomes. Buyouts of properties most affected by Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland Anniversary flooding cost central and local government billions of dollars. The future liability of the reactive approach from these weather events is large and growing, as development continues to happen in places that will be affected by the physical impacts of climate change. It is not sustainable for the Government and local government to be the de facto subsidised insurer of property values after significant weather events. This approach is effectively a subsidy encouraging people to stay in harm's way. We all need to be thinking about the impacts of climate change as we make decisions about how and where we live. We need clear and consistent information regarding the hazards and risk scenarios our properties face. We also need to know what plans are being made to address the hazards and risks. This is where clarity of roles and responsibilities comes in: local and regional authorities must be able to prepare adaptation plans, and many already are. To do this, they will use the Para framework – examining options under the different headings protect, accommodate, retreat and avoid. The relevant authorities will need to prioritise the proposed adaptation activities and determine how they will be funded. The question of how to fund preventive risk reduction is particularly challenging. This will require a mix of central and local government and property and infrastructure owners. We are proposing that contributions to funding investments in risk reduction broadly reflect those who get the most benefit from it. This must be subject always to consideration of ability to pay, so that those who can't contribute aren't simply left to their own devices. The Government's historical approach to property owners affected by a significant event should change. After a long transition period (20 years), hardship should be alleviated with reference to need rather than to property values. That is, there would be no buyouts following an extreme weather event that has damaged property. The Government would retain its role in alleviating hardship. The point is that this can be achieved in different ways than underwriting pre-event property values. One option, for example, would see a beachfront mansion owner and an owner of a small house in a flood-prone area be assisted according to need. If that need is established then they would receive the same capped amount rather than a payment based on the respective value of their properties. This has no impact on the role of central and local government during and immediately after an event, in terms of the emergency response. This proposal also doesn't represent an abrupt shift in policy today – it goes hand-in-hand with a long transition. This period enables the creation and ongoing update of hazard and risk information, and a timeframe over which people can make decisions in the knowledge of the future state that will apply. Banks and insurers are already starting to take these hazards and risks into account. Banks have the bigger challenge – typical mortgages are 20-25 years, while insurance contracts are annual. Insurers can decide each year the level of risk they are willing to take on and the price at which they will provide the insurance, whereas banks make a lending decision for a much longer period. Changes in lending and insurance practices will likely be the first way that people will experience the impact of climate change on property markets. A bank may require a much larger deposit or decline to lend at all on a particular property; or your insurance premium skyrockets; or the most significant hazard facing your property, flood risk, is excluded from your policy following a significant event. The numbers involved are large. A recent assessment of climate change and flooding problems in South Dunedin illustrates the scale of the potential problem. Seven potential adaptation futures were reviewed in detail, ranging from continuing as is to large-scale retreat. The different plans affect some 5800 properties and estimated costs of the different scenarios ranged from $2 billion to $7.1b – that's $345,000 to $1.2 million per house. For context, the current Dunedin City Council capital delivery budget is $200m annually for the entire city. Climate change adaptation involves hard questions for which there are no easy answers. That we are now having this conversation is a great start. The water lapping at the door doesn't care what we believe, and transparency of information regarding hazards and risks does not change those hazards and risks – events will occur and losses will be felt whether we understand that information or not. The fact that some who receive that information will have difficulty responding to it is not a good reason for not providing it. The approach we take needs to be enduring beyond election cycles. We have limited resources as a nation; we need to make sure we are using those resources effectively and not wasting them on short-term measures when we are dealing with a long-term problem. It is inevitable that people will have different views of the level of risk, and some may choose to buy, or stay, at a place despite the knowledge of the hazards and estimates of the risk. That's entirely up to them, but that shouldn't require the country to underwrite that decision. The reflexive response from those unhappy with this approach essentially says: a person buying, or choosing to stay in, a property today with the knowledge that it is at a higher risk of the physical impacts of climate change should expect to be made whole by the Government (ie the whole community) in 20 years' time, if those risks come to pass. To which it's worth asking: why?
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Nestle, Barry Callebaut, re.green to restore areas in Brazil's cocoa, coffee regions
By Gabriel Araujo SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Nestle announced on Thursday environmental restoration projects in partnership with reforestation startup and chocolatier Barry Callebaut in Brazil, seeking to plant millions of trees in areas where it sources key ingredients. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The initiative is part of a wave of corporate investments scaling up Brazil's reforestation industry and aligns with Nestle's goal to become net zero by 2050, while restoring ecosystems in areas critical for cocoa and coffee production. BY THE NUMBERS The companies said the two separate projects will plant 11 million trees across 8,000 hectares (19,768 acres). The project, designed to span 30 years, involves planting 3.3 million trees of native species from Brazil's coastal Atlantic rainforest in the northeastern state of Bahia. It is expected to generate 880,000 carbon credits. The separate partnership with Barry Callebaut seeks to restore 6,000 hectares in the states of Bahia and Para, most of which will be converted into agroforestry systems with cocoa. KEY QUOTES "These projects will support our decarbonization targets, but our sustainability strategy goes beyond carbon removal," Nestle Brasil's Business Transformation and ESG director Barbara Sapunar said. "We want to regenerate areas in regions where we source ingredients. Environmental restoration increases the resilience of supply chains," she added. CEO Thiago Picolo said the initiatives showcase how companies can go beyond carbon offsetting and invest in restoring landscapes tied to their supply chains. ADDITIONAL CONTEXT Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer and exporter, as well as the world's fifth-largest chocolate market. Nestle will fully fund the project and cover 60% of costs for the Barry Callebaut initiative, it said. They are part of the company's broader goal of planting 200 million trees by 2030 in regions where it sources ingredients such as coffee, cocoa and milk. is backed by Brazilian billionaire Joao Moreira Salles and asset manager Gavea, founded by former Brazilian central bank governor Arminio Fraga. Swiss-based Barry Callebaut is the world's top chocolatier. Error al recuperar los datos Inicia sesión para acceder a tu cartera de valores Error al recuperar los datos Error al recuperar los datos Error al recuperar los datos Error al recuperar los datos
Reuters
6 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Nestle, Barry Callebaut, re.green to restore areas in Brazil's cocoa, coffee regions
SAO PAULO, July 17 (Reuters) - Nestle (NESN.S), opens new tab announced on Thursday environmental restoration projects in partnership with reforestation startup and chocolatier Barry Callebaut (BARN.S), opens new tab in Brazil, seeking to plant millions of trees in areas where it sources key ingredients. The initiative is part of a wave of corporate investments scaling up Brazil's reforestation industry and aligns with Nestle's goal to become net zero by 2050, while restoring ecosystems in areas critical for cocoa and coffee production. The companies said the two separate projects will plant 11 million trees across 8,000 hectares (19,768 acres). The project, designed to span 30 years, involves planting 3.3 million trees of native species from Brazil's coastal Atlantic rainforest in the northeastern state of Bahia. It is expected to generate 880,000 carbon credits. The separate partnership with Barry Callebaut seeks to restore 6,000 hectares in the states of Bahia and Para, most of which will be converted into agroforestry systems with cocoa. "These projects will support our decarbonization targets, but our sustainability strategy goes beyond carbon removal," Nestle Brasil's Business Transformation and ESG director Barbara Sapunar said. "We want to regenerate areas in regions where we source ingredients. Environmental restoration increases the resilience of supply chains," she added. CEO Thiago Picolo said the initiatives showcase how companies can go beyond carbon offsetting and invest in restoring landscapes tied to their supply chains. Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer and exporter, as well as the world's fifth-largest chocolate market. Nestle will fully fund the project and cover 60% of costs for the Barry Callebaut initiative, it said. They are part of the company's broader goal of planting 200 million trees by 2030 in regions where it sources ingredients such as coffee, cocoa and milk. is backed by Brazilian billionaire Joao Moreira Salles and asset manager Gavea, founded by former Brazilian central bank governor Arminio Fraga. Swiss-based Barry Callebaut is the world's top chocolatier.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Nestle, Barry Callebaut, re.green to restore areas in Brazil's cocoa, coffee regions
By Gabriel Araujo SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Nestle announced on Thursday environmental restoration projects in partnership with reforestation startup and chocolatier Barry Callebaut in Brazil, seeking to plant millions of trees in areas where it sources key ingredients. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The initiative is part of a wave of corporate investments scaling up Brazil's reforestation industry and aligns with Nestle's goal to become net zero by 2050, while restoring ecosystems in areas critical for cocoa and coffee production. BY THE NUMBERS The companies said the two separate projects will plant 11 million trees across 8,000 hectares (19,768 acres). The project, designed to span 30 years, involves planting 3.3 million trees of native species from Brazil's coastal Atlantic rainforest in the northeastern state of Bahia. It is expected to generate 880,000 carbon credits. The separate partnership with Barry Callebaut seeks to restore 6,000 hectares in the states of Bahia and Para, most of which will be converted into agroforestry systems with cocoa. KEY QUOTES "These projects will support our decarbonization targets, but our sustainability strategy goes beyond carbon removal," Nestle Brasil's Business Transformation and ESG director Barbara Sapunar said. "We want to regenerate areas in regions where we source ingredients. Environmental restoration increases the resilience of supply chains," she added. CEO Thiago Picolo said the initiatives showcase how companies can go beyond carbon offsetting and invest in restoring landscapes tied to their supply chains. ADDITIONAL CONTEXT Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer and exporter, as well as the world's fifth-largest chocolate market. Nestle will fully fund the project and cover 60% of costs for the Barry Callebaut initiative, it said. They are part of the company's broader goal of planting 200 million trees by 2030 in regions where it sources ingredients such as coffee, cocoa and milk. is backed by Brazilian billionaire Joao Moreira Salles and asset manager Gavea, founded by former Brazilian central bank governor Arminio Fraga. Swiss-based Barry Callebaut is the world's top chocolatier.
Cision Canada
6 days ago
- Business
- Cision Canada
EllisDon and Canadian Paralympic Committee announce multi-Games partnership through 2032 Français
MISSISSAUGA, ON and OTTAWA, ON, July 16, 2025 /CNW/ - EllisDon Corporation and the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) are proud to announce their official partnership renewal extending through to 2032. With this long-term commitment, EllisDon will provide operational support for Canadian athletes and teams from the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games through to the Brisbane 2032 Paralympic Games, including the Parapan American Games. Since the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, EllisDon has been providing essential operational services to CPC. With this new agreement, EllisDon becomes an Official Supporter of the Canadian Paralympic Committee, solidifying its role in supporting the Canadian Paralympic Team and Canadian Parapan Am Team's successes on the world stage over the next eight years with an emphasis on sustainability and operational processes. "Partnering with the Canadian Paralympic Committee aligns perfectly with EllisDon's commitment to inclusivity, excellence and making a positive impact in the community," said Wayne Ferguson, Chief Operating Officer & Executive Vice President, Infrastructure Services, EllisDon. "We are proud to play a part in fostering a constructive environment where Canadian Para athletes can thrive and grow, and we are honoured to stand with the Paralympic Movement, as it grows and inspires others across the globe." EllisDon's Infrastructure Services team will provide a full suite of operational support services at Canadian spaces in future Paralympic and Parapan Am Villages, including the following: Project management Pre- and post-occupancy inventory and inspection Onsite operations and maintenance expertise In-country logistic coordination and support Space planning and optimization Signage strategy and implementation Carbon footprint tracking IT systems and infrastructure solutions "We are so pleased to be renewing our valued partnership with EllisDon," said Karen O'Neill, CEO, Canadian Paralympic Committee. "EllisDon has truly helped us achieve excellence with our spaces at the Paralympic and Parapan Am Games in recent years, utilizing their operational expertise to add to the team's experience with a positive, effective environment centered on accessibility and inclusion. We look forward to our continued work together and elevating the athlete experience at the Games further over the next eight years." In addition to its technical support, EllisDon will continue to champion the growth of Para sport across Canada through direct contributions to the Paralympic Foundation of Canada, helping more Para athletes access opportunities and pursue their dreams. As the countdown begins for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games and beyond, EllisDon and CPC are working together to deliver world-class Games experiences—on and off the field of play. SOURCE Canadian Paralympic Committee (Sponsorships)
