NZ First promises $1 billion for offshore oil and gas
Mon 20 Jul 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand First wants to “drill baby drill,” and has made an election campaign promise of $1 billion to survey New Zealand’s offshore basins to extract oil and gas, in an announcement at the party’s campaign launch on Sunday.
Govt changes risk weakening climate policy, officials warn
Mon 20 Jul 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government is pushing ahead with plans to remove health and life insurers from New Zealand's climate disclosure regime despite official advice that the move risks undermining the effectiveness of the reporting system anyway.
NZ’s complex problems require visionary solutions, not quick fixes. Here’s how we can govern for the future
Mon 20 Jul 2026
By Jonathan Boston, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington As New Zealand heads toward another general election, political attention is naturally focused on the issues touching people’s lives right now.
New legislation to bar climate torts proves polarising for submitters
Fri 17 Jul 2026
By Liz Kivi | Opponents of legislation to block climate lawsuits say it could seriously damage investor confidence, while supporters of the same legislation argue that not passing it could be “devastating” for the New Zealand economy.
Climate adaptation plans welcomed, but funding remains the missing piece
Fri 17 Jul 2026
By Oli Lewis | Experts are welcoming a proposal to make climate adaptation planning mandatory, but warn the plans may be ineffective without clarity around who will pay to implement them.
CARBON PRICE
Mon 20 Jul 2026
Exclusively for subscribers, the Carbon News NZU Index tracks daily movements in the compliance carbon market across multiple trading platforms.
Emissions Trading Scheme ‘stockpile’ shrinking
9 Jul 2026
By Liz Kivi | The “stockpile” of NZUs in private accounts continues to shrink, with the latest Environmental Protection Authority figures showing the number has dropped by 9.5 million since this time last year.
Biodiversity credit markets need stronger safeguards – report
8 Jul 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Emerging biodiversity credit markets need stronger government safeguards and public investment if they are to deliver lasting conservation benefits, according to a new report.
Carbon markets and biochar: a golden opportunity for NZ?
1 Jul 2026
By John O’Brien | COMMENT: New Zealand’s abundant and increasing forestry waste could become a multi-billion dollar opportunity for biochar carbon sequestration – as long as the right policies, programmes, and incentives are in place.
BNZ and Pāmu team up on ‘carbon insetting’ with existing native forests
30 Jun 2026
By Liz Kivi | BNZ and state-owned enterprise Pāmu (Landcorp) have teamed up on what they say could be a model for landowners to earn revenue from existing native forests, while businesses pay for carbon removals. The organisations involved say this is “not offsetting,” with less stringent rules needed than for carbon credits.
EU sets out first-ever electrification target: 46% by 2040
Mon 20 Jul 2026
The EU executive has set out plans for an economy-wide target to drastically shift Europe’s energy consumption away from fossil fuels and towards electricity, kickstarting a major overhaul of the bloc’s climate and energy policy through to 2040.
Ontario seeks federal support for evacuations as wildfires devastate remote Canadian towns
Mon 20 Jul 2026
Ontario requested federal assistance to evacuate people from remote northern Canadian communities ravaged by wildfires on Thursday, as smoke brought poor air quality to Toronto and much of the Northeastern U.S.
Big tech joins big oil in ruining summer
Mon 20 Jul 2026
The industry has abandoned its climate pledges in favor of fossil fuel-powered AI data centers.
EU softens carbon market to ease pressure on industry
Mon 20 Jul 2026
The European Commission proposed an overhaul of the EU's Emissions Trading System on Friday, allowing industries to emit CO2 longer while offering more financial support to invest in clean technologies in Europe.
‘Master class in greenwash’ as Ottawa unveils CCS deal
Mon 20 Jul 2026
A multi-billion-dollar plan to transport and store greenhouse gas emissions from Canada’s emissions-intensive oil sands has received a major boost, even though the highly-touted deal between Ottawa, Alberta, and the five oil major sands companies will only capture a tiny fraction of the oil sands’ climate pollution.
CLIMATE CALENDAR
Mon 20 Jul 2026
The Carbon News calendar of talks, events, conferences, consultations, and petitions related to climate change.
Tauranga secures international funding to support rangatahi climate action
Thu 16 Jul 2026
Media release: Tauranga City Council | Tauranga has been selected as one of 300 cities worldwide to receive funding through the Bloomberg Philanthropies Youth Climate Action Fund, creating new opportunities for local rangatahi to turn their climate action ideas into reality.
University launches worldwide search for nature-focused researchers
Wed 15 Jul 2026
Media release | As governments and businesses around the world grapple with climate change and biodiversity loss, Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland is launching an international search for ten PhD researchers to help shape a more nature positive economy.
New entrant seeks to expand exploration portfolio
14 Jul 2026
Media release | Resources Minister Shane Jones has welcomed further investment interest in New Zealand's petroleum sector, with a recent new entrant seeking to expand its exploration interests in the offshore northern Taranaki Basin.
Fifth new petroleum application targets Taranaki
8 Jul 2026
Media release: New Zealand Government | An application targeting frontier deepwater in the Taranaki Basin marks the fifth permit application to prospect or explore for petroleum since the removal of the exploration ban, Resources Minister Shane Jones says.
