New Zealand: Politics
High carbon prices threaten NZ's low-carbon drive, say miners
17 Sep 2020
Record-high carbon prices risk driving away the very companies New Zealand needs in its push to decarbonise the economy, the minerals sector says.
Govt confirms mandatory climate-risk reporting regime
15 Sep 2020
New Zealand’s largest financial institutions and companies will be the first in the world to face mandatory disclosure of their climate risks.
Carbon forests 'buying our way out of sin', says Simpson
14 Sep 2020
Using carbon credits to meet New Zealand’s emissions reduction target is like trying to buy your way out of sin, says National’s climate spokesperson Scott Simpson.
Biochar golden opportunity for New Zealand, says expert
9 Sep 2020
New Zealand is squandering opportunities to use carbon sequestered under the Emissions Trading Scheme to improve soils, says bioeconomy consultant Dr Michael Lakeman.
If business must disclose carbon debt, then so should we, says Shaw
8 Sep 2020
The Government is trying to find a way to calculate the cost of the country’s likely carbon debt – and is considering using revenue from the Emissions Trading Scheme to buy international carbon credits to help deal with it.
Compulsory climate-risk reporting rules out soon, says minister
4 Sep 2020
The Government’s plans for mandatory disclosure of companies’ climate-change risk should be unveiled before the election.
Construction sector latest focus for emissions cuts
1 Sep 2020
Emissions limits will be imposed as part of resource consents for new buildings under proposals to cut emissions from the construction sector.
Climate commission gives election advice
31 Aug 2020
The Climate Change Commission wants political parties and voters to assess election promises against its set of climate principles.
National climate pledges must be increased well before COP, Guterres tells nations
31 Aug 2020
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has repeated calls for countries to increase their 2030 emissions reduction targets – and to do it soon.
Paper reveals why Govt went ahead with ETS overhaul
24 Aug 2020
Fifteen days into the first covid-19 lockdown, officials told the Government the new $20 price floor in the Emissions Trading Scheme was critical to protecting taxpayers from what the pandemic could do to carbon prices.
Experts investigating companies' climate claims
20 Aug 2020
Investors looking for evidence that companies really are addressing climate risk are hiring outside experts to find it.
ON THE BALL: Provincial pride could drive emissions goal
19 Aug 2020
Ranfurly Shield-style competition between provinces could get New Zealanders to finally cut greenhouse gas emissions, provincial local councils say.
UPTON: Coastal retreat the only sensible option
13 Aug 2020
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton is calling for fast, orderly retreat from coastal areas vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
SHAW: Next government all about emissions cuts
12 Aug 2020
Climate policy in the next government will focus on tangible ways to cut emissions, Green Party co-leader James Shaw says.
Native species key to cutting emissions
11 Aug 2020
Restoration of New Zealand’s wild places should count towards the country’s emissions reduction targets, the Government says.
FRIDAY POLITICS: It's a choice of slow or slower
7 Aug 2020
Young protesters are targeting both Labour and National with sit-ins in Dunedin today, saying both have failed to address the climate crisis.
Finance sector essential to adapting to climate change
4 Aug 2020
The Government is being told banks should toughen up on lending for properties vulnerable to sea-level rise and flooding.
Count climate in insurance risk, says Robertson
3 Aug 2020
The Reserve Bank should be required to take climate change into account when assessing threats to the insurance industry, the finance minister says.
New law needed for managed retreat, says review
29 Jul 2020
Authorities could have the power to seize land threatened by climate change under a proposed new Public Works Act-type law.
Replace RMA with new law, says EDS
27 Jul 2020
New Zealand's primary planning law, the Resource Management Act should be scrapped and replaced with totally new legislation, the Environmental Defence Society says.
FRIDAY POLITICS: Ready and willing
24 Jul 2020
In a week that saw the end of the political careers of a Cabinet minister and yet another Opposition MP, a political drama of a climate sort has been playing out in suburban Auckland.
FRIDAY POLITICS: Enter the Man from the North
17 Jul 2020
Cabinet minister and New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is angry about the long shadow Rogernomics still casts over the people of the North.
Pandemic delays ClimCom's first report
16 Jul 2020
The Climate Change Commission is under pressure from the impacts of the covid-19 pandemic and could be up to three months' late filing New Zealand's first emissions-budget recommendations.
Climate stays with Simpson
16 Jul 2020
Coromandel MP Scott Simpson has retained the climate change portfolio in the latest National Party reshuffle.
Collins will keep zero-carbon law
15 Jul 2020
New National Party leader Judith Collins says zero-carbon legislation will stay in place under a government led by her, but there will be changes.
FRIDAY POLITICS: We need a power plan
10 Jul 2020
Picture this: you’re a Prime Minister who’s weathered a terrorist attack, a volcanic explosion and a pandemic, and then 10 weeks before you go to the polls one of the country’s largest employers announces it’s pulling out.
FRIDAY POLITICS: Draw your hammer
3 Jul 2020
Climate minister James Shaw is nailing his colours to the mast of the Climate Change Commission.
Ministers advance with shovels at the ready
1 Jul 2020
Infrastructure minister Shane Jones says New Zealand should be focusing its climate-change action on preparing for the impacts of a warming climate.
AGL links exec bonuses to emissions cutbacks
1 Jul 2020
Australia’s largest domestic emitter of greenhouse gases, the energy provider AGL, is the first major company in the country to link managers’ bonuses to lowering emissions.
Parker whips home third leg of climate trifecta
26 Jun 2020
The third leg of the Government’s climate change legislation trifecta came home this week.
Make climate-risk a must, urges Carr
24 Jun 2020
The Climate Change Commission has again told the Government that assessing the climate impact of projects should be mandatory under a new fast-track consenting process.
Good job and well done, says ClimCom
24 Jun 2020
The Government’s determination to overhaul the Emissions Trading Scheme despite the covid-19 pandemic has won praise from the Climate Change Commission.
Auckland can go big on emissions cuts
23 Jun 2020
Getting rid of rules about housing density and giving incentives for people to use public transport and buy electric vehicles could cut Auckland’s greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, the OECD says.
ACC AIM: We want to lead on climate change
18 Jun 2020
New Zealand’s Accident Compensation Corporation is decarbonising its portfolio in line with the country’s zero-carbon legislation, saying it wants to be a leader on climate change.
Parliament does major job on ETS
17 Jun 2020
Parliament has passed major changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme, bringing agricultural emissions into the scheme and, for the first time, setting a cap on emissions.
New consent panels to OK fast-track jobs
17 Jun 2020
The Climate Change Commission will be consulted about projects being fast-tracked through resource consent as part of the covic-19 pandemic economic recovery.
Rail comes out top of fast-consent work
16 Jun 2020
A sea-level-rise-proof Cook Strait ferry terminal and a host of improvements to the country’s rail service are among infrastructure projects the Government plans to give fast-track consent in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic.
Nats should have done more, admits Muller
15 Jun 2020
New National Party leader Todd Muller has admitted his party should have done more about climate change when it was in power.
Forest owners stay with carbon wait-and-see
8 Jun 2020
Forest owners are adopting a wait-and-see approach to selling units as carbon prices head into record territory.
Carbon prices continue the good-news climb
4 Jun 2020
Carbon prices jumped another $2 yesterday as the market continued to react to Tuesday’s announcements about the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Shaw sings songs of praise for trading scheme
3 Jun 2020
Climate minister James Shaw – who three years ago was calling for the Emissions Trading Scheme to be scrapped – was singing its praises in Parliament yesterday.
Prices jump a dollar on fixed-price news
3 Jun 2020
Carbon prices jumped a dollar yesterday on the back of confirmation the fixed-price option will move to $35 this year.
Govt opposed ClimCom in cash-or-credits case
3 Jun 2020
The Government went against the advice of its own Climate Change Commission in allowing companies to continue to pay money instead of surrendering carbon credits to atone for their greenhouse gas emissions.
Effective carbon price-cap will hit $35 this year
2 Jun 2020
The effective price cap on carbon prices in New Zealand will go to $35 this year.
Biofuel could pull trucks into line, say officials
2 Jun 2020
New Zealand could cut its greenhouse gas emissions immediately by using more biofuels in trucks, officials say.
Cities critical to climate, Wellington tells Govt
26 May 2020
One of the country's largest local authorities says the Government 's plans for urban development are at odds with its programme for combatting climate change.
Simpson happy with his lot
26 May 2020
Coromandel MP Scott Simpson says he’s pleased to have kept the climate and environment portfolios in yesterday’s National Party reshuffle but had no say in the matter.
Muller's got 'very strong views' on cutting carbon
25 May 2020
New National Party leader Todd Muller says the drive toward a low-emissions economy should continue despite the effects of the covid-19 pandemic on the economy.
Government goes for silence on ETS
19 May 2020
The Government will make no announcements about changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme until after surrender date on May 31.
Everybody hold hands and get on with it, says SBC
18 May 2020
The Sustainable Business Council is calling for aa cross-party consensus over the spending of covid-19 pandemic recovery money on decarbonising the economy.
Batteries and flexible electricity use could save NZ $20b by 2050
Today 12:15pm
By Oli Lewis | Rapid expansion of batteries and flexible electricity use could save energy users between $5.4 billion and $20.8b through to 2050, new modelling suggests.
Study outlines methane-cutting options for NZ livestock
21 Jul 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Breeding, feed and forage strategies could play a key role in reducing methane emissions from New Zealand's grazing livestock, with researchers concluding that a combination of approaches will be needed to achieve meaningful cuts.
'Terrible result': Emissions barely budged in 2024
5 Jun 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions were virtually unchanged in 2024, falling by 0.03%, despite the economy shrinking by ten times that amount during the same period, according to new data.
Rail revival key to reducing transport emissions: new strategy
Thu 30 Jul 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Future is Rail has launched an election manifesto setting out a national strategy for the incoming Government to rebuild New Zealand's passenger and freight rail network, with proposals ranging from overnight train services to nationwide electrification.
National deer management strategy urgently needed to halt 'catastrophe' for native forests
Mon 27 Jul 2026
Scientists are calling for an urgent national deer management strategy, with deer numbers now at unsustainable levels and decimating native forests.
NZ Steel closes in on first heat from electric arc furnace
Thu 30 Jul 2026
By Oli Lewis | The first truckloads of scrap steel are being delivered to New Zealand Steel as the company works through the final stages of a significant emissions reduction project.
