New Zealand: Politics
Our climate change policy a mess, says former PM
17 Aug 2017
New Zealand’s climate change policy is an “unholy mess” that won’t be fixed if the Cabinet doesn’t want it to be, says former prime minister and constitutional expert Sir Geoffrey Palmer.
Nation's best tell MPs how to do climate change
16 Aug 2017
Eminent New Zealanders backed by 60 NGOs will tell MPs today what they should do about climate change.
THE COUNT: Gareth and Jacinda on the board
14 Aug 2017
Three leaders scored points last week in The Count - Carbon News’ tally of the number of times the leaders of political party’s mention climate change in their formal speeches and statements as they seek to become our next prime minister.
Emissions group to probe lack of carbon cap
10 Aug 2017
New Zealand’s lack of a carbon cap is one of the issues on the table for the Productivity Commission.
Nature deserves legal rights, say Greens
10 Aug 2017
A Green government would give nature legal recognition.
EDS CONFERENCE: Water, water everywhere
10 Aug 2017
It was freshwater at 10 paces on the first day of the Environmental Defence Society’s Tipping Points conference yesterday, with both National and Labour releasing their policies.
Emissions group might branch into ETS
9 Aug 2017
The Productivity Commission could recommend changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Graham's Globe must survive, says Labour
8 Aug 2017
Labour’s climate spokesperson says the work of the cross-party Globe group on climate change must continue, even if founder Kennedy Graham is out of Parliament.
Stand by, Wellington, worsening weather on the way
8 Aug 2017
More floods in Wellington, more droughts in Wairarapa, more hot days in both places and no frosts in the Tararua Ranges - that’s the picture painted in a new climate change report.
MORGAN MESSAGE: Use ETS profits to fix rental homes
7 Aug 2017
Profits from a rejigged Emissions Trading Scheme would be used to insulate and improve heating in rental housing under a Gareth Morgan-influenced government.
THE COUNT: Jacinda has little effect
7 Aug 2017
New Labour Party leader Jacinda Ardern has mentioned climate change a couple of times in passing, but the greatest issue facing humanity has yet to make it into her formal speeches and statements.
Most want us to show leadership on climate change
4 Aug 2017
Most New Zealanders think the country should be a leader on climate change, with just 8 per cent saying the country should “do a Trump” and pull out of the Paris Agreement, a new survey shows.
THE COUNT: At last, a leader talks climate policy
31 Jul 2017
Seven weeks out from the general election, we’ve finally got a political leader talking climate change policy – and it’s Winston Peters.
CLIMATE BUDGET: We're not ready, says Bennett
28 Jul 2017
New Zealand isn’t ready for a climate budget, says climate minister Paula Bennett.
We need expert climate advice, says commissioner
27 Jul 2017
New Zealand should adopt a UK-style Climate Change Commission and all political parties should support it, says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
ETS CHANGES: Good news and bad news
27 Jul 2017
The latest changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme have met with mixed reactions.
Govt acts on auctioning and international units
26 Jul 2017
The $25 price cap is staying for now, but the importation of international units will be restricted when the New Zealand carbon market opens to the world again, the Government has just announced.
Environment officials quiet on new coal mines
24 Jul 2017
The Ministry for the Environment has given the Government no advice on the climate implications of developing 13 new coal mines.
THE COUNT: Floods fail to excite party leaders
24 Jul 2017
Climate change wasn’t on the lips of New Zealand’s political leaders last week, despite serious flooding in Canterbury and Otago and financial warnings from the world’s first professor of the economics of disasters.
Coastal home owners could pay huge price
21 Jul 2017
Threats from climate change-induced sea-level rise and storms are not reflected in the market value of coastal New Zealand property, putting many people at risk of financial disaster.
Busy ministry delays work on emissions planning
20 Jul 2017
Planning to cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions in line with the country’s Paris Agreement commitments has been delayed because of the Ministry for the Environment’s heavy workload, confidential papers show.
Greens put case for billion-dollar growth fund
17 Jul 2017
A billion-dollar Green Infrastructure Fund and New Zealand at net-zero emissions by 2050 will be priorities for the Green Party in government.
THE COUNT: James Shaw takes Greens into the lead
17 Jul 2017
It’s runs on the board this week for two leaders in The Count, our weekly tally of public statements about climate change by party leaders in the lead-up to the general election.
Net-zero worthy target, says cross-party group
13 Jul 2017
The pan-political Globe climate group says cutting New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050 is worth serious discussion.
Ministers eye ways to beat mines planning rules
12 Jul 2017
The Government has been looking at approving new coal mines by creating special economic zones bypassing usual planning rules, Forest & Bird says.
Young Greens come to the zero-carbon party
11 Jul 2017
Young Green Party supporters are joining young National and Labour in supporting the Zero Carbon Act.
CLIMATE COST: Disaster damage bill tops $150 million
10 Jul 2017
Climate-related disasters have cost New Zealand more than $150 million this year.
EMA boots climate change off priority list
10 Jul 2017
Climate change policy is not a priority for the Employers and Manufacturers’ Association in this election.
THE COUNT: Greens leaders say something
10 Jul 2017
The public statements of world leaders might have been focused on climate change over the past week, but that doesn’t mean it has been on the agenda for New Zealand’s political leaders.
Young Kiwi voices lead the climate change chorus
7 Jul 2017
By publisher ADELIA HALLETT | Two political actions this week give us some hope that New Zealand might one day get the leadership it needs to survive and prosper in a carbon-constrained world.
IT'S OFFICIAL: Ministers get the word on ETS changes
5 Jul 2017
Official advice on changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme has made its way from officials to ministers.
Political uncertainty the enemy of carbon markets
4 Jul 2017
Lack of political certainty is damaging the effectiveness of carbon markets, says new research.
YOUNG NATS: Climate change bigger than politics
3 Jul 2017
The National Party’s youth arm supports legislation to make New Zealand carbon-neutral by 2050, saying climate change is “bigger than politics”.
THE COUNT: Who said what ... or not
3 Jul 2017
Climate change wasn’t on the agenda for public statements by any of our political leaders last week.
Government snubs MP's climate change motion
29 Jun 2017
The Government is refusing to support a motion acknowledging that a third of the world’s population is now exposed to deadly heatwaves because of climate change.
Minister in dark on coal climate question
27 Jun 2017
The Department of Conservation has not raised with its minister the climate implications of coal mining, despite being involved in a proposal to allow mining on conservation land on the Buller Plateau.
MPs to get the heatwave message
27 Jun 2017
Parliament will be asked tomorrow to note that up to a third of the world’s population is now exposed to deadly heatwaves as a result of climate change.
THE COUNT: How important is climate change to the politicians who would be PM?
26 Jun 2017
Carbon News is keeping count of the number of times political leaders talk in the lead-up to the September 23 general election about the biggest issue the world faces.
OECD (again) tells us to clean up our climate act
16 Jun 2017
New Zealand needs to set strong environmental limits and make polluters pay for the damage they do to the environment, the OECD says.
Do-something campaigners take the climate helm
16 Jun 2017
A climate declaration backed by at least some parts of the business community will be launched in New Zealand on Sunday.
Coastal litter goes under the spotlight
12 Jun 2017
The Government is spending $260,000 reviewing the extent of coastal litter problems.
We're disappointed, PM will tell Tillerson
6 Jun 2017
Prime Minister Bill English will raise the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement when he meets with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson today.
Emissions on right track, says Finance Minister
1 Jun 2017
Finance minister Steven Joyce, who explained yesterday that he didn’t have time to mention climate change in his Budget speech, says New Zealand’s emissions are heading “in the right direction”.
Researchers post new ideas for emissions trading
31 May 2017
A carbon price ceiling and floor, controls on the number of carbon credits circulating in New Zealand, and forward agreements for New Zealand to buy credits from developing countries are among new proposals to get the Emissions Trading Scheme cracking.
CARBON CALL: Why we need sky-high prices
30 May 2017
Carbon prices need to a least quadruple by 2020 if the world is to avoid massive climate change, economists are warning.
BUDGET BONUS: New money for emissions cuts
25 May 2017
The Government is putting $4 million into figuring out how New Zealand can cut its greenhouse gas emissions.
Buying Euro credits would pay off, says trader
24 May 2017
New Zealand should hedge its international carbon risk by buying European carbon units, a broker says.
Free credits cost taxpayers almost $1.7 billion
16 May 2017
Free carbon credits for trade-exposed heavy emitters have cost taxpayers nearly $1.7 billion.
Synthetic gases move will cut greenhouse emissions
15 May 2017
The Government is getting ready to enact provisions that will actually cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions.
MPs out of the loop on farm emissions advice
10 May 2017
Parliament has again been told that the Government is getting advice on bringing agricultural emissions into the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Fast, sustained phase-out of fossil fuels: best-performing countries in coal and transport sectors
Thu 10 Jul 2025
By Robert McLachlan | It’s true that climate change is getting worse – it will continue to get worse until emissions fall to near zero. But is action on phasing out fossil fuels really stalling?
Clear-sighted view to trade-offs crucial to reimagining our relationship with the land
7 Jul 2025
By Nick Swallow | COMMENT: New Zealand could see a 70% drop in the value of dairy land if we pursue our emissions targets for agriculture, according to a new report.
Mangroves' overlooked climate role
30 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand’s mangrove forests are pulling tens of thousands of tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere each year, yet their climate benefits remain unrecognised in national emissions reporting.
How flying can be a climate solution
16 Jun 2025
By Paul Callister and Robert McLachlan - Planetary Ecology | How can aviation contribute to tackling climate change when no practicable technology-based solutions are on the horizon?
Emissions Trading Scheme needs deep reform - commissioner
Fri 11 Jul 2025
The government’s attempt to limit forestry conversions on rural land is unlikely to lead to meaningful change, according to the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
NZ Post drops science-based climate target
Tue 8 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | NZ Post has dropped its science-based emissions reduction target of 42% by 2030 with no plans to replace it.
