New Zealand: Politics
E-vehicles could lead to more use of fossil fuels
2 Oct 2017
New Zealand will have to use fossil fuel-generated electricity to charge electric cars if it’s not careful, Canterbury electricity distribution company Orion is warning.
E-vehicle policy lacking, say transport officials
28 Sep 2017
A second government department has said New Zealand’s current electric vehicle policy won’t get people out of fossil fuel-driven cars.
Carbon credits key to finding project capital
27 Sep 2017
Issuing carbon credits for schemes that cut greenhouse gas emissions could tip the balance in favour of projects like public transport, a consultant says.
Productivity probe has got it wrong, say lawyers
26 Sep 2017
The Productivity Commission is under-estimating the role the Resource Management Act can play in cutting New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, the Auckland District Law Society says.
WINSTON'S THE WORD: What NZ First leader wants
25 Sep 2017
A party which has vowed to get rid of the Emissions Trading Scheme now holds the balance of power in New Zealand’s Parliament.
Furious farmers should get with the programme
22 Sep 2017
Political protests this week over fart taxes and water charges are at odds with research showing the agricultural sector knows it has to pay for its pollution.
Dining with mining in the House of the Lord
22 Sep 2017
The mining industry possibly got more than it bargained for when it decided to hold its annual dinner in Christchurch’s Cardboard Cathedral this month – a climate change debate with the Anglican Church.
OPTIMISM OUT: We need new ways to talk climate change
22 Sep 2017
The extreme weather of the past months is a game-changer: surely now the world is ready to talk about climate change as a civilisation-collapsing catastrophe.
First step is cut domestic emissions, says report
20 Sep 2017
New Zealand could meet a large chunk of its Paris Agreement emissions reduction target through cuts in emissions at home, a new report says.
Nat turns up to debate and makes lone stand
20 Sep 2017
All political parties except National told an audience in Auckland last night that they rank climate change as the biggest issue they face.
TAX OR TRADE?: It doesn't make much difference
19 Sep 2017
Ditching the Emissions Trading Scheme in favour of a carbon tax will not solve New Zealand’s emissions woes, a new report says.
With political will, the world can get to 1.5deg
19 Sep 2017
Global warming can be held to 1.5deg if there is the political will, new research published today shows.
Climate debate tonight - but Nats might give it a miss
19 Sep 2017
The National Party is looking like a no-show for a climate debate in Auckland tonight.
THE COUNT: English stays silent on climate
18 Sep 2017
With less than one week left in the election campaign, Prime Minister Bill English has yet to mention climate change in any of his formal speeches or statements.
United Future backs emissions trading
18 Sep 2017
United Future’s new leader says he supports the Emissions Trading Scheme, the Zero Carbon Act and wants New Zealand to be carbon netural by 2050.
ELECTION UPDATE: Where parties stand on climate
15 Sep 2017
What does next weekend’s general election mean for climate change?
More than 320,000 sign climate action plan
14 Sep 2017
A climate action plan that includes a fund to relocate people dispossessed by climate change now has the support of more than 320,000 people.
We could do environmental rights, says Little
13 Sep 2017
Environmental rights could be enshrined in the Bill of Rights, if not in a constitution, under a Labour government.
Climate-change deniers stupid, says Pope
13 Sep 2017
Pope Francis has slammed climate change doubters as 'stupid' in the wake of the Caribbean hurricanes.
PALMER PRESCRIPTION: Climate needs constitution
12 Sep 2017
If Sir Geoffrey Palmer had had his way, New Zealand would have already cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent.
Coalition candidates want to rid us of ETS
11 Sep 2017
Two of the parties that could be involved in any centre-left coalition after the election want to scrap the Emissions Trading Scheme.
What Morgan would have said ... if he'd had the chance
11 Sep 2017
The refusal by TVNZ to include The Opportunities Party in televised election debates does the public a disservice.
THE COUNT: English stays silent
11 Sep 2017
Week 12 of The Count ... and Prime Minister Bill English is still in the starting blocks.
We need to get involved, says Maori candidate
7 Sep 2017
Maori need to get involved in fighting climate change, says Maori Party Kelston candidate Cinnamon Whitlock.
CLIMATE CASE: National happy the way things are
6 Sep 2017
National is taking a business-as-usual approach to climate policy, warning that Labour and the Greens would go too far if they got into government.
NZ backs global carbon markets cooperation
5 Sep 2017
New Zealand has signed a statement calling for renewed co-operation on carbon markets.
Leaked report lifts lid on coastal property risks
4 Sep 2017
A climate change report the Government didn’t want public yet has been released by the Green Party.
THE COUNT: Peters outpaces Ardern
4 Sep 2017
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has pulled ahead of Labour leader Jacinda Ardern in The Count, but the Greens’ James Shaw is looking unassailable.
CLIMATE REPORT: What is the Government hiding?
30 Aug 2017
The Government’s refusal to release a report on the impacts of climate change suggests it might contain something politically damaging, says constitutional law expert and former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer.
What the parties say about climate change
29 Aug 2017
Three-and-a-bit weeks out from the general election, what do we know about the parties’ approach to climate change?
Climate change no big worry, says Prime Minister
28 Aug 2017
Prime Minister Bill English says climate change is not a major concern for most New Zealanders.
THE COUNT: James Shaw bounds ahead
28 Aug 2017
Green Party leader James Shaw has extended his lead in The Count, our tally of how important our political leaders think climate change is.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS 1: Climate change
25 Aug 2017
What will the political parties vying to run our country do about climate change?
IN THEIR OWN WORDS 2: Renewable energy.
25 Aug 2017
What will the political parties vying to run our country do about renewable energy?
Labour to throw switch on Kiwirail diesel plans
23 Aug 2017
The Labour Party has told KiwiRail that if elected next month it will halt State-owned rail company’s plans to ditch electric locomotives on the main trunk line.
TAXING OR TRADING: Which way should we go?
22 Aug 2017
Is taxing or trading the best way to get New Zealand’s emissions down?
THE COUNT: The Jacinda and James show
21 Aug 2017
It was Jacinda Ardern and James Shaw scoring in The Count last week.
Climate change isn't our biggest environmental problem
18 Aug 2017
Our core ecological problem is not climate change. It is overshoot, of which global warming is a symptom
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.
Bill to ban new coal mines fails at first reading
Today 11:00am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A bid to outlaw new coal mines was defeated at its first hurdle in Parliament this week, after a heated debate pitting climate imperatives against energy security and affordability.
Council buys dairy farm to help clean up Lake Rotorua
Tue 21 Oct 2025
Bay of Plenty Regional Council has bought a 266-hectare dairy farm in the Lake Rotorua catchment and plans to retire it from production to reduce nitrogen entering the lake.
Emissions down slightly - Stats NZ
Today 11:00am
By Liz Kivi | Greenhouse gas emissions fell 1.5% in the June 2025 quarter, although the decline seems to reflect the economy continuing to contract rather than Aoteoroa inching towards decarbonisation goals.
NZ’s government wants tourism to drive economic growth – but how will it deal with aviation emissions?
Wed 22 Oct 2025
By Robert McLachlan, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University | Following a brief dip during the COVID pandemic, aviation is back in a growth phase.
Emails show forestry lobby fought Gisborne crackdown as slash clean-up drags on
26 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Sustainable land use advocates are accusing Eastland Wood Council of stonewalling efforts to tighten forestry rules, after correspondence between the group and the local council was released under the Official Information Act.
Govt to ease climate reporting thresholds, water down liability
Wed 22 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The rollback of climate change reporting requirements has produced a wave of relief in corporate New Zealand as managed investment funds and listed companies with annual revenue under $1 billion are exempted.
