New Zealand: Politics
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.
Officials look at pricing of agricultural emissions
4 May 2017
Officials are investigating whether a price should be put on agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, despite the issue being specifically excluded from the current review of the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Government acts on decarbonising the economy
3 May 2017
The Productivity Commission is to investigate the cost of decarbonising New Zealand’s economy.
Student gives Auckland investment message
2 May 2017
Another Auckland University student has turned what might have been the biggest moment of her life to date – graduation – into a protest against the university’s investment in fossil fuels.
New study backs coastal property value warnings
1 May 2017
The Insurance Council’s prediction that climate change-induced rising sea levels will burst the property bubble has been backed by a new report.
FACE THE FACTS: The Government has done little
28 Apr 2017
Two major reports on climate change – one on the likely impacts on New Zealand, the other on ways the country can cut emissions – were released a year ago by the country’s top scientific body, the Royal Society. Energy expert RALPH SIMS, who chaired the report committee, reflects on progress.
Greens want to up carbon price and cut fossil fuels
20 Apr 2017
Higher carbon prices and a ban on new fossil-fuel electricity generation plants are the cornerstones of the Green Party’s plan to get New Zealand to 100 per cent renewable generation by 2030.
We're talking to Korea about carbon market links
18 Apr 2017
Talks to establish links between carbon markets in New Zealand and Korea are under way.
Bennett rules out farming and climate commission
18 Apr 2017
Climate minister Paula Bennett says carbon prices need to go higher, but she won’t be putting a price on agricultural emissions and she doesn’t think New Zealand needs a climate commission.
Upton gets job, but not everyone is pleased
18 Apr 2017
Simon Upton’s nomination to be the next Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has been confirmed by Parliament, but it wasn’t unanimous.
EDITORIAL: Today is D-day for the climate debate
13 Apr 2017
Today could see one of the most important debates Parliament has ever had – a special session on proposals to make New Zealand carbon-neutral by the second half of the century.
Coastal flooding advice out soon, says ministry
11 Apr 2017
New guidelines to help local government to cope with increased coastal flooding caused by climate change will be released soon, the government says.
Parliament under carbon-neutral pressure
10 Apr 2017
Proposals for a carbon-neutral New Zealand will go before Parliament this week, as the nation's youth start to apply political pressure over the world they will inherit.
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.
