New Zealand: Politics
Include farming in ETS, says former climate envoy
3 Feb 2017
Our former climate ambassador says that agriculture should be brought into the Emissions Trading Scheme – even if it is treated differently.
Linking carbon market would be a clever move
1 Feb 2017
New Zealand could cut the cost of meeting its international emissions reductions targets by linking its carbon market to emerging markets in Asia.
Deadline looms for say on energy strategy
25 Jan 2017
Anyone with a view on how New Zealand should manage energy production and use has just under two weeks left to have a say.
MORGAN'S MESSAGE: You pollute, you pay
24 Jan 2017
POLLUTERS will pay under Gareth Morgan’s TOP party. And it will be good for business, he says.
Officials eye impact of carbon exposure on investments
20 Dec 2016
Government officials are talking about the potential impact of carbon exposure on investments.
New ways are Labour's way, says Little
19 Dec 2016
Labour Party leader Andrew Little says he’s backing the low-carbon economy as the future for New Zealand.
Bennett stands alone in climate change portfolio
19 Dec 2016
The climate portfolio is now held by the deputy prime minister – the highest ranking it has ever had in New Zealand.
Earthquake delays emissions inventory
14 Dec 2016
Last month’s 7.8 earthquake will delay the publication of New Zealand’s next Greenhouse Gas Inventory.
Greens' bill calls for sustainability reporting
12 Dec 2016
A proposal to make the Government report on environmental and social progress alongside economic performance is to go before Parliament.
ZERO EMISSIONS: Study will show us how to do it
9 Dec 2016
An international economist is in New Zealand preparing a report on how the country can cut all greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
NZX drags chain on sustainability standards
6 Dec 2016
Nearly two dozen more stock exchanges are bringing in sustainability reporting standards – but NZX is not one of them.
Climate watchdog welcomes Treasury decision
2 Dec 2016
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Jan Wright is welcoming the news that Treasury is talking about the possible impacts on New Zealand of sea-level rise.
Wise Responders welcome Treasury's reaction to risk
30 Nov 2016
A group of eminent New Zealanders who petitioned Parliament to order a risk assessment of the impacts of climate change is welcoming Treasury’s apparent support for at least part of the idea.
Public wants to know green business credentials
28 Nov 2016
Strutting environmental credentials is paying off for businesses, as climate change rises rapidly as an issue in the minds of the public.
NZ goes shopping for Paris pact carbon credits
25 Nov 2016
New Zealand has started talking to countries about supplying carbon credits to help to meet its Paris Agreement emissions reduction pledge.
Nick Smith wants to work with the neighbours
25 Nov 2016
Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith is talking to his new Australian counterpart about aligning environmental regulation.
Forget Trump, global climate action is on the move
24 Nov 2016
International momentum for action on climate change is building, despite the United States electing Donald Trump president, says New Zealand’s climate change ambassador.
Bennett's new climate think-tank has work deadline
23 Nov 2016
A first report on how New Zealand can adapt to climate change – including environmentally sustainable economic growth - should be with the Government by May.
CLIMATE CLASS: We're ranked in the bottom five
22 Nov 2016
A new international survey ranks New Zealand as one of the five worst-performing countries when it comes to climate policy – alongside Spain, Japan, Turkey and the Ukraine.
It's going well, says PM, as we pick up another fossil award
18 Nov 2016
The Prime Minister says the Emissions Trading Scheme is operating “pretty well”.
Key will talk climate change with Trump
18 Nov 2016
Climate change will be one of the first subjects New Zealand raises with US President-elect Donald Trump, the Prime Minister says.
NZ eyes buying 80% international credits to meet target
17 Nov 2016
New Zealand might buy international carbon credits to meet 80 per cent of its Paris Agreement emissions reduction commitment, a Government paper shows.
Treasury eyes action on cost of rising seas
15 Nov 2016
Treasury is looking at setting up a working party into how much climate change-induced sea-level rise will cost the country – even if its minister doesn’t think it’s a good idea.
DODGY CREDITS: What does Treasury really think?
15 Nov 2016
Treasury’s opinion on whether New Zealand should retire more carbon credits to make up for the “dodgy” units it surrendered to meet it first emissions reduction pledge remains tantalisingly out of sight.
KYOTO QUERY: Is NZ carbon units stand legal?
11 Nov 2016
New Zealand’s legal ability to use carried-over Kyoto carbon units to meet its 2020 emissions reduction target is being questioned.
CARBON COFFERS: $100,000 offsets VIP air travel
9 Nov 2016
Taxpayers are paying $25 a tonne to offset the climate impact of air travel by Cabinet ministers and their staff.
Government prepares for 2030 carbon price of $152
8 Nov 2016
The Government is pricing carbon into its forward projections at up to $152 a tonne in 2030.
Morgan's party will stand firm on climate
7 Nov 2016
Gareth Morgan’s new political party will have a strong focus on climate.
NZ wins praise for work in global carbon markets
4 Nov 2016
New Zealand is showing “true leadership” on the development of global carbon markets, a new report says.
Rural capital gains tax could work, says report
31 Oct 2016
A capital gains tax on rural land and letting farmers sell future carbon credits when they plant trees could help New Zealand to cut agricultural emissions, a new paper says.
Border tax could cut emissions, says NZ economist
21 Oct 2016
The US, China and the European Union should bring in border taxes on carbon emissions contained in imported products not already taxed in their countries of origin, according to a former New Zealand cabinet minister.
Millions worth of free credits sit in private accounts
20 Oct 2016
Non-forestry carbon credits worth more than $350 million – many of them given by taxpayers to large industrial emitters – are sitting in private carbon accounts.
NO WORRIES: Science will fix emissions, says PM
20 Oct 2016
PRIME MINISTER John Key says New Zealand can cut greenhouse gas emissions while increasing agricultural production, despite advice to the contrary.
Farm emissions report gets nods of approval
20 Oct 2016
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Jan Wright’s report on agricultural greenhouse gas emissions is being well received.
WATCHDOG WISHLIST: How we can ease farm emissions
19 Oct 2016
Vast increases in native and exotic forests, bringing nitrogen fertiliser and some large farms into the Emissions Trading Scheme, and fast-tracking development of a methane vaccine.
Watchdog's farm emissions report out later today
19 Oct 2016
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Jan Wright’s long-awaited report on agricultural greenhouse gas emissions will be released today.
Paris promises could cost country $70 billion
18 Oct 2016
MEETING New Zealand’s Paris pledge could cost more than $70 billion and see carbon hit $300 a tonne if the country doesn’t have access to international carbon markets.
Do we need an independent climate body?
14 Oct 2016
Should New Zealand follow the UK model of an independent, statutory climate committee?
We were talking about climate change and coal over a century ago
14 Oct 2016
New Zealanders were warned about the climate-changing impacts of burning coal at least 104 years ago. This item was published on page 7 in the Rodney and Otamatea Times, Waitemata and Kaipara Gazette on August 14, 1912.
Pressure builds for action to curb agricultural emissions
13 Oct 2016
Momentum is building over the prospect of New Zealand splitting agricultural gases out of the Emissions Trading Scheme - including a separate tax on the use of fertiliser.
Minister hints at setting minimum carbon price
12 Oct 2016
New Zealand could impose a minimum price on carbon.
Bennett in no rush to surrender extra credits
11 Oct 2016
The Government will not surrender extra carbon credits to cover the environmentally worthless credits New Zealand used to meet its first emissions reduction target – at least not yet.
Govt knew use of hot-air credits would draw fire
10 Oct 2016
The Government was warned last year that New Zealand could face criticism for using hot-air credits to meet its 2020 emissions reduction target, documents show.
Businesses plead for more ETS information
6 Oct 2016
The Government should be providing more information on the workings of the Emissions Trading Scheme – including carbon price forecasts and trading data, say participants in the scheme.
PM's adviser has swing at climate policymakers
4 Oct 2016
The Prime Minister’s science adviser has taken a swipe at policymakers’ reluctance to take action in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence on issues like climate change and obesity.
Rising emissions mean NZ will miss Paris targets
29 Sep 2016
New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions are set to double between 1990 and 2030 – and even with a carbon price of $50 a tonne, we could still be short of our Paris Agreement pledge by 143 million tonnes.
Failing RMA needs better tools, says environment report
29 Sep 2016
Greater use of market instruments could be good for the environment, says a new report on the Resource Management Act.
Govt learns we can't cut emissions and sell more milk
28 Sep 2016
The Government knows its economic strategy of increasing agricultural exports cannot go on if New Zealand is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a confidential paper shows.
Voluntary actions have role, says carbon certifier
27 Sep 2016
Voluntary carbon credits can help to meet New Zealand’s Paris Agreement target, Parliament has been told.
US students pressure Auckland to divest
26 Sep 2016
Auckland University is now under pressure from students at US university Yale to get out of fossil-fuel investments.
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.
