New Zealand: Politics
Bennett talks 'range of issues' with China climate envoy
20 Feb 2017
New Zealand and China have held their first ministerial meeting under the bilateral carbon agreement.
Inaction means public could lose faith in climate leaders
17 Feb 2017
New Zealand’s “limited and largely ineffectual actions” on climate change risk undermining public confidence in our policy makers, say the authors of the latest Public Perceptions of the Environment report to be released today.
Greens toss bouquet to Bennett, but ...
17 Feb 2017
Climate minister and deputy prime minister Paula Bennett has received a bouquet for her action on climate change from an unexpected quarter – Green MP Kennedy Graham.
Treasury wants a word about carbon exposure
16 Feb 2017
A little of Treasury’s thinking on how to protect the economy from carbon exposure has been revealed – including a hint that it wants to talk to the business community.
University report slams Government energy policies
15 Feb 2017
The Government’s energy policies take a battering in new research from Otago University.
Forced divesting could be costly, warns Treasury
14 Feb 2017
TREASURY says that forcing government agencies to divest from unethical funds could be expensive.
Climate change research gets $2 million boost
14 Feb 2017
The Deep South National Science Challenge has announced funding totalling about $2 million for five new research projects to help New Zealanders to better understand their future climate.
Should we build on green spaces to ease housing crises?
10 Feb 2017
In Auckland, plans to build houses on the Pt England Reserve - home of endangered New Zealand dotterels - is highlighting the tension between housing people and nature. But it's not the only city grappling with the issue of building on its reserves.
Relying on foreign credits dangerous, say officials
9 Feb 2017
New Zealand cannot rely on international carbon credits to meet its emissions reductions targets after 2030, officials have told the Government, warning that credits could be expensive and in short supply.
We need an environment offsets market, says TOP
8 Feb 2017
New Zealand needs a strong market in environmental offsets, says Gareth Morgan’s The Opportunities Party.
Polyol levy plan attracts three submissions
7 Feb 2017
Three people have made submissions on Government plans to put a carbon charge on imported goods containing polyol.
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.
Profound shifts in our changing energy system – new data
Wed 27 Aug 2025
New Zealand’s energy system is undergoing a profound shift as falling gas production and a dry hydro year reshaped the electricity market in 2024, according to data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Energy in New Zealand 2025.
International scientists slam NZ govt's proposed approach to methane
13 Aug 2025
New Zealand's proposed approach to methane emissions has again been attacked by international climate scientists, with a new study saying the attempt to redefine climate target-setting by livestock-exporting countries undermines the transition to a sustainable and equitable food system
Marginal drop in last year's regional emissions
Wed 27 Aug 2025
Regional greenhouse gas emissions were down slightly last year, with a fall in gas supply leading to a big drop in Taranaki, but more coal burnt leading to higher emissions in Waikato, according to new figures from Stats NZ
Fund for low emissions transport winds up
31 Jul 2025
New Zealand’s Low Emission Transport Fund has officially wrapped up, ending a nine-year programme that put hundreds of millions of dollars towards accelerating the country’s shift to cleaner transport.
Certainty crucial to emissions cuts – Watts
20 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says that policy certainty is the Government’s primary lever for unlocking private capital and meeting climate targets, telling a carbon forestry conference that ETS settings are 'locked' through 2030.
Why climate strategy is now central to business success
Tue 26 Aug 2025
SPONSORED CONTENT: Ahead of next month’s Climate Change and Business Conference, New Zealand businesses are being urged to treat climate strategy not as a regulatory burden, but as a core driver of economic competitiveness.
