New Zealand: Politics
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.
Carbon price fall springs $100m surprise
7 Apr 2017
A fall in the price of carbon has left the Government with a smaller-than-expected liability on its books.
RMA changes get through Parliament - just
7 Apr 2017
The Government’s changes to the Resource Management Act scraped through Parliament last night.
Politicians go face-to-face with environment facts
6 Apr 2017
The state of New Zealand’s environment is on the agenda for the country’s politicians today.
Students put divestment pressure on Auckland uni
5 Apr 2017
Auckland University’s refusal to divest from fossil-fuel investments is making it the target of student action again.
Beehive busy with changes to RMA
5 Apr 2017
Debate on changes to the Resource Management Act will continue in Parliament today.
Govt's green-growth plans won't cut it, warns OECD
4 Apr 2017
The Government’s plans to grow agricultural exports and tourism will not help to decarbonise New Zealand’s economy and could hinder foreign investment, says the OECD.
SIMON UPTON: Credits, caps and cross-party deals
3 Apr 2017
The man likely to be the next Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment says there might not be enough international carbon credits available to meet New Zealand’s Paris Agreement targets.
Officials have mid-year date with ETS changes
30 Mar 2017
Officials will report to the Government in the middle of the year on the next round of changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Upton favourite for Beehive climate watchdog post
29 Mar 2017
Former environment minister Simon Upton – who last week delivered a major report critical of New Zealand’s environmental performance – is likely to be the next Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
NZ and China shake on Asia-Pacific carbon market
28 Mar 2017
New Zealand and China are to work together on developing an Asia-Pacific carbon market, and will double-team over the way agriculture is treated in international climate negotiations.
Labour/Greens promise sustainability stand
24 Mar 2017
The Labour and Green parties have agreed to a set of budget responsibility rules that includes environmental and social sustainability as well as financial responsibility.
Toyota wants to get with the programme
24 Mar 2017
Toyota New Zealand wants to work with the Government on cutting New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement.
Govt MPs vote down 'good idea' sustainability bill
23 Mar 2017
A bill to include sustainability measures in public finance reporting has been voted down – despite Government MPs saying they supported the sentiment.
Minister hints at cross-party work on climate change
22 Mar 2017
New Zealand has received the strongest indication yet of cross-party agreement on climate change, with climate minister and deputy prime minister Paula Bennett saying she can work with a new far-reaching report on how the country can be carbon-neutral.
OECD REPORT: We need price on agricultural emissions
21 Mar 2017
The OECD says New Zealand needs to put a price on greenhouse gases from the agricultural sector.
NET-ZERO REPORT: Pastoral farming must change
21 Mar 2017
New Zealand cannot cut greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement and keep farming the way it is now.
Environment reports cast eye over NZ efforts
20 Mar 2017
Two major environmental reports and a new sustainability law are on the agenda this week.
Whanganui's new status huge call for the environment
16 Mar 2017
The Whanganui River has become entity in its own right – a move potentially of huge environmental significance.
THE DECOUPLING DELUSION: Rethinking growth and sustainability
16 Mar 2017
Our economy and society ultimately depend on natural resources: land, water, material (such as metals) and energy. But some scientists have recognised that there are hard limits to the amount of these resources we can use.
Private capital must play big part in climate adaptation
14 Mar 2017
Governments will need private capital to deal with the multi-billion-dollar challenges of adapting to climate change, says a report out today.
Morganists want new approach to controls on farming
10 Mar 2017
The Opportunities Party would put a cap on New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, get rid of the $25 carbon price cap and free credits for heavy emitters and bring some agricultural emissions into the Emissions Trading Scheme.
The Opportunities Party wants us carbon neutral by 2050
9 Mar 2017
Pressure is mounting for New Zealand to make deep emissions cuts by the second half of the century, despite the country’s official target being to only halve emissions by 2050.
Climate change climbs the party ranks
8 Mar 2017
Climate change has made it to the top echelons of New Zealand’s two major political parties.
Minister defends action on water standards
8 Mar 2017
Environmental debates in Parliament yesterday stayed with the issue of the moment – fresh water.
Environment law agents lack money to do their job
28 Feb 2017
Agencies charged with enforcing New Zealand’s environmental laws don’t have the money to do the job, and often have conflicted interests.
CLIMATE CASE: We need to know more ... and urgently
27 Feb 2017
New Zealand urgently needs to understand the likely impacts of climate change on the economy, environment and society, says a new government paper.
Treasury gives official nod to natural capital
24 Feb 2017
Treasury is, for the first time, including New Zealand’s natural capital in its long-term thinking – including the value of the country’s clean-green brand.
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.
Batteries and flexible electricity use could save NZ $20b by 2050
Fri 31 Jul 2026
By Oli Lewis | Rapid expansion of batteries and flexible electricity use could save energy users between $5.4 billion and $20.8b through to 2050, new modelling suggests.
Study outlines methane-cutting options for NZ livestock
21 Jul 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Breeding, feed and forage strategies could play a key role in reducing methane emissions from New Zealand's grazing livestock, with researchers concluding that a combination of approaches will be needed to achieve meaningful cuts.
'Terrible result': Emissions barely budged in 2024
5 Jun 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions were virtually unchanged in 2024, falling by 0.03%, despite the economy shrinking by ten times that amount during the same period, according to new data.
Rail revival key to reducing transport emissions: new strategy
Thu 30 Jul 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Future is Rail has launched an election manifesto setting out a national strategy for the incoming Government to rebuild New Zealand's passenger and freight rail network, with proposals ranging from overnight train services to nationwide electrification.
National deer management strategy urgently needed to halt 'catastrophe' for native forests
Mon 27 Jul 2026
Scientists are calling for an urgent national deer management strategy, with deer numbers now at unsustainable levels and decimating native forests.
NZ Steel closes in on first heat from electric arc furnace
Thu 30 Jul 2026
By Oli Lewis | The first truckloads of scrap steel are being delivered to New Zealand Steel as the company works through the final stages of a significant emissions reduction project.
