New Zealand: Politics
FAIR GO: What to make of our emissions targets
11 May 2016
New Zealand’s post-2020 emissions reduction target is fair - if you don’t expect rich countries to bear the brunt of fixing the climate change problems they’ve caused, a new government paper shows.
How a global carbon price will bring emissions down
11 May 2016
International carbon trading and a single global carbon price will drive deeper emissions cuts than those promised by countries under the Paris Agreement, a new report says.
Bloomberg task force extends deadline
11 May 2016
The Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures is extending its deadline for consultation.
CREDITS CRUNCH: We'll need millions of international units
5 May 2016
New Zealand is likely to need up to 220 million international credits to meet its 2030 emissions reduction target because even a domestic carbon price of $300 a tonne is unlikely to drive enough domestic emissions cuts, the Government says.
Make ETS like a market, says our biggest emitter
3 May 2016
New Zealand’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases says that carbon trading needs to be automated and standardised.
Busy Bennett draws up climate to-do list
3 May 2016
Higher carbon prices, scrapping the one-for-two, and a detailed plan to decarbonise the New Zealand economy are on Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett’s to-do list.
Government might not carry over units
3 May 2016
The Government might not carry any carbon units over after 2020.
Run carbon prices like the dollar, says academic
2 May 2016
Carbon prices should be managed like the Reserve Bank manages the value of the New Zealand dollar, a submission on the Emissions Trading Scheme is recommending.
Morganites want moratorium on free credits
2 May 2016
A think-tank which has strongly criticised New Zealand’s use of hot-air credits is now calling for a one-year moratorium on the allocation of free credits to trade-exposed heavy emitters.
Officials eye pile of ETS submissions
2 May 2016
Government officials are today working their way through a large stack of submissions on the technical aspects of the Emissions Trading Scheme.
CLIMATE CRISIS: Why English must act on costs
29 Apr 2016
Finance Minister Bill English must investigate the fiscal implications of climate change, says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
Watchdog wants answers to solar questions
29 Apr 2016
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment is investigating whether the uptake of solar panels really will cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gases.
Fewer car parks, greener cities, says commissioner
29 Apr 2016
Getting rid of requirements for minimum numbers of car parks with apartment developments could be one practical step toward greening New Zealand’s cities, says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
Deadline nears for Stage 2 of ETS review
29 Apr 2016
Submissions on the second stage of the Emissions Trading Scheme review close tomorrow.
MEMO MINISTER: How to do it the Morgan Way
29 Apr 2016
The Morgan Foundation is keeping up the pressure on the Government over the use of hot-air carbon credits.
WINDFALL MILLIONS: Govt quiet on future of free credits
28 Apr 2016
The Government is being cagey over whether it will cancel millions of dollars worth of carbon units heavy emitters might be sitting on after using international carbon credits of dubious quality to meet their emissions liabilities.
We need an emissions cap, says business council
28 Apr 2016
New Zealand needs a cap on emissions and to include all sectors in the Emissions Trading Scheme, says the Sustainable Business Council.
Higher carbon prices will bring change, says report
27 Apr 2016
Higher carbon prices will kick-start many of the changes needed to decarbonise the New Zealand economy, a new report says.
CARBON CLUES: The Govt must tell us what it's doing
27 Apr 2016
A new report on decarbonising the New Zealand economy says the Government is failing to explain how it plans to do meet the country's emissions reductions targets.
Carbon budgeting big success, says UK expert
27 Apr 2016
Carbon budgeting and an independent statutory body that reports on the Government’s performance have been critical to the United Kingdom’s success in cutting greenhouse gases, says a visiting expert.
What we must change to get emissions under control
26 Apr 2016
A cross-party forum on climate change, efficient agriculture, and using revenue from auctioned carbon credits to stimulate innovation are some of the measures necessary for New Zealand to get to net-zero emissions, according to a paper to be released later today.
Why domestic carbon prices are hard to predict
26 Apr 2016
Uncertainty over supply and demand is making it impossible to predict domestic carbon prices, says a new analysis.
Bennett stays on course for higher carbon price
26 Apr 2016
Climate Change Minister Paula has again said that carbon prices need to be higher.
Paris Agreement delay and we could face lock-out
22 Apr 2016
New Zealand could be locked out of crucial discussions on the Paris Agreement rules around land use and access to international carbon markets if the new international climate treaty comes into force early, as now looks likely.
What NZ must to do under the climate treaty
22 Apr 2016
Tomorrow, New Zealand will sign the Paris Agreement on climate change.
ETS ADVICE: Supply more important than price
21 Apr 2016
Any carbon market controls in New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme should be based on supply, not price, says an international business organisation promoting markets to reduce climate change.
Dodgy units aside, we could make money from ETS credits
20 Apr 2016
Accusations that almost all the international units brought into the Emissions Trading Scheme are fraudulent are an exaggeration, says an expert who believes that the scheme could generate a nice international export in carbon credits.
YES WE CAN! Business leaders to make blueprint for our low-carbon future
20 Apr 2016
Some of the country’s largest businesses, lobby groups and organisations will meet in Wellington next month to draw up a blueprint for making New Zealand into a low-carbon economy.
Business backs stronger line on climate
20 Apr 2016
Business leaders say they hope this week’s signing of the Paris Agreement on climate change by New Zealand signals a stronger line on climate change action – with New Zealand reaching net-zero emissions not long after 2050.
WAKE UP! The nation must start taking action
19 Apr 2016
By editor ADELIA HALLETT | A climate change report released today by worried scientists should shake all New Zealanders, from the prime minister down, to their core.
Bennett to talk climate change with the big guns
19 Apr 2016
Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett will take part in the Major Economies Forum on Climate Change in the United States this week.
NZ international credits dealing is fraud, says report
18 Apr 2016
New Zealand’s determination to use carried-over international carbon credits to meet its 2020 emissions reduction target make it party to an international fraud, a new report says.
Michael Bloomberg needs your help
15 Apr 2016
The G20 taskforce drawing up guidelines for companies to disclose to investors their carbon exposure wants public input.
Top table invites us to chew over carbon market
14 Apr 2016
New Zealand is to join a select group of countries talking about developing a global carbon market.
TASK FORCE: Bennett going public to cut emissions
13 Apr 2016
The Government looks set to establish up a public task force to plan New Zealand’s transition to a low-carbon economy.
Adopting Paris Agreement could be a year away
13 Apr 2016
It could be year or more before New Zealand ratifies the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Planners getting the climate change message
13 Apr 2016
New Zealand’s planners are starting to get their heads around climate change.
Climate minister will sign us up to Paris pact
12 Apr 2016
New Zealand will sign the Paris Agreement in New York on April 22.
EXPOSED! Our man in Paris comes in from the cold
12 Apr 2016
It seems there was a would-be John le Carre lurking among New Zealand’s diplomatic corps at the Paris climate negotiations in December.
NZ runs global group setting up trading rules
11 Apr 2016
New Zealand is building a “club of countries” to set the rules for international carbon trading.
PARIS PACT: Will we or won't we join the party?
11 Apr 2016
It’s not yet clear whether New Zealand will be among the nations signing the Paris Agreement on climate change later this month.
INDEFENSIBLE! Scientists slam Key's climate change attitude
6 Apr 2016
Scientists are calling the Government’s lack of leadership on climate change indefensible, after Prime Minister John Key said that science would solve the problem.
Message to investment managers: Don't get stranded
6 Apr 2016
Sustainable investment is in danger of getting so bogged down in the detail that it loses sight of the epoch-shaping events happening around it, says business commentator Rod Oram.
GET WISE! We have a real carbon exposure risk
5 Apr 2016
New Zealand has a carbon exposure risk whether it likes it or not, says business commentator Rod Oram.
Depending on how you do the sums, we could be carbon neutral right now
5 Apr 2016
Restoration ecologist and carbon sequestration expert Dr NEIL MITCHELL expands on his claim that New Zealand should be using native forests to offset greenhouse gas emissions
Businesses don't get it, says Bloomberg group
4 Apr 2016
Disclosure of the risks companies face from climate change is fragmented and incomplete, the G20’s Taskforce on Climate-Related Disclosure says in its first report.
SEA-LEVEL WARNING: The Government won't listen
4 Apr 2016
New research suggesting that sea-level rise could be faster and more extreme than currently expected means that a task force to analyse the risk for New Zealand makes even more sense. So why isn’t the Government doing it?
You're gambling, Greens tell Government
1 Apr 2016
The Government is gambling with our future by not preparing now for rising seas which threaten up to $20 billion worth of New Zealand homes, the Green Party says.
Clean water our greatest challenge, says tourism industry
30 Mar 2016
The tourism industry has come out in support of the campaign to clean up the country’s rivers, saying the clean-and-green image is too important to risk.
Labour vows to set new rules around carbon risk
24 Mar 2016
Carbon risk disclosure would be compulsory under a Labour government, says finance spokesman Grant Robertson.
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?
‘Weaponised timber torpedoes’ – call for forestry changes after flooding
Today 10:00am
By Liz Kivi | A climate scientist is calling for changes to forestry practices, after the second ‘one-in-one-hundred-year’ climate-fuelled flash flood to hit the top of the South Island in two weeks unleashed a torrent of pine forest waste, wiping out homes and a campground.
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.
