New Zealand: Politics
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.
OUR SUSTAINABLE FUTURE: Labour lays it on the line
23 Mar 2016
Regional clusters, an overhaul of the country’s science system, and encouraging social enterprises could be part of a Labour government’s drive to develop clean-tech, sustainable jobs.
Carbon creeps up as minister talks ETS changes
17 Mar 2016
Carbon has gone to $11 on the back of Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett’s latest comments on carbon prices.
Protect your natural capital, urges Porritt
17 Mar 2016
New Zealand’s tourism industry will be severely damaged if the country continues to fail to live up to its 100% Pure marketing, says Air New Zealand’s sustainability panel chair Sir Jonathan Porritt.
Air New Zealand eyes iwi land to offset carbon emissions
16 Mar 2016
Air New Zealand - the country's single largest user of fossil fuels - plans to use carbon credits from Maori-owned land to help to meet its carbon emssions liabilities
UN goals need climate-change action now
16 Mar 2016
Failing to take action on climate change will make it harder to meet the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, a new report says.
Why Conservation officers feel left out of RMA
15 Mar 2016
The Department of Conservation could be cut out of some planning applications that could affect wildlife or conservation land, documents released under the Official Information Act say.
ETS needs a price floor, says environment watchdog
11 Mar 2016
The Emissions Trading Scheme price cap should stay – but it should be balanced by a price floor, says Environment Commissioner Jan Wright.
Give farmers a reason to join ETS, says academic
11 Mar 2016
Agriculture could do a lot to cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions if it had an incentive to, a forestry expert says.
Customers want clean transport, says KiwiRail
10 Mar 2016
The Emissions Trading Scheme should be strengthened to help to shift freight on to more climate-friendly forms of transport, KiwiRail says.
Clean, green report card shows we're woeful
9 Mar 2016
Clean, green New Zealand has one of the worst records in the world when it comes to the impact of agriculture on the environment, a new report shows.
How to make an ETS, Kiwi-style ... or not
9 Mar 2016
New Zealand’s pioneering experience in building an emissions trading scheme is the basis for a new World Bank guide to designing an ETS.
Scrap carbon subsidies, says our worst emitter
7 Mar 2016
The country’s single largest generator of greenhouse gas emissions says carbon subsidies should be scrapped so the market can to do its work.
Genesis explains wholesale price increases
7 Mar 2016
Increasing the price of carbon to $25 a tonne would push wholesale electricity rates up by $4.50 a megawatt hour, says Genesis Energy.
ETS overhaul not enough, says climate academic
4 Mar 2016
The Government’s overhaul of the Emissions Trading Scheme won’t be enough to get New Zealand across the line on the Paris Agreement, a new report shows.
Investors warn NZ of carbon over-protectionism
2 Mar 2016
An organisation representing $1 trillion of investments is warning the New Zealand Government against the dangers of over-protectionism when it comes to carbon pricing.
Quitting Kyoto might cost us, new minister hears
2 Mar 2016
Not signing up to the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol might cost New Zealand a front seat in the development of international carbon markets, it has been revealed.
The NZEUR is dead, long live the NZETR
2 Mar 2016
New Zealand is getting a new, $12 million emissions registry.
$7.29m ... that's what the ETS costs to run
2 Mar 2016
The Emissions Trading Scheme costs $7.29 million a year to administer.
How ministers rejected carbon price floor
29 Feb 2016
Cabinet ministers discussed and rejected introducing a price floor for carbon, briefing papers show.
Watch ag emissions, Treasury tells Government
29 Feb 2016
Treasury officials have told the Government that it should be investigating just how well its strategies to reduce New Zealand’s agricultural emissions are working – even though agriculture has specifically been excluded from the current review of the Emissions Trading Scheme.
ETS uncertainty is a worry, says Meridian
26 Feb 2016
Uncertainty over the Emissions Trading Scheme is affecting the way Meridian Energy does business.
NZ and China best friends under carbon pact
25 Feb 2016
New Zealand and China are working together closely on carbon trading, after signing a bilateral agreement on carbon markets.
Z Energy wishlist: Everybody must be in ETS
25 Feb 2016
Fuel retailer Z Energy wants every sector in the Emissions Trading Scheme, a realistic price on carbon, political stability and an end to carbon subsidies.
Beehive shows signs of hearing business call
24 Feb 2016
The Government might be about to open the door more widely for business and other groups to have a bigger say in climate change policy.
ETS key is clear direction, say officials
23 Feb 2016
Officials have told new Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett that if the Emissions Trading Scheme is going to work it must have a clear, long-term direction.
New minister pushes for carbon price rise
22 Feb 2016
Carbon prices must rise, says new Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett.
NZ to promote international markets idea at UN
22 Feb 2016
A push by New Zealand to develop credible international carbon markets will take a step forward when United Nations climate change negotiators meet in May.
Late flurry lifts ETS submissions
22 Feb 2016
A last-minute flurry has seen submissions flooding in to the Emissions Trading Scheme review.
Why ETS examination should take the long view
22 Feb 2016
Motu Economic and Public Policy Research Trust senior fellow SUZI KERR answers the key question posed in the Emissions Trading Scheme Review – should the carbon price cap and the one-for-two provisional measures be scrapped?
ETS ... we're hitting the target but missing the point
22 Feb 2016
Ministry for the Environment officials have been blunt about the Emissions Trading Scheme’s impact to date: “Research for this evaluation, and evidence from the interviews, found no sector other than forestry made emissions reductions over the Kyoto Protocol Commitment Period One (2008-12) that were directly caused by NZ ETS obligations.”
Liquidity will return when prices push up again
16 Feb 2016
Spot NZUs closed yesterday at $9.25. OMFinancial reports:
Fund managers could face climate backlash
15 Feb 2016
New Zealand fund managers who fail to take the risks associated with climate change into account when making investments face a real possibility of legal action, says Bell Gully partner and climate change specialist Simon Watt.
We're looking for friends in the carbon market
15 Feb 2016
New Zealand is once again actively pursuing linkages with other carbon markets.
MPs back cross-party consensus
15 Feb 2016
Twenty New Zealand MPs from six parties have joined an international organisation aiming for cross-party consensus on climate change policy.
Govt redirects energy innovation funding to solar on schools
Today 12:15pm
By Liz Kivi | Schools will save money, have greater energy security, and reduce carbon emissions through a $30 million Government initiative to put solar panels on up to 500 schools across New Zealand, say Energy Minister Simeon Brown and Education Minister Erica Stanford.
Greens condemn planned coal mine next to protected wetland
4 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Green Party says a new plan for a coal mine and fertiliser plant next to an internationally significant wetland is “ecological vandalism and climate denial.”
Carbon removal plans falling billions of tonnes short, experts warn
Today 12:15pm
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand needs to look beyond forestry and rapidly expand other forms of carbon removal to help meet global climate goals, according to a major international report.
Rotorua extends diesel bus contract after NZTA declines extra funding
25 May 2026
By Mathew Nash, Local Democracy Reporter | Rotorua is stuck with its diesel-powered public buses after a funding snag played a part in setting back plans for zero-emission buses by years.
Govt ramps up war on wilding pines with $79m boost
25 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government is ramping up efforts to contain the spread of wilding pines with a $79 million funding boost aimed at protecting farmland, biodiversity hotspots, tourism landscapes and water catchments across New Zealand.
Govt’s LNG plan puts trade deals at risk, lawyers warn
26 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | Lawyers for Climate Action are warning that the government’s plans for an LNG import terminal and to subsidise gas fields are in breach of New Zealand’s free trade agreements with the UK and the EU.
