New Zealand: Politics
Why our cuts will be an embarrassment in Paris
8 Jul 2015
The 2030 emissions reduction target announced yesterday will damage New Zealand’s credibility at this year’s Paris climate talks, says the man who negotiated for us in Kyoto.
11% cut ... follow us down the path to catastrophe
8 Jul 2015
New Zealand will face droughts, floods, fires, social upheaval and catastrophic global economic damage if the world follows the country’s lead on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, says one of our leading climate experts.
We're still undecided on ETS, says minister
8 Jul 2015
The terms of reference for the review of the Emissions Trading Scheme have not yet been set, says Climate Change Minister Tim Groser.
NZ sets post 2030 target
7 Jul 2015
The Government has just announced the emissions reduction target New Zealand will take to international climate talks in Paris - 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.
Is our target ambitious, or just spin?
7 Jul 2015
Climate Change Minister Tim Groser is describing the new target as ambitious and a significant increase on the current target of five per cent below 1990 levels by 2020.
We need a plan to get there, says business
7 Jul 2015
Business groups say they want to know how the Government is going to make sure New Zealand achieves the 2030 emissions reduction target announced today.
Best brains tell the story ... but will the Government act?
6 Jul 2015
Will the Government order Treasury to prepare an analysis of the economic, environmental and social risks posed by climate change?
Business eyes local climate coalition roundtable
6 Jul 2015
New Zealand could get its own version of Australia’s business-driven climate change coalition, say the organisers of a climate change business conference scheduled for Auckland in October.
We could still be a carbon leader, says trader
6 Jul 2015
It’s not too late for New Zealand to become an international carbon trading hub, says pioneer carbon trader Nigel Brunel.
We should push climate case at UN, say Greens
6 Jul 2015
New Zealand should use its presidency of the United Nations Security Council to raise the issue of climate change as a security risk, the Green Party says.
Financial pain ahead, warn climate-conscious Kiwis
29 Jun 2015
Eminent New Zealanders who fear the country is on track for a climate change-induced financial crisis take their case to Parliament this week.
Forget the courts, we must get to the politicians
29 Jun 2015
A court case ordering the Dutch Government to slash greenhouse gas emissions is ground breaking – but unlikely to be replicated in New Zealand.
Submissions numbers baffle Beehive
29 Jun 2015
It is unclear just how many submissions the Government has received on New Zealand's post-2020 emissions reduction target.
ETS review remains on slow boil
29 Jun 2015
The Emissions Trading Scheme review is unlikely to start any time soon.
Business lobby presses for realistic 'carbon pathway'
15 Jun 2015
Buying carbon credits to meet New Zealand’s emissions reduction target is not sustainable, business is warning.
Leadership is what we need, say scientists
8 Jun 2015
New Zealand lacks the leadership to achieve the 40 per cent cut in greenhouse gas emissions it needs to make by 2030, the country’s top scientists are warning.
10,000 have their say on carbon emissions
8 Jun 2015
The Government has received more than 10,000 submissions on New Zealand’s post-2020 emissions reduction target.
Stranded assets not for us, declares minister
8 Jun 2015
Stranded fossil fuel assets are not a risk for New Zealand, the Government says.
Drop free carbon credits, says environment chief
8 Jun 2015
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment wants the Government to stop giving free carbon credits to high-intensity trade-exposed emitters, who, she says, could still be paying for just 5 per cent of their emissions by 2050.
Lobby group wants think tank to set emissions target
8 Jun 2015
An environmental lobby group is calling for a cross-sector working group on New Zealand’s post-2020 emissions reduction target.
Bonn talks take step forward - but it's only a small one
8 Jun 2015
The combined climate plans for the G7 and EU have made a small step toward the right track to hold warming to 2degC, but there is still a substantial emissions gap, the Climate Action Tracker model shows.
Treasury tells Government how to cut emissions
2 Jun 2015
Treasury has told the Government that if it wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions it should introduce a carbon price floor, get rid of the two-for-one provisions or cut the number of free carbon credits it gives to emitters.
We're handing big emitters $160m in free credits
2 Jun 2015
Taxpayers will give $160 million worth of free carbon credits to heavy emitters this year.
Our businesses don't get it, says new Greens leader
2 Jun 2015
Too many New Zealand companies just don’t get sustainable business, says the new Green Party co-leader.
Health impacts being ignored, say doctors
2 Jun 2015
The Government is ignoring the health impacts of climate change, doctors say.
Budget holds hint of carbon credit auctions
25 May 2015
The Government is developing the architecture to auction carbon credits.
In the new war of the worlds, the old world is losing
18 May 2015
The power of traditional companies is declining in the face of sustainable and techno companies, new research shows.
Storm shows we haven't got the message, say weather experts
18 May 2015
Reaction to last week’s Wellington floods shows that New Zealanders are not prepared for the impacts of climate change, scientists say.
Where's the clean-tech economy talk, Mr Little?
18 May 2015
Labour leader Andrew Little is blasting the Government for failing to diversify the economy, but he is still not talking about a low-carbon, clean-tech economy.
Why lack of leadership breeds lack of concern
18 May 2015
A lack of leadership on climate change is probably behind a drop in public concern over the issue, says a lecturer in science communication.
At last, Government reveals cost of gases reduction
11 May 2015
The Government has revealed how much it thinks cutting greenhouse gases might cost the country.
Public voice to be heard on NZ's 2030 emissions target
7 May 2015
The Government is calling for submissions on New Zealand’s post-2020 emissions reduction target.
Our best brains to take a look at climate change
4 May 2015
New Zealand’s leading scientists are putting their heads together to predict how climate change will affect New Zealanders.
Why we must remember our debt to the natural world
28 Apr 2015
New Zealand might fail to recognise just how economically dependent it is on the natural world until it’s too late, a new Government report warns.
Apparently, we're going to slash thousands of tonnes of emissions by 2020
28 Apr 2015
The Government expects the Emissions Trading Scheme to cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 10,000 kilotonnes in 2020.
Govt tells world: Here's how we're going to cut emissions
20 Apr 2015
New Zealand will use domestic emissions reductions, forestry carbon sinks, international credits and its CP1 surplus to meet its 2020 emissions reduction target, it has told the world.
NZ's fine on fossil-fuel subsidies, says Groser
20 Apr 2015
New Zealand has been given a clean bill-of-health on fossil-fuel subsidies, the Government says.
Treasury COO to be new voice for the environment
20 Apr 2015
New Zealand has a new Secretary for the Environment.
We could be heading for a multi-billion-dollar carbon hangover
13 Apr 2015
New Zealand’s “rugby, big cars and beer” culture could leave the country with an annual carbon hangover edging into the billions of dollars.
NZ city leaders lie low on new climate pact
13 Apr 2015
New Zealand cities are not among those signing up to a new compact on climate change.
NZ hangs back as countries commit to carbon cuts
7 Apr 2015
Russia did it. The United States did it. All the countries in the European Union have done it, as have Mexico, Norway, Switzerland and Latvia. Even oil-and-mineral-exporting Gabon, population 1.3 million, did it.
New environment reporting to sidestep gases
7 Apr 2015
The Government’s new environmental reporting regime will not include greenhouse gas emissions.
How the US’s post-2020 climate target could fit into a global deal
7 Apr 2015
The United States' formal submission this week of its intended post 2020 climate target raises several questions for this year’s global climate talks.
Worth reading ...
7 Apr 2015
Local Government New Zealand chief executive Malcolm Alexander tells MPs that some New Zealand communities are going to have to move as a result of climate change.
Worth listening to ...
7 Apr 2015
Can the world get richer for ever? A BBC report on whether continued economic growth is possible on a physically finite planet, and if it’s not, how should we be living?
We're watching carbon prices, says Government
30 Mar 2015
The Government says it is watching carbon prices creep higher.
Australia well short of meeting emissions target
30 Mar 2015
Australia’s flagship climate change scheme will buy the country just half of its 2020 emissions reduction target, a market watcher says.
Fossil-fuel investment risk not on our radar, says Treasury
23 Mar 2015
Fossil-fuel investment exposure might be worrying the Bank of England, but it has failed to cause any ripples at New Zealand’s Treasury.
NZ slow to commit to Paris emissions deadline
23 Mar 2015
New Zealand will not get its post-2020 emissions reduction target into the United Nations by the end of the month.
Carbon measure puts us among worst in the world
9 Mar 2015
New Zealand’s carbon intensity is going through the roof, despite Government claims to the contrary.
Bill to ban new coal mines fails at first reading
Fri 24 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A bid to outlaw new coal mines was defeated at its first hurdle in Parliament this week, after a heated debate pitting climate imperatives against energy security and affordability.
Council buys dairy farm to help clean up Lake Rotorua
Tue 21 Oct 2025
Bay of Plenty Regional Council has bought a 266-hectare dairy farm in the Lake Rotorua catchment and plans to retire it from production to reduce nitrogen entering the lake.
Emissions down slightly - Stats NZ
Fri 24 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Greenhouse gas emissions fell 1.5% in the June 2025 quarter, although the decline seems to reflect the economy continuing to contract rather than Aoteoroa inching towards decarbonisation goals.
NZ’s government wants tourism to drive economic growth – but how will it deal with aviation emissions?
Wed 22 Oct 2025
By Robert McLachlan, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University | Following a brief dip during the COVID pandemic, aviation is back in a growth phase.
Emails show forestry lobby fought Gisborne crackdown as slash clean-up drags on
26 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Sustainable land use advocates are accusing Eastland Wood Council of stonewalling efforts to tighten forestry rules, after correspondence between the group and the local council was released under the Official Information Act.
Govt to ease climate reporting thresholds, water down liability
Wed 22 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The rollback of climate change reporting requirements has produced a wave of relief in corporate New Zealand as managed investment funds and listed companies with annual revenue under $1 billion are exempted.
