New Zealand: Politics
Greens accuse Nats of breaking promises
23 Nov 2012
The National Government has broken two election promises it made to act on climate change, the Green Party says.
Pollution really, really scary, say our kids
23 Nov 2012
New Zealand children are worried about pollution, climate change and scary animals, a new report shows.
We've got it wrong, says market expert
16 Nov 2012
Market instruments are the only viable way of reducing the world’s greenhouse gas emissions – but the New Zealand scheme is currently failing, an international expert says.
Boost regional bio-industry, says report
16 Nov 2012
Fostering industries such as biofuels from woody biomass and investing in technologies such as smart grids could give New Zealand’s regional economies a real boost, says one of the authors of a new report on green growth.
Stern: NZ a land of opportunity
16 Nov 2012
Lord Stern, the British economist who made the business world sit up and take notice of climate change, says that shifting to a green economy will protect New Zealand’s current competitive advantage and clean, green brand.
We'd sign with Kyoto, promises Labour
16 Nov 2012
A Labour Government would sign up to the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.
Joyce denies environment comment
16 Nov 2012
Economic Development Minister and Associate Finance Minister Steven Joyce is denying a claim he told business leaders that the public will accept environmental degradation if it comes with economic growth.
Bill dumps agriculture on backburner
9 Nov 2012
Agriculture is out of the Emissions Trading Scheme indefinitely.
National MP questions the science
9 Nov 2012
A Government MP who shouted “where’s the science?” during the debate on changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme this week says he’s no climate-change denier.
Forget today, think carbon 30 years out
2 Nov 2012
Today’s low carbon prices are not an incentive for investment in low-carbon technology, the Government has acknowledged.
ETS changes get through House ... just
26 Oct 2012
Controversial changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme passed their second reading in Parliament yesterday by the slimmest of majorities.
Price flop not a good look, admits Smith
26 Oct 2012
Former Climate Change Minister Nick Smith admits that low carbon prices are sending “weak” market signals to emitters and foresters.
Maori vow to fight for ETS rights
26 Oct 2012
Maori say they will continue to fight damaging changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme even if they are passed by Parliament.
ETS protesters bring out the chainsaws
26 Oct 2012
Youth organisation Generation Zero held a mock chainsaw massacre outside Parliament yesterday to protest about changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme going through the House.
Govt has numbers to pass ETS changes
19 Oct 2012
The Government has the numbers it needs to pass controversial changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Groser: We'll check out status of units
19 Oct 2012
The Government says it will look at the eligibility of some international units under New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme.
ETS 'disappointing and costly' decision
19 Oct 2012
The failure to fix the Emissions Trading Scheme Amendment Bill before its third reading is a disappointing and costly decision, says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Jan Wright.
A case of too many CERs
19 Oct 2012
CERs were sold off overnight, falling 15 cents on concerns that more issuance is pushing the number of CERs beyond the level the system needs, OMFinancial reports.
Survey shows how much we care about environment
12 Oct 2012
A new survey shows New Zealanders care about the environment even if the Government doesn’t, says Green Party conservation spokesperson Eugenie Sage.
ETS changes go under scrutiny
5 Oct 2012
Changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme are now being debated by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Select Committee.
Dick Smith’s recipe for a fantastic future without perpetual economic growth
5 Oct 2012
Australian entrepreneur DICK SMITH spoke to New Zealand business leaders in Queenstown recently about an alternative to the current economic model.
Think carrot ... not stick
28 Sep 2012
Carbon Match founder LIZZIE CHAMBERS says we need to think about how the carbon market can drive innovation - and artifically low carbon prices are not the answer.
Maori leaders want cheap credits blocked
21 Sep 2012
The influential Climate Change Iwi Leaders Group is pressuring the Government to cut the flow of cheap international carbon credits into New Zealand.
Is ETS a scheme or a scam, ask Greens
21 Sep 2012
New Zealand's emissions trading scheme could be renamed the emissions trading scam, Parliament has heard.
Foresters feel credits call, says Labour
21 Sep 2012
The National Government’s decision to not restrict cheap international carbon credits in order to secure the vote of ACT leader John Banks has enormous implications for the forestry sector, Labour’s Climate Change spokesperson Moana Mackey says.
Put that in writing, minister, says council head
14 Sep 2012
Sustainability Council chief Simon Terry is challenging Climate Change Minister Tim Groser to deny in writing that New Zealand faces a carbon deficit.
Committee begins to wade through ETS ideas
14 Sep 2012
Parliament’s finance and expenditure select committee next week will continue wading its way through hundreds of submissions on changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme.
ETS submission: Changes a costly mistake
14 Sep 2012
The Government’s planned changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme are a costly environmental mistake, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment says.
ETS submission: Make car tests mandatory
14 Sep 2012
The Government should introduce mandatory emissions testing of all vehicles as part of a suite of moves to cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions, the Motor Trade Association says.
ETS submission: Get real on power line trees
14 Sep 2012
Clearing trees to put up power lines should not invoke a carbon liability, the Electricity Networks Association says.
ETS submission: Clarify forest ownership
14 Sep 2012
The Emissions Trading Scheme is forcing forests out of the ownership of custodian trusts, a Parliamentary select committee has heard.
Businesses in north soak up ETS costs
14 Sep 2012
Northland businesses are absorbing the costs of the Emissions Trading Scheme rather than passing them on to customers, a new study shows.
Work goes on to link Tasman trading schemes
31 Aug 2012
Australia’s decision to link to the European Emissions Trading Scheme will not slow progress on linking to the New Zealand scheme, the Government says.
Public split as ETS changes face scrutiny
24 Aug 2012
Changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme have gone into Parliament as a new poll shows that New Zealanders are evenly split over whether we should even have a price on carbon.
ETS bill has October deadline
24 Aug 2012
The Government expects to have its changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme through the select committee and back into Parliament by October 17.
Most believe green is good for jobs
24 Aug 2012
Environmental protection is seen to promote economic growth and jobs, a new survey shows.
It's about balance, says science chief
24 Aug 2012
Balancing environmental issues with resource use and economic growth is the biggest issue New Zealand faces, our top scientist says.
Let's all be like Taranaki, says Joyce
24 Aug 2012
The Government is continuing its pressure on local authorities to give environmental consents to mining and big dairying operations.
Most Kiwis back a green revolution
17 Aug 2012
New Zealanders are willing to put their hands in their pockets to encourage clean industries and technologies.
People want more action on climate change
10 Aug 2012
New Zealanders want the Government and business to do more about climate change – but most of all we want other countries to do something.
Survey shows more New Zealanders go cool on climate change issues
3 Aug 2012
The number of New Zealanders who think climate change is an urgent and immediate problem has slumped, according to a new poll.
Academic diagnoses climate change fatigue
3 Aug 2012
A dramatic fall in the number of people who think climate change is an urgent problem is not surprising, given the current economic and political environment in New Zealand, says an environmental sociologist.
Business execs taking it seriously
3 Aug 2012
Business managers and executives are among the New Zealanders most concerned about climate change.
ETS impact report out today
3 Aug 2012
Latest figures on the impact of the Emissions Trading Scheme will be out today.
Dick Smith jolts Murdoch media
27 Jul 2012
Australian businessman Dick Smith has gone on the attack against what he says is bias in the Rupert Murdoch-owned media over climate change.
Greens: Why NZ was a failure at Rio
20 Jul 2012
New Zealand has failed to live up to the commitments to sustainable development it made 20 years ago at the Rio Earth Summit, the Green Party says.
Papers show support for credits cut
13 Jul 2012
Most people making submissions on changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme supported Government plans to restrict the use of international carbon credits in New Zealand, Cabinet papers show.
Minister's maths way out, says council
13 Jul 2012
The latest round of changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme will cost taxpayers $328.4 million to 2016, Climate Change Minister Tim Groser has told Cabinet.
NZ hydrogen regulation to catch up with the world
18 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The government has announced a regulatory reset for New Zealand’s emerging clean tech hydrogen sector.
State-owned farmer drives profit growth with emissions reductions
19 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Government-owned Landcorp, trading as Pāmu, is one-third of the way to meeting its 2031 emissions reduction targets, with five years left to run to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30.3% against 2021 emissions.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transport pollution was the biggest contributor to an increase in New Zealand’s consumption-based emissions in 2023, with emissions from household travel up 12%, and consumption-based emissions totalling 58.3 million tonnes – up 1.6% from the previous year.
NZ could become ‘dumping ground’ for dirty vehicles: Commissioner
16 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Simon Upton, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, has warned the Government that its changes to the clean car standard could turn the country into a dumping ground for high emitting cars, making future emissions budgets harder to achieve.
Uncertainty eroding confidence in forestry sector
5 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Warnings are mounting that tree planting is set to plunge to “very close to zero”, as new Ministry for Primary Industries data shows ETS registration applications falling sharply as confidence in forestry declines.
Investors must support positive climate-tech
28 Nov 2025
OPINION: We need better leadership than the current ‘climate opportunism’ that is rife in the Beehive, and we need to back a marketplace that will make it happen, writes Rob Campbell.
