New Zealand: Politics
Garrett: Don't tinker with your new ETS law
12 Sep 2008
Australian Environment Minister Peter Garrett has warned New Zealand not to “go tinkering” with its new emissions trading law.
Businesses, wake up and smell the carbon
11 Sep 2008
New Zealand business woke up to a new reality today – it’s time to start counting carbon.
New world of emissions - what happens and when
11 Sep 2008
The mandatory reporting period for pre-1990 forests starts this year, with ETS obligations and entitlements accruing all year, and a surrender date of December 31 next year.
ETS leaves treaty settlements in doubt, says Harawira
11 Sep 2008
The validity of final Treaty of Waitangi settlements is in doubt in the wake of the passing of the emissions trading scheme, says the Maori Party.
REACTION: Good work on ETS, now get on with it, says business council
11 Sep 2008
Business leaders are welcoming the passage of emissions trading law as an essential step for New Zealand to preserve its exporting and tourism future.
Parker hails party leaders for 'great victory' on climate change bill
9 Sep 2008
Prime Minister Helen Clark, Finance Minister Michael Cullen and Agriculture Minister Jim Anderton have played pivotal parts in getting New Zealand’s emissions trading scheme passed, Climate Change Minister David Parker says.
National promises ETS by 2010 - but fails to answer question on cap
9 Sep 2008
National is promising to have an emissions trading scheme in force by 2010.
Labour wants to switch climate change focus to making money
5 Sep 2008
The Government is gearing up to switch its climate change focus from costing money to making money.
Garnaut delivers carbon targets today
5 Sep 2008
Australians will find out today what their carbon reduction targets are likely to be.
Iwi leaders doubt ETS forest land dispute will spread
5 Sep 2008
The Iwi Leadership Group is playing down concerns that the Government’s emissions trading scheme will lead to a raft of other iwi revisting their treaty settlements.
Tribal group challenges Parker's ETS support claim
5 Sep 2008
A major iwi is challenging Climate Change Minister David Parker’s claim that most tribes support the emissions trading bill.
National’s ETS changes: devilish cost in the detail
5 Sep 2008
ANALYSIS - The further glimpses of National Party emissions trading policy “detail” in the past few days show it might take some risks with the taxpayers’ purse.
Rare glimpse of National's post-election ETS policy detail
5 Sep 2008
National may have pointed to its possible course on emissions trading law if it forms the government after this year’s election.
Dunne's eggs crack
5 Sep 2008
United Future leader Peter Dunne has called for household assistance to cover emissions charges.
Last-minute Ngai Tahu treaty claim unlikely to stall ETS
2 Sep 2008
A late Treaty of Waitangi claim by Ngai Tahu, which says the emissions trading scheme could cost it tens of millions of dollars, is unlikely to stop the scheme becoming law.
Fishing industry questions new ETS free-units allocation
2 Sep 2008
The fishing sector is relieved that amendments to the Government’s climate change legislation include a major concession to the industry.
Maori Party against ETS bill: concern over subsidies, impacts on Maori land owners
2 Sep 2008
The Maori Party says in EST bill debate that it is "opposed to the concept of paying the polluters; of rewarding the corporate lobbyists with huge exemptions; and the very nature of trading rather than reducing emissions."
Parliament to have power over free credits
29 Aug 2008
Parliament is to have the power to reject allocation plans for free carbon credits – a move which could expose heavy emitters to having to purchase 100 per cent of their credits at times.
Emissions scheme passes second reading
29 Aug 2008
The ETS bill has passed its second reading and will go into committee stages on Tuesday.
ETS agreement blocks trade in 'black' hot-air credits
29 Aug 2008
AAU credits will not be automatically redeemable under the New Zealand emissions trading scheme.
Big businesses might flee NZ, warn heavy emitters
29 Aug 2008
New Zealand’s heavy emitters say that sharing some of their free carbon credits with smaller emitters could see companies leave the country.
Council sees reluctance to accept change to water usage system
29 Aug 2008
New Zealand’s current water allocation system plays favourites for some and they are unlikely to want it to change, says Business Council for Sustainable Development chief Peter Neilson.
ETS DEALS: What the Greens and NZ First got changed
29 Aug 2008
Changes to the ETS bill, negotiated in return for the support of the Green and New Zealand First parties, are:
BREAKING NEWS: ETS bill has the numbers
27 Aug 2008
The Government has got the numbers to pass the emissions trading scheme.
ETS ball now in Winston's court
26 Aug 2008
All eyes are now on New Zealand First as the country waits to see whether the Government has the numbers to get its emissions trading scheme passed before the election.
Greens will support the ETS
26 Aug 2008
The Green Party is supporting the emissions trading scheme, bringing the Government within five votes of getting the bill passed.
REACTION: Greenpeace welcomes Greens' decision
26 Aug 2008
Greenpeace has welcomed the Green's support for the emissions trading scheme (ETS), saying the party has secured some positive measures.
Heavy emitters stand to lose credits under deal with Greens
26 Aug 2008
New Zealand’s heaviest emitters of greenhouse gases will have to relinquish some of their free carbon credits to smaller companies under a deal won by the Green Party.
Queenstown man heads for court to try to block ETS
26 Aug 2008
A Queenstown businessman is taking the Government to the High Court in a bid to prevent the passing of the Emissions Trading Scheme.
ETS CRUNCH TIME: Shaky, but Greens pact might swing the deal
22 Aug 2008
It’s crunch time for the emissions trading scheme, but concessions the Green Party has won on the allocation of free units might be enough to swing the deal for the Government.
Pass the ETS, greens, unions and business tell politicians
22 Aug 2008
Environmentalists, unions and business are urging politicians to pass the emissions trading scheme.
Extra sitting time will give time for ETS bill to be passed
22 Aug 2008
The Government is confident that there is enough time left in which to pass the emissions trading bill - if it can get the support.
English outlines National's climate-change policies
22 Aug 2008
National Party leader Bill English used this week's trans-Tasman Change and Business Conference to outline his party's position on climate change.
NZ might have to take Pacific climate-change refugees
19 Aug 2008
New Zealand might have to open its doors and pockets to Pacific Islands peoples forced to leave their homelands because of climate change, a senior NGO official is warning.
National’s energy policy hooks the fishing crowd
19 Aug 2008
Anglers who say coal is a better option than hydro power think they might have found an ally in the National Party.
We'll have an ETS in nine months, vows National
15 Aug 2008
The National Party says it will have an emissions trading scheme in place within nine months of becoming government – three months later than it has said earlier.
Key’s energy message: We’ll give you all the electricity you need
15 Aug 2008
Those who want to grow need to know they have the power supply necessary to do so – that’s the key message at the heart of the National Party’s energy policy released yesterday by leader John Key and energy spokesman Gerry Brownlee.
ANALYSIS: Nats' policy shop - an open back door?
15 Aug 2008
The National Party’s energy policy hits some fairly predictable expected notes – reform the Resource Management Act (RMA), make it easier for new power stations to be built, promote oil and gas exploration, get rid of unnecessary bureaucracy ... but it’s some of the finer detail (and in many cases lack of it) that makes the policy interesting.
ETS equals economic upheaval, say heavy emitters
15 Aug 2008
Heavy emitters are warning that the New Zealand economy is in for a roller-coaster ride if the emissions trading scheme comes into force.
NZ in the box seat on emissions trading, says economist
12 Aug 2008
New Zealand risks squandering the huge natural advantages it will have in a carbon economy if it delays bringing in an emissions trading scheme, warns Karo Group principal Simon Young.
NZ carbon register tests world-wide connections
8 Aug 2008
New Zealand’s fledgling carbon registry has taken part in trials to test international registry connections.
Time getting tight for Government's ETS bill
5 Aug 2008
The Government is going down to the wire on its emissions trading scheme.
BP: What it says over there - and here
1 Aug 2008
The head of BP says a cap and trade system is the best way of creating conditions to reduce emissions.
Words in the House over ETS support talks
1 Aug 2008
So how are the support talks going to get votes to pass the emissions trading bill?
BREAKING NEWS: Government calls for tough CDM regime
29 Jul 2008
New Zealand is calling for tougher rules around carbon credits and investments, saying that governments should be required to monitor and enforce minimum requirements for clean development mechanisms.
NZ ranks high among countries at least risk from climate change
29 Jul 2008
New Zealand is ranked seventh among countries at least risk from the impacts of climate change, according to a new report.
Public wants help with ETS costs, survey shows
22 Jul 2008
Overwhelming public support for help for households in coping with the costs of an emissions trading scheme could provide the impetus to get the scheme passed before the election.
In time, Australia and NZ ETS plans can work together, say governments
18 Jul 2008
Australia and New Zealand have developed different emissions trading schemes because their economies are different, but will bring the schemes together over time. That’s the message from Wellington and Canberra this week as the governments of both countries push ahead with plans for emissions trading regimes as key planks of their climate change strategies.
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
Mon 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?
Emissions Trading Scheme needs deep reform - commissioner
Fri 11 Jul 2025
The government’s attempt to limit forestry conversions on rural land is unlikely to lead to meaningful change, according to the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
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.
