New Zealand: Politics
Minister backs ACC on fossil fuel divestment progress
16 Jul 2021
Calls by activist groups for ACC to immediately halt all investments in fossil fuel companies are likely to fall on deaf ears, if the response from ACC Minister Carmel Sepuloni to a written question from Green MP Julie Anne Genter are anything to go by.
Politicians take to podcasting to tackle climate change
13 Jul 2021
In the first episode of his new podcast, the Backroom of Politics, National’s Gerry Brownlee accuses the Climate Change Commission of activism. In the second he’ll be interviewing the Commission’s chair Dr Rod Carr.
Limits could be placed on NZU stockpiles
9 Jul 2021
Participants in the NZ ETS could have limits set on the number NZUs they are holding and be required to disclose their stockpiles under proposals being considered by the Government.
Could halogen lightbulbs be next?
28 Jun 2021
With the Government announcement that single-use plastic packaging is to be phased out, could a British-style ban on halogen lightbulbs be next?
Calls for disclosure Bill to be widened
25 Jun 2021
In its current form the Financial Sector (Climate-related Disclosures and Other Matters) Amendment Bill would see the Ports of Napier required to disclose its climate risks but not the Ports of Otago, a select committee heard yesterday.
Carbon dividend would be “socially progressive”: Shaw
24 Jun 2021
Climate Change Minister James Shaw told this morning’s Environment Select Committee that using revenues from ETS auctions to pay a carbon dividend would be “socially progressive.”
Simon Upton’s spirited defence of a departure tax
6 May 2021
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton, gave a spirited defence of his proposal for a departure tax at today’s Environment Select Committee, despite the Government having ruled it out in the near term.
Ardern touts NZ's climate action at summit
23 Apr 2021
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern used her appearance at President Joe Biden’s virtual Leaders’ Summit on Climate Change to extol the virtues of New Zealand’s response to the climate crises.
Departure tax not on the cards
21 Apr 2021
The Government is not currently considering the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment's proposal for a departure tax.
Minister responds to climate criticism
20 Apr 2021
Climate Change Minister James Shaw says the Government is considering the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment's recommendations - which include a call for a departure tax.
Bill requires finance sector to disclose climate risks
13 Apr 2021
A Bill requiring the financial sector to disclose the impact of climate change on their business and explain how they manage climate-related risks has its first reading in Parliament this week.
Call for finance sector regulation
7 Apr 2021
New regulations requiring the financial sector to disclose the greenhouse gas emission of their investment portfolios are needed, the Sustainable Business Network says in its submission to the Climate Change Commission.
NZ Initiative: leave it to the ETS
6 Apr 2021
An NZU price of $50 is all that’s needed to deliver net-zero emissions by 2050, according to the NZ Initiative.
Be careful with price controls, says Z
31 Mar 2021
Fuel retailer Z Energy says the Climate Commission’s advice on raising the cost containment trigger price of NZUs risks participants stockpiling NZU, affecting liquidity.
Reserve Bank calls for Govt lead on green bonds
30 Mar 2021
Government intervention is likely to be needed to encourage greater investment in green bonds, the Reserve Bank says.
Big methane cut and free public transport needed, expert tells ClimCom
29 Mar 2021
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change author Bronwyn Hayward has told the Climate Change Commission its draft recommendations are not ambitious enough and larger cuts need to be made in biogenic methane emissions.
Contact Energy: Hands-off our Ohaaki
26 Mar 2021
Contact Energy wants all revenues from the Emissions Trading Scheme to be ring-fenced for decarbonisation projects.
MERIDIAN: EVs and low-carbon boilers are key
26 Mar 2021
Meridian Energy has come out in favour of a feebate scheme for electric vehicles and government intervention to speed up the conversion of fossil-fuel boilers to electricity.
Submissions flooding in to ClimCom
26 Mar 2021
The Climate Change Commission has already received more than 6000 submissions in response to its draft report with two days to go until the extended deadline on Sunday.
Luxon touts his climate action at Air NZ
25 Mar 2021
Just one of the three MPs giving maiden speeches given in Parliament yesterday mentioned climate change: Christopher Luxon.
ClimCom plan described as lacking in ambition
24 Mar 2021
Wellington City Council says its emissions reduction targets risk being undermined by the Climate Change Commission’s draft carbon budget.
Robertson: Climate change too big for budget
24 Mar 2021
This year’s Budget won’t include any analysis of the impact of Government policies on climate change, finance minister Grant Robertson says.
Lobby adds voice to call for ClimCom's economic modelling
24 Mar 2021
The Taxpayers' Union lobby group has gone to the Ombudsman over access to economic modelling underlying the Climate Change Commission’s draft recommendations.
What lobby groups are asking supporters to say
23 Mar 2021
Lobby groups from Greenpeace to the Taxpayers’ Union are encouraging supporters to make submissions on the ClimCom draft report by using their templates and suggested talking points.
SHAW: No point ignoring ClimCom's views on prices
22 Mar 2021
Climate Minister James Shaw appears likely to back any recommendation from the Climate Change Commission to increase price controls in Government auctions of carbon credits.
Covid knocks climate off Kiwis' priority list
11 Mar 2021
New Zealanders are significantly less concerned about the impact of climate change than they were a year ago, according to a Colmar Brunton survey.
Parliament passes reserve price provision
10 Mar 2021
The first Government auction of carbon credits will go ahead next week with a confidential reserve price in place.
GENESIS: Reserve price will distort the market
9 Mar 2021
Including a confidential reserve price in next week’s Government auction of carbon credits could distort the carbon market, says one of the country’s largest emitters.
Reserve-price bill back before Parliament
8 Mar 2021
The Environment Committee has sent a bill to include a confidential reserve price in the upcoming carbon auction back to Parliament without an amendment asked for by several major market players.
NZUs should be more than $100, MPs told
8 Mar 2021
An umbrella group representing more than 50 environmental organisations says NZUs would trading at more than $100 if the Government set more environmentally realistic limits on the number of units available.
FRIDAY POLITICS: Collins embraces the ETS
26 Feb 2021
National Party leader Judith Collins seems to have abandoned her dismissal of the need for urgent action on climate change – and found a love for the Emissions Trading Scheme.
ClimCom in the hotseat over cost models
25 Feb 2021
The Climate Change Commission’s failure to release all aspects of the models underlying its draft budget dominated Parliament’s Environment Committee this morning.
Don't get this wrong, Contact tells Government
24 Feb 2021
A major emitter wants the country’s first carbon auction delayed, warning that a botched auction could leave the market scrambling for credits.
ClimCom extends submission deadline
24 Feb 2021
The deadline for submissions on the Climate Change Commission’s draft recommendations is being extended.
Ardern takes charge on climate change
12 Feb 2021
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will lead a special ministerial group that will oversee New Zealand’s climate change response.
Action on auction bill
11 Feb 2021
Carbon market participants have 10 days to have a say on plans to include a confidential price reserve in the country’s new auctioning regime.
Nats to Shaw: Why the late change, Minister?
10 Feb 2021
The National Party says it will support sending a law to stop gaming of the carbon markets to a select committee, but wants to know how the Government got itself in such a pickle.
New climate adaptation law a goer, say Parker
10 Feb 2021
The Government says it will act on the Randerson Report’s recommendation to establish a Climate Change Adaptation Act.
Finance minister says we will 'build back better'
9 Feb 2021
Cutting carbon emissions will be at the forefront of this year’s Budget, the finance minister says.
Technical reserve law before Parliament
5 Feb 2021
A law change to stop carbon credits being sold in Government auctions at well below secondary-market prices has made it into Parliament.
UPDATE: Climate commission's proposals for the ETS
31 Jan 2021
Price controls in New Zealand’s new carbon-auctioning regime could rise sharply next year if the Government acts on draft recommendations from the Climate Change Commission.
NEWS FLASH: NZ will increase its Paris target
31 Jan 2021
New Zealand will increase its 2030 emissions reduction target, the Government has just announced.
FRIDAY POLITICS: Government in a flurry
29 Jan 2021
It’s been a busy week for our politicians, with lots of behind-the-scenes flurrying over the looming release of the Climate Change Commission’s first report.
COLLINS: climate change not in top 5
27 Jan 2021
National Party leader Judith Collins says climate change is important, but it’s not in her list of top-five priorities.
Govt reverses decision on technical reserve
21 Dec 2020
The first Government auction of carbon credits, scheduled for March 17, will take place with a technical reserve price in place after all.
WELLINGTON: Give us carbon credits for our wetlands
10 Dec 2020
A second regional authority is calling for non-forestry carbon sequestration like wetland restoration to earn carbon credits.
Sage heads new environment committee
8 Dec 2020
Former conservation and associate environment minister Eugenie Sage will chair Parliament’s environment committee.
Carbon-zero public sector could include State investments
3 Dec 2020
The Government will decide in March whether a carbon-neutral public service will include the State’s investment portfolios.
Yes, we shall (virtually) go to Glasgow next week
3 Dec 2020
Speculation New Zealand will be excluded from global climate talks next week appears to have been premature.
Emergency means more action, business tells Govt
1 Dec 2020
Tomorrow’s expected declaration by Parliament of a climate emergency in New Zealand should see an immediate scaling-up of investment in climate change funding and policies, businesses are telling the Government.
Govt launches strategy backing wood-based heat sector
Today 11:00am
By Pattrick Smellie | Forestry biomass could replace as much as 40% of fossil fuel-generated process heat by 2050, but access to supply, regulatory settings and business cases for converting to wood-based heat sources are required, the Government says in a series of documents released yesterday.
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.
Govt releases updated emissions projections
13 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Ministry for the Environment has released updated emissions projections to 2050, which show significant differences to the Climate Change Commission's recent projections for the same period.
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.
