New Zealand: Politics
Fast-track projects get nod from business and greenies
4 May 2020
Plans to fast-track some covid-19 recovery projects through the Resource Management Act are winning approval from business and environmentalists.
POLITICS: Re-birth of the ETS
1 May 2020
The Environment Select Committee’s report on planned changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme goes back to Parliament on Monday.
RMA welcomes back greenhouse gas emissions
30 Apr 2020
Greenhouse gas emissions are set to come back into the Resource Management Act, making it compulsory for councils to consider climate change in granting resource consents.
What we do now with the economy is crucial
28 Apr 2020
The actions governments take now to stimulate their economies in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic will either slow or exacerbate climate change, international experts say.
Govt cans changes to electricity factor
28 Apr 2020
The Government is shelving plans to review the way electricity costs are calculated in deciding how many free carbon credits should be given to industry.
POLITICS: Bring on the electric express
24 Apr 2020
Politics this week has been about the prospect of the country’s covid-19 economic recovery doubling as a low-carbon transformation.
ClimCom to review our Paris emissions target
23 Apr 2020
New Zealand seems set to increase its Paris Agreement emissions reduction target.
POLITICS: Shaw tells business to speak up
17 Apr 2020
Climate minister James Shaw says businesses wanting the covid-19 pandemic economic recovery to be a low-carbon transformation need to lobby Cabinet ministers now.
Act before public gets angry, warns Z head
17 Apr 2020
The Government has two months to get emissions reductions into covid-19 economic recovery plans before the public starts getting angry and demanding a return to the way things were, says Z Energy chief executive Mike Bennetts.
Upton raises moratorium on new coal mines
15 Apr 2020
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton says New Zealand should be thinking about a moratorium on new coal mines.
ClimCom sees greening bonus from pandemic plans
14 Apr 2020
The Climate Change Commission is calling on the Government to use its covid-19 recovery plan to kick-start the country’s decarbonisation and says reform of the Emissions Trading Scheme should continue.
POLITICS: Roll out the big guns
9 Apr 2020
The Government’s climate programme is under double-fire this week.
Govt: Transport spending must cut emissions
7 Apr 2020
Decisions about transport infrastructure must line up with the Paris Agreement – and that means people living and working in the same area and almost zero emissions from vehicles, the Government says.
Submissions reveal support for disclosure
7 Apr 2020
Plans to make companies disclose their climate risk have widespread support, if submissions are anything to go by.
Taxing oil and gas fields could work, says Upton
6 Apr 2020
Taxing oil and gas exploration and strengthening the Emissions Trading Scheme could be more effective ways of cutting greenhouse gas emissions than banning exploration, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment says.
POLITICS: We're on a climate knife-edge
3 Apr 2020
By ADELIA HALLETT | Is the covid-19 pandemic going to be a repeat of the Global Financial Crisis in terms of climate change? It could go either way.
EDS (and more) welcomes moves on emissions
3 Apr 2020
Moves to make local councils consider greenhouse gas emissions in resource consents would have thrilled climate activist and former Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons, says Environmental Defence Society chief executive Gary Taylor.
Lift RMA emissions ban, says select committee
2 Apr 2020
A 2004 ban on considering greenhouse gas emissions in resource consents should be overturned, the Environment Select Committee has told Parliament.
Government aims to put planning on fast-track
2 Apr 2020
The Government is looking at ways to fast-track through the planning process projects under its covid-19 recovery package.
We'll favour job-producing projects, says Jones
1 Apr 2020
The Government will back low-carbon projects in its post-covid-19 infrastructure spend-up – but only if they create jobs, says infrastructure minister Shane Jones.
Wind turbines might fit the bill for new projects
1 Apr 2020
New wind turbines are among the projects the Government’s Infrastructure Industry Reference Group is looking for to help to boost employment in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic.
ETS reform still a top job, says minister
31 Mar 2020
Reforming the Emissions Trading Scheme remains a priority for the Government, despite disruption caused by the covid-19 pandemic, says climate minister James Shaw.
New carbon trading platform causes a stir
23 Mar 2020
Political questions are being asked about the appropriateness of a State-owned company providing services in the carbon market.
MPs put 1.5 million reasons to stop wasting food
20 Mar 2020
New Zealand could cut 1.5 million tonnes from its annual greenhouse gas emissions if it stopped wasting food, MPs say.
POLITICS: Sorry, we're a bit busy
20 Mar 2020
CLIMATE change received only the briefest of attention in Parliament this week.
Big emitters get pandemic warning
17 Mar 2020
Allowing emitters to use the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse to slow action on climate change would be a mistake, environmental organisations are warning.
Super fund dumps big emitters - and fills pockets
16 Mar 2020
New Zealand’s national superannuation fund is hundreds of millions of dollars off because it has shed high-carbon investments, says chief executive Matt Whineray.
ClimCom opens doors to carbon-budget ideas
16 Mar 2020
Energy, transport, farming and forestry businesses are the first sectors to put their vision of a carbon-neutral New Zealand to the body charged with developing the country’s carbon budgets.
POLITICS: The mood is all very GFC
13 Mar 2020
The coronavirus Covid-19 and the impact it could have on the economy dominated the attention of politicians this week, but they did manage to squeeze in a mention of climate change.
Councils all talk and little action, says GBC
12 Mar 2020
Most local authorities are talking big on climate action but failing to cut emissions in their own operations, the Green Building Council says.
New rules will hurt refinery and small shippers
11 Mar 2020
New clean-air rules for shipping will hit the Marsden Point oil refinery and some shipping operators in the pocket, the Ministry of Transport says.
EDS pours cold water on RMA 'bonfire'
11 Mar 2020
National’s planned “bonfire” of regulations will be pyrotechnics if the Resource Management Act is thrown on the flames, the Environmental Defence Society says.
ClimCom wants to see $50 carbon cap now
10 Mar 2020
The Climate Change Commission says controls on carbon prices should be lifted to about $50 a tonne now.
Ministry sprouts staff as green workload grows
10 Mar 2020
The Ministry for the Environment says its staff numbers have increased as the Government has ramped up its workload.
POLITICS: Nats declare war on RMA
9 Mar 2020
The Resource Management Act will be toast under a National Government.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
9 Mar 2020
Parliament sits this week, with the Environment Select Committee meeting on Thursday to discuss the Urban Development Bill, changes to the Resource Management Act.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
6 Mar 2020
It’s the last month for getting emissions returns in – the deadline is March 31.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
5 Mar 2020
Parliament’s Environment Committee is discussing changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme and the Resource Management Act today.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
4 Mar 2020
A demonstration against oil company OMV continues today, with two protesters occupying a company rig and a yacht shadowing it.
Officials question farmer ETS obligation
3 Mar 2020
Making farmers instead of agricultural processing companies the point of obligation under the Emissions Trading Scheme could push administration costs up 4000 per cent, officials say.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
3 Mar 2020
Parliament sits today and will resume debate on the Prime Minister’s speech.
Climate not big election issue, says National
2 Mar 2020
Climate change should be less of an election issue this year than it was last time round, thanks to cross-party agreement on the zero-carbon act, says National Party climate spokesperson Scott Simpson.
Campaigners hail fossil-fuels investments move
2 Mar 2020
The Government’s decision to ban default superannuation funds investing in fossil fuels is being welcomed by campaigners and criticised by the oil industry.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
2 Mar 2020
MPs are back to Parliament this week, with the House sitting tomorrow and on Wednesday and Thursday.
We need to know changes to ETS, say foresters
28 Feb 2020
Forest owners – who yesterday called for a $200-a-tonne carbon tax on the burning of coal – say changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme should be signalled in the May Budget.
FRIDAY POLITICS: A new look at the air we breathe
28 Feb 2020
The Government announced plans this week to overhaul the rules governing air quality and fine particulate matter.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
28 Feb 2020
Today is the last day to make submissions on the Government’s proposals to change the Emissions Trading Scheme’s settings and on ways to accelerate the uptake of renewable energy generation.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
27 Feb 2020
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern leaves Fiji today for Sydney, where she will meet with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
SMELTER SMOOCH: Tiwai wants to work with taxpayer
26 Feb 2020
An industrial heavyweight that last year received $12 million worth of free carbon credits from taxpayers says it wants to work with the Government and community to create a low-carbon world.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
26 Feb 2020
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s visit to Fiji continues today, where discussion on climate change is on the agenda.
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.
