New Zealand: Politics
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.
Don't be too quick to dismiss the 'emergency'
30 Nov 2020
By PATTRICK SMELLIE | There was an outburst of skeptical tongue-clicking last Thursday when Climate Change Minister James Shaw announced New Zealand will this week declare a state of ‘climate emergency’.
FRIDAY POLITICS: Tough-talking Shaw
27 Nov 2020
Climate minister James Shaw appears to be sticking with the new bullish approach he’s adopted since the election.
FRIDAY POLITICS: Border tariffs on Govt's to-do list
20 Nov 2020
Carbon tariffs at the border are on the Government's agenda this term to protect the country’s steel, aluminium and cement industries as they decarbonise.
Ardern joins Mandela et al
19 Nov 2020
Implementing “stringent” measure on climate change have helped win Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern a prestigious international leadership title previously awarded to Nelson Mandala.
Collins appoints new climate spokesperson
12 Nov 2020
Kaikoura MP Stuart Smith is National’s new climate spokesperson, replacing Coromandel MP Scott Simpson.
PLANET IN PERIL: Why we must change our financial system
4 Nov 2020
New Zealand can have a sustainable financial system by 2030, driving environmental, social and economic prosperity, a panel of public and private-sector heavyweights says.
Energy sector ripe for govt emissions targets
3 Nov 2020
The Government appears to have emissions from energy in its sights as it seeks to finally make real cuts in the country's emissions.
Govt looking again at reserve price for auctions
2 Nov 2020
Climate minister James Shaw is seeking new advice from officials on including a technical reserve price in the new carbon-auctioning regime.
New Govt unlikely to cut farmers more slack
2 Nov 2020
Speculation the Government may go soft on agricultural emissions without the Green Party in Cabinet ignores Labour’s track record on the issue.
FRIDAY POLITICS: We'll know by Sunday
30 Oct 2020
We should know on Sunday whether James Shaw will remain the country’s climate minister.
ORR: Pacific adaptability a lesson for the world
29 Oct 2020
Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr is invoking his own Pacific heritage in a new call for collective action on climate change.
New threat to prices from Govt auction
28 Oct 2020
The Government’s decision to auction large amounts of carbon credits without a technical reserve price in place poses a new downside risk to prices, warns the founder of one of New Zealand’s carbon-trading platforms.
Get reserve in place to protect taxpayers, says Simpson
27 Oct 2020
The Government can and should pass legislation allowing it to set reserve prices when it auctions carbon credits, National says.
Shaw 'odds-on' as minister, says Simpson
27 Oct 2020
National’s climate spokesperson is picking Green Party co-leader James Shaw will stay on as climate minister.
FRIDAY POLITICS: A potentially costly hole in the Government's carbon-auctioning plan
23 Oct 2020
Green Party co-leader James Shaw is still in the running to retain his role as the country’s climate minister – but that might mean clearing up a bit of a mess of his own making.
Business makes bid for $7.23 billion
22 Oct 2020
Businesses want the new Government to back $7.23 billion worth of projects they say will cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 5.5 per cent over the next decade.
The four who could be our next climate minister
19 Oct 2020
Who will be New Zealand’s next climate minister? Carbon News canvasses the options and comes up with four names.
Carbon tariffs for steel, aluminium, on the table
16 Oct 2020
A new Labour Government could bring in carbon tariffs at the border, says Trade Minister David Parker.
AGRICULTURE: Sage confirms Cabinet vetoed carbon pricing from next year
16 Oct 2020
Climate Minister James Shaw tried to put a price on greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture from next year, according to fellow Green Cabinet minister Eugenie Sage.
National releases its climate policy - at last
15 Oct 2020
Forestry's role under the Emissions Trading Scheme would be reviewed under a National Government and agricultural emissions would not face a carbon price until other countries do the same.
Our greenhouse gas emissions are being pushed by growth
15 Oct 2020
Economic growth is driving New Zealand’s rising greenhouse gas emissions, a new report confirms.
Business, experts, brief PM in secret meeting
13 Oct 2020
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and three of her Cabinet heavyweights have been briefed on what experts and business leaders see as the real issues in dealing with climate change.
Is New Zealand merely a climate-follower?
12 Oct 2020
Back in pre-COVID times last year, when New Zealand passed the Zero Carbon Act, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern insisted “New Zealand will not be a slow-follower” on climate change. But how has she performed?
Labour targets transport and heat in climate policy
8 Oct 2020
A re-elected Labour Government would ban the installation of most new coal-fired industrial boilers and decarbonise the public transport fleet by 2035, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced yesterday.
Ministry mum on who will run carbon auction
7 Oct 2020
New Zealand’s first auction of carbon credits will take place on March 17, but there is no word yet on who will be running it.
How the Greens changed the language of economics
7 Oct 2020
When Health Minister Chris Hipkins recently quipped that the Green Party is “to some extent the conscience of the Labour Party” he was not simply referring to polls suggesting Labour may need the Greens’ support to form a government.
The young and Green voters still hot on climate
6 Oct 2020
Climate change remains the country’s biggest issue for young voters, despite the covid-19 pandemic, a new independent political poll shows.
Voters divided over climate policy and action
2 Oct 2020
New Zealanders are polarised on climate-change policy, putting the two major political parties in a difficult position.
Most parties get a 'fail' on climate and health
30 Sep 2020
Just one political party has policies that comprehensively address the threat climate change poses to the country’s health, a new analysis show.
National promises carbon credits from CCS
21 Sep 2020
A National Government would amend the Emissions Trading Scheme to recognise carbon capture and storage, clearing the way for technology to generate tradable carbon credits.
High carbon prices threaten NZ's low-carbon drive, say miners
17 Sep 2020
Record-high carbon prices risk driving away the very companies New Zealand needs in its push to decarbonise the economy, the minerals sector says.
Govt’s first post-ban offshore exploration permit draws backlash
Today 11:30am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government has approved the first offshore petroleum exploration permit since repealing the 2018 ban. But lawyers say the decision raises 'serious' legal questions, as seemingly at odds with guidance from the country's highest court.
Study outlines methane-cutting options for NZ livestock
21 Jul 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Breeding, feed and forage strategies could play a key role in reducing methane emissions from New Zealand's grazing livestock, with researchers concluding that a combination of approaches will be needed to achieve meaningful cuts.
'Terrible result': Emissions barely budged in 2024
5 Jun 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions were virtually unchanged in 2024, falling by 0.03%, despite the economy shrinking by ten times that amount during the same period, according to new data.
Rail revival key to reducing transport emissions: new strategy
Today 11:30am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Future is Rail has launched an election manifesto setting out a national strategy for the incoming Government to rebuild New Zealand's passenger and freight rail network, with proposals ranging from overnight train services to nationwide electrification.
National deer management strategy urgently needed to halt 'catastrophe' for native forests
Mon 27 Jul 2026
Scientists are calling for an urgent national deer management strategy, with deer numbers now at unsustainable levels and decimating native forests.
NZ Steel closes in on first heat from electric arc furnace
Today 11:30am
By Oli Lewis | The first truckloads of scrap steel are being delivered to New Zealand Steel as the company works through the final stages of a significant emissions reduction project.
