Markets: Analysis
Carbon auctioning platform operator revealed
21 Oct 2020
NZX has won the right to set up and operate the Government’s carbon-auctioning platform.
Election has little impact on carbon markets
20 Oct 2020
Carbon markets have barely reacted to the general election, which returned Labour to power with an absolutely majority and arguably an endorsement of its actions on climate change.
MARKEST LATEST: NZUs $35
17 Sep 2020
Spot NZUs opened at $34.90 bid and $35.20 offered on CommTrade this morning after last fixing at $35.
Carbon hits a new high and looks set to go higher
16 Sep 2020
New Zealand carbon prices have broken through the $35 expected to act as a price cap and are being tipped to go higher.
ANZ cracking down on customers' carbon footprints
10 Sep 2020
A major New Zealand bank is asking its biggest-emitting customers to explain how they will reduce their carbon footprints.
Where the Redd went wrong
18 Aug 2020
International conservation is known for its pursuit of global, ‘win-win’ solutions that seek to simultaneously address multiple environmental and social issues. But few proposed solutions have offered as much hope, and been so energetically embraced, as REDD+.
Has our 2030 carbon debt just got bigger?
14 Aug 2020
More than a fifth of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions last year were covered by the fixed-price option, potentially increasing the size of the country’s 2030 carbon liability.
John Kerry backs new carbon-price ETF
4 Aug 2020
John Kerry is betting that Wall Street will succeed where governments failed in the fight against climate change.
Carbon sets yet another price record
31 Jul 2020
Spot NZUs are through $34 as they continue to smash records.
Domestic carbon prices continue to climb
23 Jul 2020
Domestic carbon prices hit another record yesterday, with spot NZUs trading at $33.55.
MARKET REPORT: NZUs $33.55
23 Jul 2020
Spot NZUs opened at $33.15 bid and $33.55 offered on the CommTrade platform this morning, after last fixing at $33.55.
Carbon prices climb to new high
22 Jul 2020
New Zealand carbon prices continue their record run and are set to go higher, if Europe is anything to go by.
MARKET LATEST: NZUs $33.00
21 Jul 2020
Spot NZUs opened at $32.50 bid and $33.25 offered on the CommTrade platform this morning, after last fixing at $33.00.
How banks are trying to capture the green transition
17 Jul 2020
Private-sector banks in the UK should have a central role in financing climate action and supporting a just transition to a low carbon economy, says a new report.
Carbon falls on smelter news
10 Jul 2020
Carbon prices have reacted to yesterday’s news that one of the country’s biggest electricity users and emitters of greenhouses gases is shutting up shop.
Carbon climbs to another new high
9 Jul 2020
New Zealand carbon prices are at a new high – but sellers are still not coming to the party.
Pundits predict carbon is going higher
2 Jul 2020
New Zealand carbon prices are at record levels, but how high are they going?
MARKET LATEST NZUs $31.90
26 Jun 2020
Spot NZUs opened at $31.70 bid and $32.00 offered on the CommTrade platform this morning, after last fixing at $31.90.
Carbon forward units pass $35 price cap
11 Jun 2020
Carbon hit new record prices yesterday, with forward units now more expensive than the unofficial $35 price cap.
Carbon prices stick to the upward trail
10 Jun 2020
Carbon prices are pushing on towards $31 today as the New Zealand market continues a bull run.
NEWSFLASH: Carbon hits historic high
9 Jun 2020
New Zealand's carbon market has broken the $30 barrier.
Carbon price sits at record mark
9 Jun 2020
New Zealand carbon is at record prices after five days of trading pushed spot NZUs up 15 per cent.
NEWSFLASH - NZ carbon hits historic high
28 May 2020
New Zealand’s carbon market has broken the $30 barrier.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
25 May 2020
Horizons Regional Council is expected to approve its 2020/21 annual plan today, with $175,000 going to assessing the region’s vulnerability to climate change.
Emission trading changes will have to wait
26 Mar 2020
Changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme are in lockdown along with the rest of the country.
Carbon markets will keep the doors open
25 Mar 2020
New Zealand’s carbon markets will continue trading through the covid-19 pandemic shutdown.
Carbon News still coming your way
25 Mar 2020
New Zealand will be under a state of emergency from tomorrow, with all non-essential movement and contact banned.
Carbon prices suffer as global economy sweats
19 Mar 2020
The global economic downturn brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic is hitting carbon prices.
Customers made the call, says new carbon operator
18 Mar 2020
The operator of a new carbon-trading platform says it is responding to demand from its customers.
Transpower moves into carbon trading
17 Mar 2020
Transpower is moving into the carbon-trading business.
Lack of global market hurts offsets investment
13 Feb 2020
The lack of a global carbon-trading market is holding back investment in offsets, a new report says.
ETS proposals bring record carbon prices
28 Jan 2020
New Zealand carbon prices have shot to record levels on the back of proposed changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme.
WANTED: Someone to run carbon-credit auctions
21 Nov 2019
The Government is looking for someone to build and run its new carbon-credit-auctioning platform.
Govt eyes bid limits for carbon credit auctions
15 Nov 2019
The Government is looking at setting a maximum bid lot to stop a handful of entities getting control of the New Zealand carbon market.
Businesses demand action, says UN climate chief
18 Jun 2019
Businesses are demanding the development of international carbon markets as the world battles a climate emergency, negotiators have heard overnight.
Global carbon markets in the spotlight
17 Jun 2019
Rules governing the development of international carbon markets will be top of the agenda at international climate talks this week.
Could your idea save the world?
27 May 2019
Got an idea to save the world? It might just qualify for support under a new billion-dollar scheme.
NZ drives global nature-first campaign
20 May 2019
New Zealand is leading a push to use nature to avert a climate catastrophe.
NEWSFLASH: $25 price cap on the way out
16 May 2019
THE $25 price-cap on New Zealand carbon will be gone by the end of 2022 and a price floor is a possibility, the Government has just announced. Full details in tomorrow morning’s Carbon News.
Pioneer carbon trader to change hands
20 Mar 2019
The trading house that 10 years ago today handled the first trade under New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme is about to change hands.
Aussies polish off green (but not as clean) Kiwis
8 Mar 2019
It mightn’t be greener, but Australia is cleaner than New Zealand, a new report says.
MARKET REPORT: NZUs $25.05
30 Jan 2019
Spot NZUs opened at $25.05 bid and $25.20 offered this morning, after last fixing at $25.05.
We're about to get funds trading in carbon
16 Oct 2018
New Zealand is about to get a managed funds service based on carbon.
MARKET REPORT: NZUs $25.03
21 Sep 2018
Spot NZUs opened at $24.95 bid and $25.12 offered this morning, after last fixing at $25.03.
Global carbon prices too low, warns OECD
20 Sep 2018
Carbon prices in major advanced economies are too low to cut greenhouse gas emissions and stave off the worst effects of climate change, says the OECD.
Calls for Government to act as carbon tops $25
31 Aug 2018
New Zealand carbon is trading over the unofficial cap price of $25, prompting new calls for the Government to hedge the country’s looming carbon debt.
MARKET REPORT: NZUs $24.20
16 Aug 2018
Spot NZUs opened at $24.05 bid and $24.35 offered this morning, after last fixing at $24.20.
Are you missing a Carbon News?
18 Jul 2018
Delivery of yesterday’s edition of Carbon News to some people was affected by spambots. We think we’ve fixed the problem, and apologise to those affected. If you didn’t receive yesterday’s edition, please help us by checking your spam inbox and marking Carbon News as not spam. Access to yesterday’s stories was still available through our website.
Z Energy sinks $1.5m into forestry credits
10 Jul 2018
New Zealand’s voluntary carbon market has had a huge boost with the purchase of $1.5 million worth of forestry credits by one of the companies driving corporate support for the low-carbon economy.
TIME'S UP: It's Surrender Day for carbon emitters
31 May 2018
Today is Emissions Trading Scheme Surrender Day – the last day for emitters to surrender units to cover their emissions last year.
Lawyers complain to ombudsman over Govt failure to release LNG modelling
1 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Lawyers for Climate Action has made a formal complaint to the Ombudsman over the Government’s failure to release information about its controversial decision to build a LNG import terminal.
Genesis fires up pellet study with Nature’s Flame
Wed 8 Apr 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Genesis Energy is extending its quest for locally produced torrefied wood pellets to supplement coal and gas to fuel its Huntly power station, announcing it is investigating plant construction with established local solid fuels player Nature’s Flame.
Fonterra admits ‘100% grass-fed’ claim breached law in greenwashing row
2 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Fonterra has admitted its “100% New Zealand grass-fed” claims on Anchor butter were misleading and breached the law, settling a case brought by Greenpeace Aotearoa over packaging used between December 2023 and April 2025.
Annual emissions fell to lowest in 15 years in Sept 2025
5 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions fell to their lowest annual total in the year to September 2025 since records began 2010, according to Statistics New Zealand data published this morning.
Free fares call as fuel crisis impacts school attendance
Wed 8 Apr 2026
An open letter is urging the Government to make public transport free for all school children and subsidised for students under 25, as rising fuel costs begin to impact attendance and access to education across the country.
Wellington planting nears one million trees
30 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Greater Wellington’s parks restoration programme will hit one million native trees this year, with the first dams to rewet peat wetlands in Queen Elizabeth Park now completed after a years-long effort to bring these ecosystems – and their carbon sequestering superpowers – back to life.
Businesses look for ways to cut costs in response to oil shock
1 Apr 2026
New Zealand’s small and medium-sized businesses are looking for ways to ease the pressure as global tensions see rising fossil fuel prices and diminishing supply, with decision-makers mulling measures including work-from-home polices and transport or logistics changes.
