New Zealand: All stories
No-deals Nats would have gone for a carbon tax
18 Sep 2009
The Government was apparently prepared to scrap the emissions trading scheme in favour of a carbon tax if it couldn’t get the support it needed to amend the current scheme.
Doors might shut on public opinion of ETS deal
18 Sep 2009
The public might not get a say on the deal between the National and Maori parties to change the emissions trading scheme.
Labour releases ETS breakdown papers
18 Sep 2009
The Labour Party has released more documents from the failed negotiations for a National-Labour deal on the emissions trading scheme.
World is listening to us, says Groser
18 Sep 2009
Other countries are coming around to New Zealand’s position on forestry and agriculture in climate-change mitigation, says the Associate Minister for Climate Change, Tim Groser.
IN THE HOUSE: Deal with Maori under scrutiny
18 Sep 2009
Questions over the deal between the National and Maori parties have dominated environmental debates in Parliament this week.
Renewable power runs at 70 per cent
18 Sep 2009
Seventy per cent of New Zealand's electricity generation in the June quarter came from renewable sources.
Gull questions ETS petrol price rise
18 Sep 2009
Petrol retailer Gull says that the emissions trading scheme will not necessarily push petrol prices up seven cents a litre by July.
Shock of ETS announcement destroys prospect of policy certainty
14 Sep 2009
While the Prime Minister John Key still wants to do a deal with Labour on the ETS the prospect seems highly unlikely.
Farmers could have gained millions in secret deal proposed by Labour
14 Sep 2009
A draft ETS deal sent to the National party by Labour Monday morning reveals the Opposition proposed a special deal for agriculture which could have paid farmers millions before 2013.
EXCLUSIVE - The "Dear Lucy" deal e-mail from Labour to National
14 Sep 2009
Carbon News has an e-mail sent Monday morning from Labour's climate change negotiator to Minister Nick Smith.
Press conference audio: Maori will now approve any Labour suggested changes
14 Sep 2009
Climate Change Issues Minister Nick Smith has been "left playing defense" over the Labour negotiations, according to audio of today's media conference.
What the Government says will happen
14 Sep 2009
The Government has issued Q and A documents on its proposed changes to the ETS.
Don't get caught without credits, businesses told
11 Sep 2009
New Zealand businesses are putting some of their most profitable operations at risk by failing to prepare for entry into the emissions trading scheme.
Confident Labour sits in ETS driving seat
11 Sep 2009
Talks over the future of the emissions trading scheme are on again, with Labour sending strong signals that it feels in the driving seat.
Personal trading not for us, say Greens
11 Sep 2009
A personal carbon trading regime being proposed for Britain is unlikely to work here, says Green Party climate change spokesperson Jeanette Fitzsimons.
EXCLUSIVE: Here's a way out of ETS impasse
4 Sep 2009
The impasse between National and Labour over the emissions trading scheme could be broken by a compromise over the contentious issue of an intensity-based scheme.
Why not create our own market, asks carbon trader
4 Sep 2009
New Zealand should stop talking about a carbon market and get on and create one, says a leading carbon trader.
Planting season lost, but foresters cling to hopes
4 Sep 2009
The forestry industry is cautiously optimistic about the future of the emissions trading scheme – despite the fact that political delays mean that this year’s seed-planting season has been missed.
All sectors, all gases the way to go, says ETS report
31 Aug 2009
Climate change is probably true and an all-sectors, all-gases emissions trading scheme is the best option for New Zealand, says the committee set up to review the scheme.
National's best ETS bet is deal with Labour
31 Aug 2009
The Labour Party is looking like the Government’s most likely emissions trading scheme partner.
Report lists 34 ways to shape our carbon future
31 Aug 2009
The Emissions Trading Scheme Review Committee has made 34 recommendations about New Zealand’s response to climate change and the shape of the emissions trading scheme.
Dunne: A middle road through complex issues
31 Aug 2009
The Emissions Trading Scheme Select Committee review has demonstrated strong support for such a scheme and gives the Government the platform it needs to develop its position for the upcoming Copenhagen climate change conference, committee chairman Peter Dunne said today.
Business: Review leaves huge issues up in the air
31 Aug 2009
The report of the select committee which reviewed the emissions trading scheme is a disappointment which still leaves the country with no broad cross-party agreement on climate change policy to provide investment certainty.
National: We'll continue talks with all parties
31 Aug 2009
Minister for Climate Change Issues Nick Smith today welcomed the report of the Emissions Trading Scheme Review Committee.
Labour: Big chance for a meaningful ETS
31 Aug 2009
The Labour Party has used today’s report back of the ETS Committee to repeat its call for a broad-based scheme with integrity to be agreed by Parliament.
Farmers: Report is a loaded gun at our heads
31 Aug 2009
Farmers are reacting angrily to news that a parliamentary select committee thinks that agriculture should be part of the emissions trading scheme.
Read the full ETS review report here ...
31 Aug 2009
The emissions trading scheme review is a 132-page report that took seven months to put together.
EXCLUSIVE: Business says no to carbon trade hobbles
28 Aug 2009
New Zealand business leaders and decision makers want free trade in carbon units and oppose a price cap, a new survey shows.
Speculation rife as ETS report faces new delay
28 Aug 2009
The report of the emissions trading scheme review select committee is now unlikely to be released before Monday.
Row as Parker demands House sees ETS report
28 Aug 2009
There was heated debate at Parliament yesterday over claims the ETS review select committee’s report should have been immediately presented to the House under standing orders.
Smith cautious on methane in ETS, bi-party deal
28 Aug 2009
The Government has a cautious view of bringing ruminant animal emissions into an emission trading scheme, says Climate Change Issues Minister Nick Smith.
Is it a bird, is it a plane ... it's KillaCycle
28 Aug 2009
A Kiwi businessman has a plan to kick-start the electric vehicle industry in New Zealand – and it involves going very, very fast.
Denmark has recycling down to a fine art
28 Aug 2009
Denmark is truckloads of waste ahead of New Zealand when it comes to recycling, reports Angela Gregory from Copenhagen.
Kiwi now Deloitte's main man for climate change
28 Aug 2009
New Zealand's Nick Main is on his way to London to become Deloitte's global managing partner on climate change and sustainability services.
ETS review body to report next week
21 Aug 2009
The select committee reviewing the emissions trading scheme will release its long-awaited report next week.
ETS deal hangs on Key's response to Goff
21 Aug 2009
National is having significant difficulty delivering the “broad-based political support” sought for an amended ETS by its Climate Change Issues Minister.
Bio-oil from wood trials excite backers
21 Aug 2009
New Zealand’s first wood-to-bio-oil plant is proving the technology is viable, its backers say.
New tech means farmers can turn dung into dollars
21 Aug 2009
New technology could see farmers turning effluent into carbon credits
Pioneer Pers is making waves in Denmark
21 Aug 2009
Reporter Angela Gregory continues her series on the greening of Denmark - site of a major international climate change conference later this year.
Smith hopes ETS will please everyone
21 Aug 2009
The Minister for Climate Changes Issues has told business leaders he hopes for a settled emissions trading scheme attracting broad political sign up.
Meridian buys US solar-farm developer
21 Aug 2009
Meridian Energy has bought an American photovoltaic solar farm developer.
Agriculture bogs down bipartisan ETS deal
14 Aug 2009
Talks between National and Labour over a bipartisan agreement on an emissions trading scheme are thought to be breaking down over agriculture.
Cap-and-ban could kill carbon market, warns broker
14 Aug 2009
An artificial cap on carbon prices and a ban on international sales of New Zealand credits will effectively kill the development of the carbon market, says trader Nigel Brunel.
Business warns extra assistance to emitters could equal another round of tax cuts
14 Aug 2009
Adjusting assistance to large emitters in New Zealand to Australia's proposed levels could cost the equivalent of another round of tax cuts.
Groser and Greenpeace at odds on Bonn reception
14 Aug 2009
New Zealand’s 2020 emissions reduction target is higher than many countries anticipated, says Associate Climate Change Issues Minister Tim Groser.
Wind energy key to cutting electricity emissions
14 Aug 2009
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector will be vital in reaching the government’s 2020 reduction target, but policy certainty is needed urgently, says the New Zealand Wind Energy Association.
NZ sets 10-20% emissions target ... with big ifs
10 Aug 2009
New Zealand heads into climate change talks in Bonn tonight with a 2020 emissions reduction target of between 10 and 20 per cent below 1990 levels – providing the rest of the world comes to the party.
Tree-planting key to meeting target, says expert
10 Aug 2009
New Zealand can achieve a significant proportion of its 2020 emission reduction target by planting trees – and generate $375m a year in carbon credits, says a forestry expert.
ANALYSIS: Now it comes down to the ETS deal for agriculture
10 Aug 2009
The Government has pretty cunningly positioned itself in its first emissions reduction target offering.
We'll have to do more, say academics
10 Aug 2009
New Zealand will need to cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 20 per cent by 2020 to avoid damaging climate change, says a public policy expert.
ETS a ‘broken paradigm’ undercutting biodiversity efforts
Mon 25 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Pure Advantage is calling on the government to reform the Emissions Trading Scheme, with a new policy briefing saying that New Zealand’s offset-heavy approach is a “broken paradigm” undermining biodiversity and shifting risk to communities.
Profound shifts in our changing energy system – new data
Wed 27 Aug 2025
New Zealand’s energy system is undergoing a profound shift as falling gas production and a dry hydro year reshaped the electricity market in 2024, according to data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Energy in New Zealand 2025.
International scientists slam NZ govt's proposed approach to methane
13 Aug 2025
New Zealand's proposed approach to methane emissions has again been attacked by international climate scientists, with a new study saying the attempt to redefine climate target-setting by livestock-exporting countries undermines the transition to a sustainable and equitable food system
Marginal drop in last year's regional emissions
Wed 27 Aug 2025
Regional greenhouse gas emissions were down slightly last year, with a fall in gas supply leading to a big drop in Taranaki, but more coal burnt leading to higher emissions in Waikato, according to new figures from Stats NZ
Fund for low emissions transport winds up
31 Jul 2025
New Zealand’s Low Emission Transport Fund has officially wrapped up, ending a nine-year programme that put hundreds of millions of dollars towards accelerating the country’s shift to cleaner transport.
Certainty crucial to emissions cuts – Watts
20 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says that policy certainty is the Government’s primary lever for unlocking private capital and meeting climate targets, telling a carbon forestry conference that ETS settings are 'locked' through 2030.
Why climate strategy is now central to business success
Tue 26 Aug 2025
SPONSORED CONTENT: Ahead of next month’s Climate Change and Business Conference, New Zealand businesses are being urged to treat climate strategy not as a regulatory burden, but as a core driver of economic competitiveness.
