New Zealand: All stories
Placing climate change denial on the Parliamentary record
8 Sep 2023
Surprise, surprise: climate change minister James Shaw doesn’t agree with Nobel laureate John Clauser that the climate crisis isn’t real.
Channel Infrastructure’s profit increases, looks to a future in jet fuel
8 Sep 2023
Channel Infrastructure reported increased profit and forecast higher dividends as it released its results for the six months ended 30 June 2023.
Best by the rest...
8 Sep 2023
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in local media: Labour says National’s tax plan would nix funding for climate work it’s championing; Climate change challenges wastewater treatment plan; and Aotearoa's renewable power struggle.
Mixed reactions to Nats EV charger proposal
7 Sep 2023
An energy expert is warning that the National Party’s plan to roll out a 10,000 strong network of public EV charges will be hindered by the current network structures and high fixed price of electricity.
How will Treasury treat missing ETS revenue ahead of election?
7 Sep 2023
Experts are questioning how Treasury will treat the potential $1 billion of missing revenue from this year’s Emissions Trading Scheme auctions, with reporting due next week ahead of the election.
Invasive species pose devastating threat to local ecosystems and economy: new research
6 Sep 2023
Invasive alien species are taking a massive toll on ecosystems and the global economy, and the problem is growing exponentially.
Forestry owners call for law change gets lukewarm response
5 Sep 2023
If there’s one political party you’d expect to rally to a call from the Forestry Owners Association for a law change to stop councils charging higher rates for foresters than farmers, it’s New Zealand First.
NZ Oil and Gas reports higher production
5 Sep 2023
New Zealand Oil & Gas reported a $19.1 million net profit after tax for the year to June 30, down from the previous year’s $25.7m, reflecting spending associated with increasing oil and gas production.
Sealord investing $10 million in Māori-led carbon forestry offsetting
4 Sep 2023
Fishing giant Sealord is investing $10 million over the next ten years in a carbon offsetting programme that it says will develop underutilised Te Arawa land in the Rotorua region into permanent forest.
Petition calls to end free carbon credits for big emitters
1 Sep 2023
A group of NGOs and activists have launched a petition calling for an end to free carbon credits for industry and for the system to be replaced by a carbon border mechanism.
Best by the rest...
1 Sep 2023
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in local media: Labour and National kick the climate can down the road; why we need an updated flood risk model; and climate protests hit parliament and State Highway One.
National’s climate “dividend” isn’t really a dividend - and could increase emissions
31 Aug 2023
By Liz Kivi | Yesterday the National Party announced a “climate dividend” amid much fanfare as part of its $14.6 billion package of tax cuts.
National announces climate dividend
30 Aug 2023
The National Party has announced a climate dividend that would use funding from the Emissions Trading Scheme as part of a package of tax cuts aimed to support New Zealand’s “squeezed middle.”
Climate issues and the 2023 Election: Is Aotearoa heading in a sustainable direction?
30 Aug 2023
By Ralph Chapman | COMMENT: In the glare of now daily global climate disasters, climate change is taking a higher profile as an election issue in Aotearoa.
Consultation on exotic hardwoods and carbon tables in the ETS
30 Aug 2023
The Ministry for Primary Industries is consulting on recognising space-plantings and exotic hardwoods in the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme.
IMF warns NZ at risk of failing international emissions obligations
29 Aug 2023
The International Monetary Fund says New Zealand must do more to meet its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for 2030, and is off track to meet its international obligations.
Govt cuts more than $200 million from climate funds to “tighten belts”
29 Aug 2023
The government is slashing funding to climate emissions reduction programmes as part of “belt tightening” measures, with more than $235 million in cuts to projects planned to reduce emissions.
Green Party announces climate adaptation fund
28 Aug 2023
The Green Party has announced a $750 million fund for councils to put in place nature-based solutions, aiming to cut emissions and protect communities from climate change impacts.
Solar promises slowly rise
28 Aug 2023
After much talk and numerous announcements and re-announcements, it appears some grid-scale solar farms are finally nearing completion and others crawling closer to starting.
Bird of the Century? We have a suggestion
28 Aug 2023
With aviation emissions ramping up post-Covid, two climate policy experts are nominating a new species as "Bird of the Century": the jet aircraft.
Analysts predict carbon price will hit $140 by 2050
25 Aug 2023
Analysts are predicting the spot price of NZUs will rise to $150 by 2050 - a level they say will negatively affect some of New Zealand’s big energy gentailers and encourage behavioural change from carbon polluters.
Managed retreat—a can of political worms
25 Aug 2023
The report by the Expert Working Group on Managed Retreat highlights funding and financing strategies for planned relocation in the face of climate change and raises some of the issues that will test finances and just who should pay for what.
Best by the rest...
25 Aug 2023
Is carbon forestry pushing farm prices out of reach? Auckland’s cyclone recovery funding deal; and why sustainability shouldn’t be just an afterthought in space exploration.
Law change means govt no longer has to promote mining on Crown land
24 Aug 2023
A law change means the government is no longer required to actively “promote” prospecting, exploration, and mining of minerals such as fossil fuels.
Departing National MP says Climate Change Commission must "tell truth to power"
24 Aug 2023
National MP and former party leader Todd Muller used his valedictory speech in Parliament to call for stronger action on climate change.
Work on market governance framework for ETS underway
23 Aug 2023
The government is developing a market governance framework for the Emissions Trading Scheme. It is also progressing work on an optional exchange for the secondary market.
Unexplained anomaly in NZU surrenders
23 Aug 2023
An unexplained reporting anomaly suggests a big emitter - or emitters - are late submitting their NZU surrenders, with about 13 million units unaccounted for.
Slow train coming: only a genuine shift to rail will put NZ on track to reduce emissions
23 Aug 2023
Both the Labour government and the opposition National Party have now released major transport polices that put the emphasis on maintaining and expanding roads.
RMA comes to an end - but for how long?
22 Aug 2023
Thirty years of the Resource Management Act has come to and with the passage of two reform bills, but how long they will last and what they could be replaced with will depend on the outcome of the election.
Govt delays agricultural emissions reporting and pricing
21 Aug 2023
The government has announced farm-level emissions reporting won’t start until the end of 2024, and emissions pricing won’t start until a year later.
Greens slam govt’s transport plan as prioritising roads over climate
18 Aug 2023
The Green Party has slammed the government’s $20 billion transport plan, announced yesterday, saying the decision to prioritise new roads shows the Labour Party is not serious about climate change.
Renewables at record high - MBIE
18 Aug 2023
Eighty-seven per cent of electricity generated over 2022 came from renewable sources, while total energy supply from renewables reached 44% - a record high according to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
Best by the rest...
18 Aug 2023
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in local media: An ecologist’s perspective on the inevitability of degrowth economics; National’s concerning lack of climate policies; and the inside story on how NZ failed to regulate its worst climate polluter.
Updated bill “big win” for climate
17 Aug 2023
Activists are claiming a climate bill update as a significant win against big polluters - with 800,000 tonnes of subsidised carbon dioxide pollution now cut from free allocations.
National suggests a different path for RMA reform
17 Aug 2023
A senior National MP has suggested that if the Government had sent the resource management law reform bills back to select committee, it may have been possible to get cross-party agreement with tweaks.
Volcanic eruption may be boosting global heat wave
17 Aug 2023
A climate science debate is simmering over how much of 2023's record warmth is due to human-caused factors, chiefly the burning of fossil fuels, and the role of other influences.
Shaw calls for inquiry and cross-party consensus on community-led retreat
16 Aug 2023
Climate Change minister James Shaw has called for a select committee inquiry into community-led retreat and adaptation funding in the face of climate-fuelled disasters.
Govt co-funding $33 million to cut industrial emissions
16 Aug 2023
The government has announced its latest round of co-funding for industry to cut emissions, with a $33.3 million investment aiming to reduce carbon emissions by 67,300 tonnes every year.
Canterbury regional council chair slams govt inaction on climate adaptation
15 Aug 2023
Ecan chair Peter Scott says central government needs to do more to protect Canterbury from “real and ongoing risks” exacerbated by the climate crisis.
Hydrogen summit coming to Wellington
15 Aug 2023
New Zealand’s second international hydrogen summit, in Wellington next month, will feature international speakers representing global shipping and aviation.
Green Party announces new policy to slash energy bills and carbon emissions
14 Aug 2023
The Green Party has announced a new policy it says will save households up to $1,200 on energy bills every year and slash carbon emissions.
NZ-style 'sponge cities' needed to tackle climate-fuelled urban flood risk
14 Aug 2023
Urban areas need to urgently look at ‘sponge city’ approaches to stormwater management to help the country prepare for climate impacts and reduce flood risk, according to recent research.
Electricity markets paper brings back some old ideas
14 Aug 2023
Radical electricity market reforms including the separation of the major gentailers and the creation of a single buyer are two of the many, many options put forward in one of the Government's Energy Strategy consultation papers.
Farmers welcome EPA approval of first methane inhibitor in New Zealand
11 Aug 2023
The Environmental Protection Authority has approved a feed additive that could reduce methane emissions from livestock by 30%.
Carbon tariffs - what are the implications for NZ?
11 Aug 2023
A senior public sector consultant has suggested that New Zealand might want to consider being a fast follower of the European Union’s moves to implement a carbon tariff.
Best by the rest...
11 Aug 2023
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in local media: What does the hottest month in human history mean for Aotearoa? Planning for the worst from climate change; and the Lake Onslow Battery Project's uncertain future.
Govt launches consultation on five areas of energy transition policy
10 Aug 2023
The Government has launched consultation on New Zealand's transition towards a low emissions economy, with five streams of energy policy out for feedback.
ETS needs to incentivise gross emissions reductions: Consultations close tomorrow
10 Aug 2023
By Ann Smith | Although New Zealand has updated its international commitment to reduce emissions, it is still ranked as “Highly Insufficient” by Climate Action Tracker.
Meeting the long-term climate threat takes more than private investment – 10 ways NZ can be smart and strategic
10 Aug 2023
By Kevin Trenberth | The announcement of a partnership between the government and the world’s biggest investment manager BlackRock in a NZ$2 billion climate infrastructure fund suggests the company is expecting renewable energy in New Zealand to increase its own profitability.
$2 billion climate fund to back 100% renewable electricity
9 Aug 2023
Investment giant BlackRock has announced a $2 billion climate infrastructure fund in New Zealand to unlock investment to support 100% renewable electricity generation.
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.
