New Zealand: All stories
NZUs continue to climb
8 Jul 2021
The price of NZUs have increased by more than 24% since the beginning of last month – hitting $46 on both the Commtrade and Carbon Match platforms yesterday.
Strong case for biogas generation: Professor Ralph Sims
8 Jul 2021
EMERITUS Professor Ralph Sims, who co-wrote an NZ Standard on biogas in the 1980s, responds to the Biogas and Biomethane Report released yesterday.
The Conversation: Climate Change Commission legal challenge
8 Jul 2021
New Zealand’s Climate Change Commission is facing its first legal hurdle, as a group of 300 climate-concerned lawyers seek judicial review of the processes it used to calculate carbon budgets in its recently released advice to government.
Just transition a top priority: Shaw
7 Jul 2021
Climate Change Minister James Shaw has told an audience in Wellington that a just transition will be a top priority in the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan
Biogas could meet 20% of NZ’s needs by 2050
7 Jul 2021
A joint study by engineering consultancy Beca, Firstgas and Fonterra claims renewable gas could replace close to 20% of New Zealand’s total gas usage by 2050.
Warmest June on record
6 Jul 2021
Winter got off to a very warm start in New Zealand – it was the country’s warmest June on record.
Shuttering NZUs 'wouldn't hurt': Shaw
5 Jul 2021
Minister for Climate Change James Shaw says buying NZUs with the intention of lowering New Zealand's total emissions 'wouldn't hurt,' in part two of his interview with Carbon News.
Voluntary NZ carbon credit drought
2 Jul 2021
Local businesses wanting to claim zero-carbon status are finding it difficult to obtain verified, voluntary New Zealand carbon credits, the Environment Select Committee heard yesterday.
Lawyers file court proceeding against Climate Change Commission
2 Jul 2021
Lawyers for Climate Action NZ (LCANZI) today filed High Court proceedings seeking judicial review of the Climate Change Commission’s advice to the Minister for Climate Change.
Feebate could see ETS cap reduce: Shaw
1 Jul 2021
Minister for Climate Change James Shaw says policies like the feebate scheme will allow the government to reduce the ETS cap quicker than would otherwise be the case.
Climate risk critical to investment decisions: Orr
30 Jun 2021
Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr urged attendees at yesterday’s Mindful Money Awards to incorporate climate risk into how they invest and allocate capital.
Greater Wellington aims to be carbon positive by 2035
29 Jun 2021
The Greater Wellington Regional Council is this morning expected to approve a long-term plan committing it to being climate positive by 2035.
No plans for halogen ban
29 Jun 2021
The Government has no plans to follow Britain, The EU and Australia’s lead in banning halogen lightbulbs.
Could halogen lightbulbs be next?
28 Jun 2021
With the Government announcement that single-use plastic packaging is to be phased out, could a British-style ban on halogen lightbulbs be next?
Calls for disclosure Bill to be widened
25 Jun 2021
In its current form the Financial Sector (Climate-related Disclosures and Other Matters) Amendment Bill would see the Ports of Napier required to disclose its climate risks but not the Ports of Otago, a select committee heard yesterday.
NZU price keeps climbing
25 Jun 2021
NZUs are trading at all-time highs of more than $43 on both CommTrade and Carbon Match today
Carbon dividend would be “socially progressive”: Shaw
24 Jun 2021
Climate Change Minister James Shaw told this morning’s Environment Select Committee that using revenues from ETS auctions to pay a carbon dividend would be “socially progressive.”
ETS auction clears at $41.70
23 Jun 2021
The second NZ ETS auction cleared at a price of $41.70 today.
Some towns and communities won’t survive climate change: Andrew Little
23 Jun 2021
Health Minister Andrew told a public health conference in Wellington yesterday that some towns and communities won't survive the effects of climate change.
Submission pile-up at congestion hearings
22 Jun 2021
Anyone wanting to wade their way through the written submissions to the Transport and Infrastructure Select Committee’s hearings on congestion pricing in Auckland will need to set aside a day or two… there’s 435 of them.
Universities’ GHG emissions plummet due to Covid
21 Jun 2021
With carbon emissions from academic travel plummeting by close to 90 per cent, New Zealand universities are looking at how they can lock-in some of those reductions in a post-Covid world.
Billions of dollars of benefits overlooked by ClimCom
21 Jun 2021
The Climate Change Commission has failed to fully take into account billions of dollars in potential savings from climate change mitigation, according to some of Zealand's leading epidemiologists.
Pests a major contributor to climate change: Forest & Bird
18 Jun 2021
THE West Coast’s kamahi-podocarp forests are bleeding 3.4 million tonnes of stored carbon annually because of browsing deer, goats, chamois and possums, a Forest and Bird Report, released today, reveals.
Do sport and climate change mix?
17 Jun 2021
The All Black’s current sponsor, AIG, and the company tipped to replace it, INEOS, are both under fire for their climate change records.
Discounted loans for sustainable farming
17 Jun 2021
ASB has taken advantage of the Reserve Bank’s Funding for Lending scheme to offer discounted lending to farmers adopting sustainable practices.
Climate Change Commission faces possible legal challenge
15 Jun 2021
Lawyers for Climate Action NZ are considering bringing a judicial review against the Climate Change Commission on the grounds that its recently released final advice to the government is incompatible with keeping global warming to 1.5c.
Getting people out of their cars a top priority
14 Jun 2021
The lead author of a 2016 Royal Society report that recommended a feebate scheme says yesterday’s announcement is welcome news but getting people out of their cars remains a top priority.
ETS needs strengthening: ClimCom
11 Jun 2021
The Climate Change Commission has recommended that the ETS be amended to further tilt incentives towards emission reduction and away from the planting of exotic forests.
Coal's share of electricity generation doubles in March quarter
11 Jun 2021
The first three months of this year saw the percentage of carbon spewing, coal-generated electricity double compared to the same period last year.
Children of the poor likely to be hit hardest by climate change
11 Jun 2021
The Climate Change Commission has warned that the poor, Maori, Pasifika and those with disabilities could shoulder a disproportionate amount of any financial pain caused by the transition to a zero-carbon economy.
Responses to ClimCom final advice divides along usual lines
10 Jun 2021
An avalanche of press releases in response to yesterday’s release of the Climate Change Commission’s final advice to the government sees interest groups dividing along familiar lines.
Inaia tonu nei – the time is now
9 Jun 2021
Inaia tonu nei – the time is now: a low emissions future for Aotearoa – the Climate Commission’s final advice to the Government, released to the public today, says a revision of the New Zealand’s baseline emissions has made the task ahead “slightly more difficult.”
Offsetting beer's environmental hangover
8 Jun 2021
Next time you take a swig of Steinlager you can rest easy knowing that Lion has paid one cent to offset the carbon emitted during its brewing.
NZU price on the up
8 Jun 2021
After dropping from a high of $39.60 in February to $36.25 last month, the price of NZUs is on the way up, crossing the $38 mark today.
E-bike sales up 300 per cent – SUV sales skyrocket
4 Jun 2021
In mixed news for the climate, e-bike sales are going through the roof – but so are those of double cab utes and SUVs.
Government commits more money to cars and bikes
4 Jun 2021
And in more mixed news for the climate, the Government today announced plans for a new cycle and pedestrian harbour bridge for Auckland and confirmed the $1.5 billion dollar Otaki to Levin expressway will go ahead.
Reserve Bank to commit puutea to climate change
3 Jun 2021
The Reserve Bank will use part of its $85 billion balance sheet to help deal with the challenges of climate change, the bank’s head of financial markets Vanessa Rayner said in a speech released yesterday.
Structural problems standing in the way of farming innovators
2 Jun 2021
Structural problems in the agriculture sector are preventing a new generation of farmers committed to dealing with climate change from putting their ideas into practice, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor told the NZ Agriculture and Climate Change conference in Wellington this morning.
Lawyers for Climate Action call on Govt to walk the talk
1 Jun 2021
Lawyers for Climate Action have told the Government that exempting government agencies from financial disclosure requirements would be a fundamental failure by government to lead by example.
Cycling’s carbon crushing credentials
31 May 2021
With hundreds of cyclists and pedestrians “liberating” two lanes of the Auckland harbour bridge yesterday, and Wellington City Council committing to doubling its budget for bike paths last week, cycling is taking centre stage in the fight against climate change.
Green growth an oxymoron: Mike Joy
31 May 2021
As countries explore ways of decarbonising their economies, the mantra of “green growth” risks trapping us in a spiral of failures, environmental scientist Mike Joy says.
10 YEARS AGO...
31 May 2021
Ten years ago, environmental photographer Michael Hall claimed New Zealand businesses weren't interested in climate change despite the concern of some individual business people.
ClimCom and National Party at odds over ETS
28 May 2021
An opinion piece by Climate Change Commission Chair Rod Carr reiterating the commission’s position that the ETS alone won’t deliver a desirable low emissions future has riled up the National Party.
Cutthroat competition preventing decarbonisation: Westpac
28 May 2021
The cutthroat nature of the road freight industry is preventing it from making meaningful moves towards decarbonisation, according to new research by Westpac NZ’s economic team.
How should that $3 billion in ETS revenues be spent?
27 May 2021
Paying farmers to reduce their stocks, electrifying the main trunk line, and subsidies to zero-carbon housing, are some of the ideas suggested by experts for how the Government should spend the estimated $3 billion dollars raised over the next five years from the ETS auctions.
Acting now pays dividends in the future
26 May 2021
Transforming the economy now rather than protecting key wealth generating sectors from the full effect of international carbon prices will see the economy grow more in the long run, updated economic modelling shows.
Report calls for carbon neutral Taranaki by 2030
25 May 2021
A group of climate activists have mapped out an ambitious path for Taranaki to become carbon neutral by 2030.
Battle of the pop up bike lane
25 May 2021
Green MP Julie Anne Genter was spotted cycling Wellington's newest - and possibly shortest-lived - bike lane yesterday.
95 per cent of electricity renewable within five years
24 May 2021
In an open letter to the Government, the country’s major electricity companies say they are confident 95 per cent of the nation’s electricity will come from renewables within in the next five years.
Gas to flicker on?
24 May 2021
Without extra investment New Zealand could find itself without enough gas supply to ensure security of electricity by 2026, a regulator has warned.
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.
Govt resilience plan 'dangerous fantasy' - thinktank
Fri 29 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | An independent thinktank, whose members include former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer and multiple academics, is warning that the government’s long-term resilience strategy ignores physical and energy realities and exposes Kiwi households and businesses to systemic failure.
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.
