New Zealand: All stories
Govt opens all of NZ for new oil and gas exploration
26 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | Fossil fuel companies can once again apply for new prospecting and exploration permits beyond onshore Taranaki for the first time since the previous government’s 2018 ban, in a move welcomed by the sector but slammed by environmental groups.
‘Beyond embarrassing’ – Peters’ Paris remarks draw fire for talking down Pacific climate diplomacy
26 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Foreign Minister and NZ first leader Winston Peters says he wants to revisit the Paris Agreement with Pacific leaders because some may be unaware of how it’s structured.
Did she make it? Weighing up the two tonne challenge
26 Sep 2025
To meet our “fair share” of international climate targets, every person on Earth needs to emit less than 2.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide each, annually by 2030. Is that achievable in New Zealand today? Emily Mabin Sutton attempted to find out.
Media round-up
26 Sep 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Winston Peters drops a "truth bomb" about big emitters at UN function; why fixing our ‘broken’ electricity market is such a formidable challenge; and should New Zealand follow Australia’s lead on responding to its climate risk assessment?
EV batteries could power NZ's grid – study
25 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | EV batteries could ease peak demand by exporting power back to homes and the grid, with large potential cost savings for EV owners and electricity consumers, according to a new study.
KiwiRail unveils carbon reduction plan
25 Sep 2025
KiwiRail has released its first carbon reduction plan with a target of reducing emissions by 40% in the next decade and to reach net-zero carbon by 2050.
New report exposes NZ PR companies working with fossil fuel industry
25 Sep 2025
A new report shows creative agencies in New Zealand are continuing to promote fossil fuel companies, and its authors warn the full extent of Big Oil's influence in the country is unknown, with lack of transparency around lobbying a continuing problem.
More Kiwi households turn to solar as energy costs mount
24 Sep 2025
Rising power prices are driving more households to consider switching to solar, with nearly half of New Zealanders considering installing solar panels or already having them installed, according to new research.
UPDATE: EECA opens $4 million solar fund for farms
24 Sep 2025
Farmers are being offered new support to bring solar and battery systems onto their properties, with EECA opening a Solar on Farms Demonstration Fund worth up to $200,000 per site.
Alarm over new West Coast hazard zones
24 Sep 2025
By Lois Williams, Local Democracy Reporter | Council and iwi leaders agonising over the West Coast ‘One Plan’ have tackled what planners describe as its most complicated and emotive chapter -- the one on Natural Hazards.
More shoreline adaptation plans confirmed for Tāmaki Makaurau
24 Sep 2025
Auckland Council has now confirmed 18 of a total of 20 shoreline adaptation plans, which look at how council-owned assets and land can be managed in response to coastal hazards and a changing climate over the next 100 years.
Kāpiti Coast charts a low-carbon course
24 Sep 2025
Kāpiti Coast District Council has signed off a new Emissions Reduction Strategy, setting a district-wide net-zero target for 2040.
Carbn buys out govt-owned NZGIF stake
23 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | Sustainable vehicle fleet and car sharing company Carbn has moved to full private ownership following a management buyout of New Zealand Green Investment Finance’s shareholding.
Genesis inks coal deal for domestic supply at Huntly
23 Sep 2025
Genesis Energy will increase domestic coal supplies for Huntly Power Station under a new deal with BT Mining.
Solar households to get little-noticed tax break
23 Sep 2025
A provision in the government’s latest tax bill would exempt households from paying tax on income they earn by selling excess electricity back to the grid.
Govt considers cutting Climate Commission’s role
22 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government is weighing up cutting the Climate Change Commission’s role of advising on emissions reduction plans, a move that legal experts say could increase the risk of litigation.
Aviation industry pressures govt over SAF
22 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | A heavy-hitting new group representing global aeroplane manufacturers, airlines, airports and the domestic energy supply chain has been formed to pressure the government over New Zealand’s lack of policy on sustainable aviation fuel.
New report reveals 'shocking' kelp forest loss
22 Sep 2025
New Zealand’s underwater kelp forests are vanishing at pace, with a new Fisheries New Zealand report finding more than a third of the north-east coastline has shifted to kina barrens.
Emissions up at Hamilton City Council
22 Sep 2025
Hamilton City Council’s operational emissions increased over the past year, a new report reveals.
Australia leapfrogs NZ on climate ambition
19 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | Lawyers for Climate Action say Australia’s new 2035 climate target should be a wake-up call for ‘clean, green’ New Zealand.
Govt passes law to limit farm-to-forest conversions
19 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government has passed legislation intended to limit farm-to-forest conversions in the Emissions Trading Scheme, with ministers saying the changes “restore balance,” while opponents call it a band-aid that risks climate targets.
Can certificates solve NZ's heavy vehicle emissions problem?
18 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Sustainable Business Council has launched a new framework for a national system to cut freight emissions.
Climate change collaboration and competition law
18 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The revamped competition law regime needs to be able to take into account the benefits of companies that collaborate for action on climate change, says the panel that reviewed both the Commerce Commission and the Commerce Act.
Lobby group launches ‘blueprint’ for ocean management reform
18 Sep 2025
The Environmental Defence Society yesterday released its plan to tackle widespread ecological decline in our oceans.
North Canterbury councillors divided on nitrate emergency call
18 Sep 2025
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter | North Canterbury’s regional councillors are concerned about unsafe rural drinking water, but disagree on whether it constitutes a nitrate emergency.
Science cuts will hold back climate research
17 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | A crisis in government-backed science funding is worsening, with dire implications for climate research in New Zealand, according to experts from the scientific community.
Govt tweaks offshore energy bill with 'declared areas' model
17 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government is making changes to the Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to address offshore wind developers' concerns about competing for space with other industries.
Gentailers told to behave as ministers weigh Frontier review
17 Sep 2025
The chief executives of Contact, Meridian, Mercury and Genesis met Energy and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts on Thursday for their regular monthly session.
Ashburton councillor opposes climate strategy he voted for
17 Sep 2025
Jonathan Leask, Local Democracy Reporter | Incumbent Ashburton councillor Phill Hooper says he doesn’t want to waste money on a climate change strategy, despite voting for the policy a few weeks ago.
Watts not considering removing electricity from ETS
16 Sep 2025
Energy and Climate Change Minister, Simon Watts, says he is “not currently considering” removing electricity generation from the Emissions Trading Scheme, as proposed by NZ First Minister Shane Jones.
Climate scorecard launched for local elections
16 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Youth-led climate justice organisation Generation Zero has launched new candidate scorecards for this year’s local body elections, hoping to make climate a key issue.
Climate at the ballot box in local govt elections
15 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate action as well as anti-climate stances are both the subject of promises at this year's local government elections, with pledges to focus on resilience to extreme weather events widely supported, while plans for cutting emissions have been countered by promises to block such action, as voting papers hit mailboxes last week.
Industry struggles with double-digit power price hikes
15 Sep 2025
As power prices surge by double-digit amounts for the second year in a row, industrial users can’t keep absorbing cost increases, the Major Electricity Users’ Group says.
Coal imports up 650%
12 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams and Liz Kivi | Coal imports are up 650% as generators stockpile the most polluting fossil fuel ahead of next winter.
Invites-only fast-track for seabed mine slammed as 'rushed, awful'
12 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With the wider public shut out of submissions, critics including Te Pāti Māori, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining and Greenpeace say the process strips away robust scrutiny and risks setting a dangerous precedent.
Media round-up
12 Sep 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Climate adaptation discussions descended into political squabbling at a recent conference; New Zealand may find itself no longer trusted by allies if it ditches climate goals; and are we living through the fastest energy transformation in human history?
'Non-negotiable' – EU carbon pricing to hit Kiwi exporters, expert warns
11 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | High carbon exports will inevitably face a high carbon tax at the EU border, possibly in the next five years, and high methane agricultural products might not be exempt, an international expert told a local audience yesterday.
'Reframe' climate conversations - focus on thriving together, says advisor
11 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand must mirror its Covid-19 response if it wants to get buy-in from the public on climate action, according to Ministry for the Environment chief advisor Heather Peacocke.
Declining sea-ice is altering Antarctic food webs
11 Sep 2025
A new study shows a significant change in Antarctic phytoplankton over time that could cascade through the marine food web and affect the ocean’s capacity as a carbon sink.
Indigenous forest 'islands' could help transition exotic plantations to native bush
11 Sep 2025
Native forest 'islands' within exotic plantations might be the key to transitioning plantations from exotic to Indigenous, according to new research.
Watts full-throated in National’s support for Paris
10 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts came to this week’s Climate Change and Business Conference with nothing to announce.
Milestone for NZ Steel electrification
10 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | NZ Steel has passed an installation milestone for its new electric arc furnace, which will reduce emissions from the Glenbrook steel mill site by as much as one megatonne (1Mt) a year.
First supercritical geothermal site chosen
10 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Land within Rotokawa Geothermal Reservoir in the Taupō Volcanic Zone has been selected as a preferred site for New Zealand’s first supercritical geothermal exploration, with design work already underway to develop the first well, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says.
Polar geoengineering ideas 'dangerous'
10 Sep 2025
Geoengineering will not save the polar regions from catastrophic meltdown, according to an expert.
Contact tries again for Southland windfarm
10 Sep 2025
Contact Energy has reapplied for consent for its Southland wind-farm, lodging the project with the new fast-track regime after it was rejected earlier this year.
‘Pick up the phone’ on climate change action, Hipkins urges Luxon
9 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should reach out to the Labour Party if he wants get a political deal on methane reductions and the Paris agreement rather than his two coalition partners, Labour leader Chris Hipkins says.
NZ needs to be part of a regional SAF strategy: Z, Air NZ
9 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand needs to be part of a regional strategic approach to sourcing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with domestic production less the aim than ensuring access to the fuel from one of a number of strategically positioned bio-refineries around the world.
La Niña set to prolong NZ hydro shortfall
9 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With La Niña favouring a drier-than-normal spring across much of the South Island, hydro lakes are unlikely to recover without substantial rain and late snowmelt – keeping national storage levels below average.
Bleak future for skifields due to climate change - expert
8 Sep 2025
Winter snowfall was well below average for much of the country, with multiple skifields remaining closed due to a lack of snow, offering a glimpse into a "dire" future for snowsports in New Zealand, according to an expert.
Kawerau's new hope: Plan to replace coal with pine ramps up
8 Sep 2025
By Diane McCarthy, Local Democracy Reporter | Construction on a $300 million wood pellet plant in the Eastern Bay of Plenty is expected to start next month, with hopes it could cut the use of coal in New Zealand.
Govt overhaul leaves the door open for coal mining on conservation land
Fri 12 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s sweeping reclassification of thousands of hectares of publicly-owned conservation land has met with sharp criticism, with environmental groups saying the decision leaves vulnerable ecosystems exposed to mining and development.
Hydro increases overall renewable electricity generation in September quarter
Fri 12 Dec 2025
The September quarter saw 89.4% of all electricity generated from renewable sources, with hydro, geothermal and solar leading the charge, according to new data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
Govt warned that scrapping ag emission pricing comes with risks
Thu 11 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s move to halt plans for agricultural emissions pricing without replacing it with any other action will leave New Zealand facing a bigger gap to meet its third emissions budget, Environment ministry officials have warned.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
Wed 10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transport pollution was the biggest contributor to an increase in New Zealand’s consumption-based emissions in 2023, with emissions from household travel up 12%, and consumption-based emissions totalling 58.3 million tonnes – up 1.6% from the previous year.
Christchurch Airport boasts world-first liquid-hydrogen refuelling for test aircraft
30 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Local companies working on hydrogen-electric flight have made ‘a significant step forward’ in successfully filling aviation tanks with liquid hydrogen produced and stored on-site at an international airport for the first time.
Uncertainty eroding confidence in forestry sector
5 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Warnings are mounting that tree planting is set to plunge to “very close to zero”, as new Ministry for Primary Industries data shows ETS registration applications falling sharply as confidence in forestry declines.
Investors must support positive climate-tech
28 Nov 2025
OPINION: We need better leadership than the current ‘climate opportunism’ that is rife in the Beehive, and we need to back a marketplace that will make it happen, writes Rob Campbell.
