New Zealand: All stories
Carbon prices continue the good-news climb
4 Jun 2020
Carbon prices jumped another $2 yesterday as the market continued to react to Tuesday’s announcements about the Emissions Trading Scheme.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW >>
4 Jun 2020
Parliament takes a break today from discussing climate change, with the third reading of the Emissions Trading Scheme reform bill and the committee stage of the Resource Management Act reform too low on the order paper to get an airing.
Shaw sings songs of praise for trading scheme
3 Jun 2020
Climate minister James Shaw – who three years ago was calling for the Emissions Trading Scheme to be scrapped – was singing its praises in Parliament yesterday.
Prices jump a dollar on fixed-price news
3 Jun 2020
Carbon prices jumped a dollar yesterday on the back of confirmation the fixed-price option will move to $35 this year.
Govt opposed ClimCom in cash-or-credits case
3 Jun 2020
The Government went against the advice of its own Climate Change Commission in allowing companies to continue to pay money instead of surrendering carbon credits to atone for their greenhouse gas emissions.
WHAT YOU NEEED TO KNOW >
3 Jun 2020
Parliament sits today and tomorrow, with the Resource Management Amendment Bill due for its second reading and reforms to the Emissions Trading Scheme about to go through the committee of the House stage before having their third reading.
Effective carbon price-cap will hit $35 this year
2 Jun 2020
The effective price cap on carbon prices in New Zealand will go to $35 this year.
Biofuel could pull trucks into line, say officials
2 Jun 2020
New Zealand could cut its greenhouse gas emissions immediately by using more biofuels in trucks, officials say.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW >
2 Jun 2020
Changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme are expected to have their second reading in Parliament today.
Shaw pushes hard for climate risk reporting
29 May 2020
The Government is talking to the External Reporting Board about developing the system for compulsory disclosure of climate risk to businesses.
POLITICS: Carbon pricing plans about due
29 May 2020
Whether the Government will go ahead with plans to lift the maximum carbon price this year could become clear next week.
Government ignores experts in water plan
29 May 2020
New Zealand’s government has been praised for listening to health experts in its pandemic response, but when it comes to dealing with pollution of the country’s waterways, scientific advice seems less important.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW >
29 May 2020
Sunday is the last day for emitters to pay for their 2019 emissions – either by surrendering carbon credits or paying the Government $25 for every tonne of liable emissions.
Green bailouts will let airlines off the hook
29 May 2020
The coronavirus pandemic has grounded thousands of aircraft, contributing to the largest-ever annual fall in CO2 emissions. But at some point the planes will fly again and with them, global emissions.
Clean energy cracker thing in a crisis
29 May 2020
Clean-energy companies are doing better in the covid-19 crisis than their fossil-fuel counterparts, says analytics company GlobalData.
Tough new water laws put heat on farmers
28 May 2020
Dairy farmers will have to disclose how much synthetic nitrogen fertiliser they are putting on their land under new rules expected to clean up waterways and cut greenhouse gas emissions.
NZ partners Singapore on new carbon markets
28 May 2020
New Zealand is to work with Singapore on developing international carbon markets and low-carbon technology such as hydrogen.
Climate change keeps sustainability staff busy
28 May 2020
Climate change is the top priority for sustainability professionals working in New Zealand, new research shows.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
28 May 2020
Only three more days to Surrender Day – Sunday is the last day for emitters to pay-up for their emissions last year.
We're sitting on remains of a giant volcanic plume
28 May 2020
Back in the 1970s, scientists came up with a revolutionary idea about how Earth’s deep interior works.
How dangerous is low-level radiation for kids?
27 May 2020
A rethink on the risks of low-level radiation would imperil the nuclear industry’s future − perhaps why there’s never been one.
Cities critical to climate, Wellington tells Govt
26 May 2020
One of the country's largest local authorities says the Government 's plans for urban development are at odds with its programme for combatting climate change.
Simpson happy with his lot
26 May 2020
Coromandel MP Scott Simpson says he’s pleased to have kept the climate and environment portfolios in yesterday’s National Party reshuffle but had no say in the matter.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
26 May 2020
The Climate Action Tracker international climate science coalition holds an online summit today on achieving net-zero emissions energy systems.
Why a bullet train could increase greenhouse gas emissions
26 May 2020
Bullet trains are back on Australia's political agenda. As the major parties look for ways to stimulate the economy after the COVID-19 crisis, Labor is again spruiking its vision of linking Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane with high-speed trains similar to the Eurostar, France’s TGV or Japan’s Shinkansen.
Recyclable bricks and concrete the way of the future
26 May 2020
Bricks, concrete and other construction materials could one day be made from recycled PVC, waste plant-fibre or sand, thanks to a remarkable new kind of rubber polymer.
Muller's got 'very strong views' on cutting carbon
25 May 2020
New National Party leader Todd Muller says the drive toward a low-emissions economy should continue despite the effects of the covid-19 pandemic on the economy.
German coal generator fights Dutch coal phase-out
25 May 2020
Uniper is threatening to sue the Dutch government over a plan to phase out coal power by 2030, in a case experts warn could have a chilling effect on climate ambition internationally.
Electric bikes could halve transport emissions
25 May 2020
Replacing just 20 per cent of car miles travelled with e-bike travel could cut Britain's greenhouse gas emissions from transport by up to eight million tonnes a year, new research shows.
POLITICS: It looks like more of the same
22 May 2020
The outcome of National’s leadership stoush today is unlikely to affect the party’s approach to climate policy.
Waste operator cuts gas emissions
22 May 2020
Waste Management has cut greenhouse gas emissions from its own operations – but emissions from the rubbish it deals with are climbing.
Regional rail wins funding for business case
22 May 2020
A proposal for new trains to replace diesel engines with electric and expand Wellington’s regional rail service has won Government funding – but only to see if the business case stacks up.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
22 May 2020
Today is the last day for expressions of interest for funding under the latest round of the Government’s Waste Minimisation Scheme.
New solar cells pass global test standards
22 May 2020
Scientists have produced a new generation of experimental solar energy cells that, for the first time, pass strict International Electrotechnical Commission testing standards for heat and humidity.
Hydrogen dream driven by greed, says expert
21 May 2020
New Zealand’s dream of a hydrogen-powered economy is being driven by greedy oil industry investors and “enchanted” government officials, an energy analyst says.0
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
21 May 2020
Today is the last day for submissions on a new law aimed at smoothing out the supply of logs for the domestic wood industry.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
20 May 2020
Submissions on the Forestry (Regulation of Log Traders and Advisers) Amendment Bill, introduced as part of last week’s Budget, close tomorrow, when the Environment Select Committee will meet to discuss the bill.
Government goes for silence on ETS
19 May 2020
The Government will make no announcements about changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme until after surrender date on May 31.
Lockdown gave us whiff of life with low pollution
19 May 2020
Seven weeks of lockdown has provided evidence of how pollution can vanish overnight, says the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
19 May 2020
MPs take a break from Parliament this week, but will be back in the House next week.
Saucy sugar joins drive to find us better food
19 May 2020
Australia’s sugar industry is joining forces with health experts to call for a complete change to the world’s food systems.
Everybody hold hands and get on with it, says SBC
18 May 2020
The Sustainable Business Council is calling for aa cross-party consensus over the spending of covid-19 pandemic recovery money on decarbonising the economy.
Experts are back in fashion – so, get them talking
18 May 2020
British cabinet minister Michael Gove once sneered that “people have had enough of experts from organisations with acronyms saying that they know what is best and getting it consistently wrong.”
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
18 May 2020
Members of the Sustainable Business Council meet today and on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss the organisation’s future direction.
At last, a fair deal for our atomic love affair
18 May 2020
However you view the argument, nuclear passions run strong. A new film gives us a breathless ride through our atomic love affair.
POLITICS: James Shaw dines out
15 May 2020
Climate minister James Shaw must be pinching himself; the $50 billion the Government is pouring into digging the country out of the covid-19 pandemic financial hole dwarfs what money he had secured so far to cut carbon out of the economy.
HOW THEY SAW IT: reaction to the Budget
15 May 2020
Environmental Defence Society: A Green New Deal. Pleased with $1.1 billion to create 11,000 jobs “restoring the natural world”. Hopes this reset of economic thinking will flow through to the allocation of the $3 billion infrastructure fund, and the projects chosen are low-carbon.
Rising prices push up free-credits cost
15 May 2020
Rising carbon prices are pushing up the on-going cost of giving free carbon credits to emitters.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
15 May 2020
MPs take a break from Parliament next week but will be back in the House on May 26.
BUDGET: More money for infrastructure
14 May 2020
The Budget has come out with no real indication of the infrastructure projects the Government will back to stimulate the economy.
Local govt shake-up risks weakened environmental outcomes – Commissioner
Fri 27 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s push to simplify local government is "deeply flawed" and has been launched without a clear understanding of which functions must remain regional, according to the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
Govt plan to encourage new energy investment won’t cut costs for ordinary Kiwis
Thu 26 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | While gentailers and major energy users have welcomed the Government’s plan to leverage public sector demand to drive new energy projects, an expert says it is unlikely to reduce prices for ordinary people.
Govt's solar on farms initiative to cut costs, boost resilience
17 Feb 2026
Farms across Aotearoa will begin installing solar panels and battery systems as part of a government-backed demonstration programme designed to test whether on-farm renewable energy can reduce electricity costs and improve energy security for the food and fibre sector.
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.
NZ’s EV uptake decelerates
23 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand’s EV uptake is lagging behind other countries, with a huge drop in EV sales since 2023 bucking international trends, at the same time the Government contemplates abolishing its standard for clean cars entirely.
Tairāwhiti needs proper Govt support to heal the land – not empty announcements for political optics
Tue 24 Feb 2026
OPINION: The Government’s answer to Tairāwhiti’s severe erosion crisis – that the region apply for modest, contestable funding rounds – while rejecting the region's own land transition business case, leaves our long-term resilience hanging in the balance, writes Manu Caddie.
Kiwi startup takes on global plastic pollution
12 Feb 2026
A New Zealand startup is launching what it says is the world’s first plastic-free effervescent drink tablet, with the ambitious aim of eliminating bottled beverages to reduce global plastic pollution.
