New Zealand: All stories
Fast-track projects get nod from business and greenies
4 May 2020
Plans to fast-track some covid-19 recovery projects through the Resource Management Act are winning approval from business and environmentalists.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
4 May 2020
PARLIAMENT’S Environment Select Committee meets today for a briefing on the Government’s Estimates and to discuss the Urban Development Bill.
Big Business backs low-carbon recovery projects
1 May 2020
Big Business is pushing for low-carbon projects to be a priority for covid-19 pandemic recovery funding.
POLITICS: Re-birth of the ETS
1 May 2020
The Environment Select Committee’s report on planned changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme goes back to Parliament on Monday.
Emissions drop is not all good news
1 May 2020
Experts have cautioned that a drop of nearly 8 per cent in greenhouse gas emissions should not be seen as good news for efforts to tackle climate change.
Stand by for big blows in the Atlantic
1 May 2020
New forecasts show that this year’s Atlantic hurricane season, which will take place between June and November, is shaping up to be among the worst.
RMA welcomes back greenhouse gas emissions
30 Apr 2020
Greenhouse gas emissions are set to come back into the Resource Management Act, making it compulsory for councils to consider climate change in granting resource consents.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
30 Apr 2020
Today is the deadline for trade-exposed heavy emitters to apply for free carbon credits to offset a large portion (60 per cent or 90 per cent, depending on the sector) of last year’s greenhouse gas emissions.
EDS puts future tourism in the slow lane
29 Apr 2020
The covid-19 pandemic gives New Zealand a chance to switch to “slow” tourism that doesn’t threaten the country’s fragile landscapes, the Environmental Defence Society says.
Auckland plays hardball with RMA breaches
29 Apr 2020
Auckland Council is cracking down on people breaching the Resource Management Act, a new report says.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
29 Apr 2020
Trade-exposed heavy emitters have only today and tomorrow to apply for free carbon credits under the Emissions Trading Scheme.
This year likely to be hottest since records began
29 Apr 2020
This year is on course to be the world’s hottest since measurements began, according to meteorologists.
Costs kill Mercedes dreams of hydrogen
29 Apr 2020
Mercedes-Benz is killing its programme to develop passenger cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
What we do now with the economy is crucial
28 Apr 2020
The actions governments take now to stimulate their economies in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic will either slow or exacerbate climate change, international experts say.
Govt cans changes to electricity factor
28 Apr 2020
The Government is shelving plans to review the way electricity costs are calculated in deciding how many free carbon credits should be given to industry.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
28 Apr 2020
It’s back to business for some today – including MPs – as the country moves from level four to level three of the covid-19 pandemic lockdown.
Free credits could be lifeline for Marsden refinery
24 Apr 2020
Free carbon credits could be worth $18 million a year for the Marsden Point oil refinery and in some years be the difference between profit and loss, Treasury says.
POLITICS: Bring on the electric express
24 Apr 2020
Politics this week has been about the prospect of the country’s covid-19 economic recovery doubling as a low-carbon transformation.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
24 Apr 2020
Submissions on the Government’s plans to regulate the fuel market close tomorrow.
Floods will be catastrophic by 2030, says study
24 Apr 2020
New research finds 147 million will be hit by floods by the end of the decade – ‘the numbers will be catastrophic’.
ClimCom to review our Paris emissions target
23 Apr 2020
New Zealand seems set to increase its Paris Agreement emissions reduction target.
Covid could cut transport emissions by 10%
23 Apr 2020
The covid-19 pandemic could see New Zealand’s transport emissions fall 10 per cent this year, an expert says.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
23 Apr 2020
Parliament’s Environment Select Committee discusses changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme today.
Refinery could get windfall carbon credits
22 Apr 2020
Bringing the Marsden Point oil refinery into the Emissions Trading Scheme could cost taxpayers money, Cabinet has been told.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
22 Apr 2020
Today is Earth Day – and the fourth anniversary of the signing of the Paris Agreement.
Flying and driving on post-covid agenda
21 Apr 2020
A third of New Zealanders intend travelling again when covid-19 pandemic restrictions are lifted, new research shows.
Windows could produce future electricity
21 Apr 2020
Windows could replace rooftop solar panels within a decade as a way of generating electricity, scientists say.
Pandemic slashes emissions by 25%
20 Apr 2020
Covid-19 pandemic restrictions are cutting New Zealand’s annual greenhouse gas emissions by 2 per cent a month, the Sustainable Business Network says.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
20 Apr 2020
The Government will announce today whether the level-four restrictions imposed as part of the covid-19 pandemic response will be eased.
POLITICS: Shaw tells business to speak up
17 Apr 2020
Climate minister James Shaw says businesses wanting the covid-19 pandemic economic recovery to be a low-carbon transformation need to lobby Cabinet ministers now.
Act before public gets angry, warns Z head
17 Apr 2020
The Government has two months to get emissions reductions into covid-19 economic recovery plans before the public starts getting angry and demanding a return to the way things were, says Z Energy chief executive Mike Bennetts.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
17 Apr 2020
Submissions on the Government’s plans to regulate the fuel market close on April 25, on the draft transport policy statement on April 27 and on the
Shell plans to be net-zero carbon by 2050
17 Apr 2020
Royal Dutch Shell plans to become a net zero-carbon company by 2050 or sooner by selling more green energy to help to reduce the carbon intensity of its business.
More frequent violent weather could bring bloodshed
17 Apr 2020
Violent weather – seasonal storms, floods, fires and droughts – is growing more extreme, more often. And bloodshed might follow more often, too.
WATER WARNING: We don't yet have the answers
16 Apr 2020
New Zealand has insufficient information to accurately predict the impact climate change will have on the country’s waterways and water supplies, a new report out today is warning.
Our hill-country is easy going for nitrous oxide
16 Apr 2020
New Zealand’s hill-country farms are releasing much less nitrous oxide than previously thought.
Emissions-fighter invites other businesses to follow
16 Apr 2020
A company that imports insulation panels from Europe wants all small businesses to join it in cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
16 Apr 2020
Submissions on the Government’s plans to regulate the fuel market close on April 25, on the draft transport policy statement on April 27 and on the draft rail plan on May 11.
Plane-free skies spur research into impact of aviation
16 Apr 2020
Mass groundings of flights caused by the coronavirus pandemic are giving scientists a rare chance to study plane-free skies and pin down how far aviation stokes global warming.
Fewer emissions, but we need to be doing more
15 Apr 2020
New Zealand’s emissions fell slightly in 2018 – but not because the country has changed its behaviour.
Upton raises moratorium on new coal mines
15 Apr 2020
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton says New Zealand should be thinking about a moratorium on new coal mines.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
15 Apr 2020
Our Freshwater 2020, updating the 2017 official report on the state of New Zealand’s waterways, will be released tomorrow.
Capital council might sell $7m worth of credits
14 Apr 2020
Greater Wellington Regional Council might sell more than $7 million worth of carbon credits to fund its low-carbon transition.
ClimCom sees greening bonus from pandemic plans
14 Apr 2020
The Climate Change Commission is calling on the Government to use its covid-19 recovery plan to kick-start the country’s decarbonisation and says reform of the Emissions Trading Scheme should continue.
Climate-fight veteran has fresh hopes for the future
14 Apr 2020
Roger Blakeley is optimistic about climate change for the first time in a long time.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
14 Apr 2020
This week, we find out whether New Zealand’s emissions are falling, as they need to do if the country is to meet its Paris Agreement obligations.
Emissions from fossil fuels could fall 5% this year
14 Apr 2020
Global carbon emissions from the fossil fuel industry could fall by a record 2.5 billion tonnes this year, a reduction of 5 per cent, as the coronavirus pandemic triggers the biggest drop in demand for fossil fuels on record.
POLITICS: Roll out the big guns
9 Apr 2020
The Government’s climate programme is under double-fire this week.
Green Party calls for national electrification plan
Mon 20 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Green Party is calling for a national plan to electrify homes, transport and industry using renewable energy, to reduce fossil fuel dependence in response to the Middle East crisis.
Going concern status flags depth of Methanex NZ's gas crisis
Tue 21 Apr 2026
Methanex's New Zealand operation is relying on financial support from its Canadian parent to remain a going concern after a second consecutive year of asset impairments left the business with negative equity.
Fonterra admits ‘100% grass-fed’ claim breached law in greenwashing row
2 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Fonterra has admitted its “100% New Zealand grass-fed” claims on Anchor butter were misleading and breached the law, settling a case brought by Greenpeace Aotearoa over packaging used between December 2023 and April 2025.
Climate pollution static but NZ still on track for first emissions budget, says MfE
Fri 17 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand is still on track to meet its first emissions budget, according to the Ministry for the Environment, despite the pace of emissions reductions slowing to a standstill.
NZ’s latest push to roll out more EV chargers is a good thing – but can it go the distance?
14 Apr 2026
A $50 million plan to expand New Zealand’s public electric vehicle (EV) charging network marks another step toward a lower-emissions transport system.
Wilding conifers continue to plague Southland
Fri 17 Apr 2026
By Matthew Rosenberg, Local Democracy Reporter | Fast-spreading conifer trees are causing headaches in Southland as inconsistent funding continues to hinder control efforts.
Victorian Hydrogen announces Southland urea fertiliser project using coal
Today 11:45am
By Liz Kivi | Australian-based Victorian Hydrogen has announced it is developing a new 1.5 million-tonne-a-year urea fertiliser operation in Southland, which it will apply for under fast-track legislation.
