Pacific families on the food scraps revolution – and how to avoid maggots
16 Apr 2025
By Mary Afemata, Local Democracy Reporter
Tomato crops are thriving in Reporoa, powered by what Aucklanders are throwing in their green bins.
Oxfam urges NZ to renew climate funding as Pacific projects face closure
Wed 12 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Oxfam Aotearoa is calling on the Government to urgently renew New Zealand’s climate finance commitments, warning that vital projects supporting Pacific communities’ resilience are running out of funding.
New national dataset to unlock blue carbon potential in NZ’s coastal wetlands
Wed 12 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Ministry for the Environment and the Nature Conservancy have collaborated on a dataset to inform a framework to potentially include coastal wetlands into compliance and voluntary carbon credit schemes.
COP30: Climate law changes mean NZ could retreat from its international obligations
Wed 12 Nov 2025
By Cathrine Dyer, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington | As this year’s UN climate summit (COP30) gets underway in Belém, Brazil, the New Zealand delegation will be attending beneath a cloud of scepticism about the government’s seriousness in addressing carbon emissions.
NZ failing to tackle child hunger in climate plans
Tue 11 Nov 2025
New Zealand’s climate policies rank among the worst in the world for addressing climate-driven child hunger and malnutrition, according to World Vision.
Regulator signs off on deal to retain Huntly capacity
Tue 11 Nov 2025
The Commerce Commission has authorised the Huntly Firming Option (HFO), allowing Contact Energy, Meridian Energy and Mercury NZ to pay Genesis Energy to keep one of its ageing Rankine units available as backup generation until December 2035.
Farmers rep loses seat on Taranaki environment committee
Tue 11 Nov 2025
By Craig Ashworth, Local Democracy Reporter | Federated Farmers has lost its seat on the Taranaki committee that monitors pollution and consent compliance and looks after rivers and streams.
Big ag processors coy about govt changing climate policy
Mon 10 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | While some economists are predicting that government backsliding on agricultural methane goals could hurt exporters’ access to premium markets, New Zealand’s major processors are remaining tight-lipped over the potential implications.
DOC trims costs and winds down jobs for nature
Mon 10 Nov 2025
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is entering a new phase of tighter budgets and structural change as it winds down the pandemic-era Jobs for Nature programme and reshapes its operations to absorb long-term cost pressures.
Nation-building projects and the energy transition
Mon 10 Nov 2025
By Ian Mason | COMMENT: Last month, the Labour Party announced its first key election policy: to create a ‘New Zealand Future Fund’ to deliver “lasting national value, stronger communities, lower costs, more resilient industries, and opportunities that keep talent and ideas in New Zealand”.
Cost gaps in Fast-Track law could silence environmental voices – EDS
Mon 10 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Environmental Defence Society is warning that flaws in the Fast-Track Approvals Act 2024 could shut out critical conservation input, after legal advice found key statutory bodies can’t recover costs for participating in the process and councils face uncertainty over which costs are covered.
