Media round-up
24 Oct 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: The Government planned to gut New Zealand's world-leading climate disclosure law - even as it bragged about it on the world stage; a new Indigenous climate adaptation network launches; and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts admits that the new methane target might breach the global 1.5C goal.
New Zealand guts climate policy it bragged about on the world stage
By Kirsty Johnston, RNZ
The government has gutted New Zealand's once world-leading climate disclosure law, just months after officials showcased it to the United Nations as evidence of "significant progress" on climate action.
Climate minister admits new target may breach global 1.5C goal
By Marc Daalder, Newsroom
Lawyers for Climate Action has accused the Government of breaching international law by knowingly setting a target inconsistent with the global warming goal.
Indigenous climate adaptation network launched in Ōtautahi
By, Te Aniwaniwa Paterson, Te Ao Māori News
Māori and Pasifika leaders are leading climate adaptation, guided by ancestral knowledge and Indigenous principles to build resilience and shape global solutions.
Antarctica's September weather driving current hot windy conditions
By Alexa Cook, RNZ
Antarctica's warm weather in September is driving the gale force winds and hot temperatures being felt across New Zealand this week.
Property fetish ducks climate responsibility
By Sasha Maher, Newsroom
We can’t continue to treat climate adaptation as a fiscal liability – it needs to be a transformative plan
Wairarapa vet helps bring pioneering climate care programme to NZ
By Deena Coster, The Post
A Wairarapa vet has been at the forefront of bringing a pioneering programme to New Zealand to help her colleagues get to grips with climate change.
Reality bites: Roads of National Significance will bankrupt the nation
Greater Auckland
The government’s mega-roads programme is now looking to cost an astonishing $40-50 billion, based on new documents released yesterday by the NZTA.
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Story copyright © Carbon News 2025
NZ–Ireland farm emissions deal labelled 'Greenwash Alliance'
Fri 20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A renewed research partnership between New Zealand and Ireland to tackle agricultural emissions is being promoted as a step forward for climate innovation – but Greenpeace says it risks becoming a distraction from meaningful cuts.
$30m airline fund risks ‘burning public money’ without lasting benefit – expert
Fri 20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A $30 million government package to support regional air routes risks delivering poor value for money while increasing emissions, according to transport strategist Tim Adriaansen.
Can oil crisis lead to the economic transformation we desperately need?
Fri 20 Mar 2026
COMMENT: The latest crisis has all the ingredients for the “wake-up call” we need to transform our economy to one fit for the future. But we thought that about COVID as well, writes Catherine Knight.
Media round-up
Fri 20 Mar 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Crown lawyers agree High Court could quash emissions plan if found unlawful; NZ is locked in 'disaster inertia'; and climate change is notably absent from new development laws.
Govt finalises geothermal strategy and commits to $50m boost
Thu 19 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government has launched a plan to grow geothermal energy and committed a further $50 million from the Regional Infrastructure Fund to support early-stage projects and drive expansion of the sector.
LNG sold as insurance, but modelling points to a bigger role
Thu 19 Mar 2026
New Zealand’s gas market is heading for a sharp contraction whether the country sticks with domestic supply alone or introduces liquefied natural gas imports.
ECan says coastal protection a priority despite planning handbrake
Thu 19 Mar 2026
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter | Canterbury’s regional council says it is continuing to address coastal protection rules, but conservationists say it is not acting fast enough.
Govt process to change climate plan ‘fundamentally flawed’, says judge
Wed 18 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The government’s 2024 changes to New Zealand’s first Emissions Reduction Plan was “as fundamentally flawed a process as I think I have ever seen”, the judge presiding in a case challenging climate change decision-making has said.
Disestablishing Environment Ministry 'too risky', say environmental advocates
Wed 18 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government's plan to fold the Ministry for the Environment into a 'mega ministry' is fraught with risk, according to separate submissions from the Environmental Defence Society, Forest & Bird and Environment Network Manawatū.
Iran oil crisis: why NZ’s car dependence is now a strategic liability
Wed 18 Mar 2026
By Timothy Welch, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau | The war in Iran and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz have sent oil prices past US$100 a barrel – and Kiwis flocking to fill up. Petrol just hit NZ$3 a litre and some stations have reported running dry.
