Climate issues and the 2023 Election: Is Aotearoa heading in a sustainable direction?

30 Aug 23 - By Ralph Chapman | COMMENT: In the glare of now daily global climate disasters, climate change is taking a higher profile as an election issue in Aotearoa.

Green Party announces climate adaptation fund

28 Aug 23 - The Green Party has announced a $750 million fund for councils to put in place nature-based solutions, aiming to cut emissions and protect communities from climate change impacts.

RMA comes to an end - but for how long?

22 Aug 23 - Thirty years of the Resource Management Act has come to and with the passage of two reform bills, but how long they will last and what they could be replaced with will depend on the outcome of the election.

Govt delays agricultural emissions reporting and pricing

21 Aug 23 - The government has announced farm-level emissions reporting won’t start until the end of 2024, and emissions pricing won’t start until a year later.

Green Party announces new policy to slash energy bills and carbon emissions

14 Aug 23 - The Green Party has announced a new policy it says will save households up to $1,200 on energy bills every year and slash carbon emissions.

NZ First would reverse ‘treasonous’ refinery closure

8 Aug 23 - New Zealand First would reopen the refinery at Marsden Point as the closure was “economic treason”, Party leader Winston Peters said.

Govt to include carbon sinks in Emissions Trading Scheme

12 Jul 23 - Cabinet agreed last week to reform the Emissions Trading Scheme to recognise all forms of carbon sinks rather than just forestry.

Major energy policy papers delayed

10 Jul 23 - Clashes between different streams of advice and political imperatives have been blamed for the delay in the release of four important energy policy papers last week.

Parties disagree on RMA reform

5 Jul 23 - Political reactions to the resource management reform bills dispelled what little chance there was of a bipartisan way forward.

Forestry Institute's open letter warns NZ may fail to meet climate commitments

23 Jun 23 - The New Zealand Forestry Institute has penned an open letter to MPs and the media outlining “deep concerns” about the future of forests and forest investment, with climate commitments at stake.

National vows to keep agricultural emissions out of the ETS, restrict forestry planting

13 Jun 23 - By Liz Kivi | The NZ Institute of Forestry says the National Party’s newly unveiled climate and agricultural policy will hinder the country’s climate goals.

Govt invests in biomass research and bioenergy plant for Tairāwhiti

12 Jun 23 - The government is investing in a bioenergy plant, as well as research into biomass and better forestry practices, with the aim of making the forestry industry more sustainable.

Fuel bills get differing responses

12 Jun 23 - Two fuels sector bills made progress in Parliament last week.

No FERT tax - govt running out of time and patience with agri sector

2 Jun 23 - With an election looming the Government is running out of time to lock in an alternative pricing mechanism for agricultural emissions. More than running out of time, the government is reportedly...

National to ban overseas investment to convert farms into carbon forestry

19 Apr 23 - The National Party will ban foreign investment in farms to convert them to forestry for carbon farming.

National Party promises to double renewables

31 Mar 23 - The National Party today announced a new energy policy that it says will double renewable energy growth.

Climate action on the ballot paper: Shaw

27 Mar 23 - The IPCC’s latest blunt warning on climate change came shortly after James Shaw's own warning that the Greens would not be pushed around on climate change policy in the future.