Topics tagged with 'Carbon Credits'
Carbon price grinds higher - where to from now?
Mon 30 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | The carbon price has continued to grind slowly higher since this month’s failed auction, with prices at their highest since March, although still languishing well below this year’s auction floor price.
Bill to limit farm-to-forest conversions passes first reading
Fri 27 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government's bill aiming to limit farm-to-forestry conversions in the Emissions Trading Scheme passed its first reading in Parliament this week, however concerns were raised over rushing it through under urgency, with less than two weeks allowed for public submissions.
Could an unexplained carbon forest sink solve govt’s billion-dollar climate woes?
23 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | A groundbreaking study shows that New Zealand’s native forests are absorbing far more carbon dioxide than previously thought.
Govt hopes to lure international investors with nature credits
19 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government is hoping its support for a biodiversity credits market in New Zealand will see at least $20 million of investment stay in the country.
Carbon auction fails again
18 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | As predicted, today’s carbon auction failed to attract any bidders, with the secondary market languishing at nearly 20% below the minimum auction price.
Biodiversity market needs govt regulation to avoid fraud risk
17 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | Participants have applauded the government’s pilot programme for New Zealand’s voluntary biodiversity market, but an expert says the emerging market needs better regulation to avoid reputational risk and fraud.
Carbon auction odds-on to fail
13 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | The carbon price has rallied slightly in recent weeks, however with secondary market prices still hovering around the $57 mark, well below this year’s $68 auction floor price, next week’s Emissions Trading Scheme auction looks set to fail.
Pará’s Amazon forest carbon deal in doubt as prosecutors move to block it
13 Jun 2025
The Brazilian state’s contract with foreign governments and companies has run into trouble over concerns it was premature and agreed without consulting Indigenous communities.
Govt announces pilot projects for voluntary nature credits
12 Jun 2025
The government today announced it is supporting the voluntary credits nature market to expand by running pilot projects across New Zealand.
Legal experts sue Climate minister over ‘glaring holes’ in climate plan
11 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | Legal experts are taking the government to court over its Emissions Reduction Plan, alleging it fails to fulfil basic requirements of the law – with one of the arguments focussing on an over-reliance on tree-planting.
Govt mulls status quo for ETS auction settings
29 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has released its consultation on the Climate Change Commission’s latest advice on Emissions Trading Scheme auction settings and volumes, putting forward the option to ignore the commission’s advice to boost auction volumes from 2028-2030.
EU countries agree to exempt most firms from carbon border tariff
28 May 2025
European Union countries backed plans on Tuesday to scale back the bloc's carbon border levy to cover just 10% of the companies currently covered by the scheme, on the grounds that these firms account for nearly all of the emissions involved.
Greenwashing is rife in Australia, but could its days be numbered?
28 May 2025
COMMENT: Have you ever ticked the box to “fly carbon neutral”, had something delivered via “carbon-neutral shipping” or chosen to pay a bit extra to buy “carbon-neutral gas” from your energy retailer?
Govt announces changes to ETS market governance
27 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government is making changes to strengthen market governance of the Emissions Trading Scheme, climate change minister Simon Watts announced this morning.
Cuts to climate finance put exports in jeopardy: Lawyers
23 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has halved international climate finance, a move aid organisations describe as “devastating,” and which lawyers say could put our Paris Agreement commitments and export market access at risk.
Media round-up
23 May 2025
In our weekly round-up of climate coverage in local media: What is behind delays to a taxpayer-funded methane satellite? Is carbon capture a fossil fuel industry scam? and David Hall argues that efficient forms of energy are not "lesser evils."
Govt puts off reviewing carbon subsidies
22 May 2025
By Shannon Williams | The government is no longer considering changes to phase-out rates for millions of dollars worth of carbon subsidies to industrial polluters under the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Forecast points to a significant drop in NZU stockpile in 2026
21 May 2025
By Clive Bradbury | ANALYSIS: The Crown’s latest forecasts of supply and demand suggest we could see a significant drop in the NZU stockpile in 2026, with uncertainty around forestry playing a large part in the equation.
Carbon price too low to fund carbon capture
20 May 2025
The government’s climate target to 2030 is at risk, after revelations that a carbon capture project which the government was relying on to deliver one third of its carbon reductions, might not go ahead.
Transpower will keep gas and carbon trading platform
19 May 2025
Transpower will continue to own and operate its gas and carbon trading platform emsTradepoint for the foreseeable future, it announced this morning.
Key rules agreed for credible climate project crediting under UN carbon market
19 May 2025
Media release | A UN Body responsible for setting up a carbon market under the Paris Agreement adopted important new standards to guide how emission-reducing projects measure their impact.
Carbon price up but June auction still tipped to fail
15 May 2025
The carbon price has recovered somewhat as forestry selling eases, however NZUs are still changing hands on the secondary market at well below the $68 auction floor.
Greens promise to rapidly reduce emissions in new Green Budget
14 May 2025
By Shannon Williams | The Green Party has unveiled its alternative Green Budget, promising bold investments to tackle the climate crisis and deliver cleaner air, water, and soil.
Govt needs to get moving to deliver international climate target says commission
12 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Climate Change Commission is warning that “time is running short” for the government to deliver on its international climate target.
Farming lobby attacks ‘loopholes’ in carbon forestry limits
7 May 2025
Beef + Lamb New Zealand is urging the government to close what it says are loopholes in new guidance around limits on carbon forestry.
Cookstove carbon credits: Recipe for cooking the climate books
6 May 2025
Media release | A new report reveals that cookstove carbon projects eligible for the Korean Emissions Trading Scheme are at risk of issuing 18 times more credits than they should, echoing past EU carbon market mistakes.
Air New Zealand announces less ambitious emissions ‘guidance’
2 May 2025
Air New Zealand has published its first “emissions guidance,” saying it expects to reduce net “well-to-wake” greenhouse gas emissions from jet fuel by 20-25% by 2030, from a 2019 baseline.
Govt on track to ban farm-to-forest conversions - McClay
2 May 2025
Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has confirmed that restrictions on full farm-to-forest conversions on LUC 1-6 farmland will be in place this year.
Experts question Climate Commission’s advice
30 Apr 2025
The Climate Change Commission’s latest advice on Emissions Trading Scheme auction settings is lacking important information, and fails to take into account the commission’s own advice to update the country’s climate targets, says an expert.
Carbon price slumps for fourth week in a row
29 Apr 2025
Carbon prices on the secondary market dropped for the fourth consecutive week last week, with NZUs changing hands at $20 below this year’s auction floor price of $68.
Commission’s plan to increase ETS auction units could lead to lower prices
24 Apr 2025
Experts are criticising the Climate Change Commission’s proposal to increase the amount of carbon units available at auction, while the market is still plagued by low prices and seems oversupplied.
Govt can auction more carbon credits: Commission’s advice
23 Apr 2025
The Climate Change Commission says that ‘surplus’ pollution permits in the market have dropped more quickly than expected, so the government could auction 14 million additional NZUs to 2030.
Moribund carbon price underlines Emissions Trading Scheme’s low integrity
22 Apr 2025
By Liz Kivi | Experts are blaming declining carbon prices on weak policy settings and the government’s unwillingness to tackle continuing problems with the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Carbon price nosedives
16 Apr 2025
The carbon price graph dropped off a cliff yesterday, down 6% overnight to a ten-month low amidst continued selling from forest owners.
ETS surplus volume likely to be reducing too slowly - new analysis
14 Apr 2025
Excess carbon units in the Emissions Trading Scheme - the ‘surplus’ in privately held accounts - look to be reducing more slowly than the Climate Change Commission's targeted annual reductions, according to new analysis.
Govt needs to look at alternatives to free pollution credits for industrial emitters: Commission
11 Apr 2025
The Climate Change Commission says there are “legitimate questions” about hundreds of millions of public money spent on free carbon credits for polluters, and the government should be looking at alternatives.
Commissioner calls for urgent reform of carbon forestry in ETS
10 Apr 2025
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment is calling on the Government to remove forestry from the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme, warning that the country’s flagship climate policy is entrenching risky land use decisions and undermining long-term emissions reductions.
'Don't tinker with the ETS': forestry groups
10 Apr 2025
Foresters have hit back against the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s call to remove forestry from the Emissions Trading Scheme, saying the move would threaten New Zealand’s climate goals.
East Coast advocates join calls to take forestry out of the ETS
10 Apr 2025
Sustainable land-use advocates in Tairāwhiti are demanding immediate government action on the Environment Commissioner's recommendation to phase forestry out of the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Experts back scepticism about carbon forestry
10 Apr 2025
Experts from around the country agree that the Environment Commissioner's 'Alt-F Reset' report is "incredibly timely" as the world faces unprecedented climate change.
German coalition eyes 'limited' foreign carbon credits
10 Apr 2025
The parties likely to form Germany's next government today presented their coalition treaty, which pledges to allow the use of foreign carbon credits to reach the country's 2040 climate target.
Climate implications of quarterly action plan?
9 Apr 2025
While the government's second quarterly action plan for 2025 doesn't make much - if any - mention of climate, several items on the checklist could impact emissions, including plans for legislation to limit farm-to-forestry conversions in the ETS, decisions on scaling up a biodiversity credit market, and moving all vehicles to Road User Charges instead of petrol taxes.
ETS stockpile up nearly 7 million
8 Apr 2025
The stockpile of privately held Emissions Trading Scheme pollution permits increased 6.7 million to 157.1 million units in the three months to March 31, according to figures released by the Environmental Protection Authority yesterday.
Question mark over Government modelling for pine planting on public conservation land
8 Apr 2025
Media release | Forest & Bird is concerned about modelling revealing that meeting the Government’s climate commitments would require planting vast areas of conservation and other Crown land in permanent pine forests, in a desperate attempt to meet Aotearoa New Zealand’s net zero emissions 2050 goal.
Govt plan for forestry on Crown land raises questions for the Emissions Trading Scheme
4 Apr 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government’s latest plan for carbon forestry includes a large chunk of planting on Crown land, with 155,000 hectares of exotic forestry projected to enter the Emissions Trading Scheme by 2042.
Carbon market increasingly volatile
1 Apr 2025
Last week was 2025’s most volatile so far for the carbon market, with units changing hands below $60 all week, and even trading down to the low $50s.
The case against a carbon credit farm in Madagascar
1 Apr 2025
The Italian multinational Tozzi Green has begun planting trees on land that local residents claim was stolen from them.
Govt releases detail on ETS forestry restrictions
28 Mar 2025
The government has released more detail on new restrictions for farm conversions to exotic forestry in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), which foresters say will prevent another planting boom.
Carbon price drops to 6-month low
26 Mar 2025
By Liz Kivi | The New Zealand Unit spot price has fallen dramatically in the wake of last week’s declined auction, with the Carbon News NZU Index closing at $54.67 yesterday, down 10% from prices above $60 at the start of last week.
Carbon credit deal to provide windfall for Maori landowners
21 Mar 2025
By Moana Ellis, Local Democracy Reporting | An isolated Maori Land Trust in the central North Island has sealed a groundbreaking carbon credit deal, securing millions for its 4000 owners and tens of thousands of beneficiaries.
Council land banks to prepare for future disasters
Fri 27 Jun 2025
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter | In a "uniquely Hurunui" move, a North Canterbury council is land banking to prepare for future natural disasters and the threat of climate change.
Bill to limit farm-to-forest conversions passes first reading
Fri 27 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government's bill aiming to limit farm-to-forestry conversions in the Emissions Trading Scheme passed its first reading in Parliament this week, however concerns were raised over rushing it through under urgency, with less than two weeks allowed for public submissions.
Greenwashing is rife in Australia, but could its days be numbered?
28 May 2025
COMMENT: Have you ever ticked the box to “fly carbon neutral”, had something delivered via “carbon-neutral shipping” or chosen to pay a bit extra to buy “carbon-neutral gas” from your energy retailer?
This company could change the shape of air travel
19 Jun 2025
Inside JetZero's cavernous 275,000-square-foot hangar at Long Beach Airport in L.A. County, the future of flight takes an unexpected shape.
IRD will stop using wetland destruction in ‘how-to’ for claiming expenses
Fri 27 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | Environmental organisation Forest & Bird has welcomed the Inland Revenue’s decision to stop using wetland destruction as an example of a tax-deductible agricultural expense in future guidance.
Sustainability claims questioned as renewable diesel surges
14 May 2025
Critics are sceptical about industry claims of renewable diesel life-cycle greenhouse gas emission cuts and warn renewable diesel carbon releases will surge if sourcing is scaled up, triggering tropical deforestation as producers convert forests to energy crops, such as oil palm and soy.
Nations wrap up Bonn talks with pledge to boost UN climate budget by 10%
Mon 30 Jun 2025
Countries have agreed to increase their funding to the United Nations climate body, but according to observers, progress on several other key issues at the Bonn intersessional talks was mixed and inconsistent.
Carbon price grinds higher - where to from now?
Mon 30 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | The carbon price has continued to grind slowly higher since this month’s failed auction, with prices at their highest since March, although still languishing well below this year’s auction floor price.
China's approvals of coal power plants grow after 2024 decline
11 Jun 2025
China approved 11.29 gigawatts of new coal power plants in the first three months of 2025, already exceeding the 10.34 GW approved in the first half of 2024.
A credible UN carbon market needs rules that count – we’ve just set them
11 Jun 2025
COMMENT: The broad standards for a more ambitious market are now in place. But without a steady flow of investment, this progress will remain largely on paper.
Common low-grade clay strengthens low-carbon concrete
5 Jun 2025
Media release | Engineers at RMIT University have converted low-grade clay into a high-performance cement supplement, opening a potential new market in sustainable construction materials.
Cuts to climate finance put exports in jeopardy: Lawyers
23 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has halved international climate finance, a move aid organisations describe as “devastating,” and which lawyers say could put our Paris Agreement commitments and export market access at risk.
Could an unexplained carbon forest sink solve govt’s billion-dollar climate woes?
23 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | A groundbreaking study shows that New Zealand’s native forests are absorbing far more carbon dioxide than previously thought.
Pre-trial skirmishes kick off in groundbreaking climate case
Thu 26 Jun 2025
By Vernon Rive | The Supreme Court’s February 2024 ruling clearing the way for Māori climate spokesperson Mike Smith’s tort claims against a group of New Zealand ‘carbon majors’ to proceed to trial has set the stage for years of protracted, contentious litigation.
Govt budgets $200m for would-be gas investors
23 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | Energy Resources Aotearoa has welcomed the government's plan to co-invest $200 million in fossil gas expansion, while environmental and climate groups have reacted with horror.
Europe on alert as first major heatwave of 2025 pushes temperatures to 42C
Mon 30 Jun 2025
Authorities across Europe are on alert as the first heatwave of the summer pushes temperatures up to 42C (107.6F), as the fastest-warming continent continues to suffer the effects of the climate emergency.
Latest trawl bycatch numbers 'a grim wake-up call'
24 Jun 2025
Media release – Greenpeace | The latest fisheries bycatch data paints a grim picture, with trawlers hauling up thousands of kilograms of coral and killing hundreds of fur seals and seabirds over a 12 month period.
Policymakers often ignore forest regeneration in fight against climate change
Mon 30 Jun 2025
Naturally-regenerating forests are often ignored by policymakers working to curb climate change even though they hold an untapped potential to rapidly absorb planet-warming carbon from the atmosphere.
NZ quits Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance
Wed 25 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | The New Zealand government has quietly withdrawn from an ambitious coalition to phase out fossil fuels, with a $200 million publicly-funded subsidy for new gas fields the latest policy in conflict with that goal.
Watts talks big on energy reform, but barriers persist
29 May 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Energy and Climate Change minister Simon Watts says the government is doubling down on efforts to boost renewable energy generation, streamline regulation, and drive private sector investment as New Zealand faces mounting energy security and affordability challenges.
Electrification challenge for politicians, regulators
27 May 2025
Rewiring Aotearoa is calling for stronger political leadership to bring its vision of a cheaper, cleaner and stronger energy system to life, with the launch of its policy manifesto today.
Forestry consents and relaxed rules in erosion zones sow seeds of future disaster
13 Jun 2025
OPINION: The government’s move to restrict exotic forestry on our best food-growing soils will push even more forestry investment onto high erosion risk land on the East Coast, with the worst land becoming the only land left for the most intensive and destructive land use, writes Manu Caddie
Biodiversity market needs govt regulation to avoid fraud risk
17 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | Participants have applauded the government’s pilot programme for New Zealand’s voluntary biodiversity market, but an expert says the emerging market needs better regulation to avoid reputational risk and fraud.
Methanex closure comes early this year
14 May 2025
The almost-now-annual closure of Methanex has come earlier this year, giving more confidence that the electricity system will get through the winter without a fuel shortfall.
Electric firebricks: decarbonising high-temperature industrial heat
13 Jun 2025
By Ian Mason | A new technology could offer a more cost-effective solution than hydrogen to decarbonise one ‘hard-to-abate’ sector of New Zealand’s economy, as well as having ample potential for demand response as the electricity grid becomes more renewable.
90% of NZers expect more extreme weather disasters because of climate change
23 Jun 2025
A new climate change poll from AMI, State, and NZI shows New Zealanders are expecting more extreme weather events as a result of climate change.
Will NZ walk away from the Paris Agreement?
20 Dec 2024
By Geoff Bertram | COMMENT: Unless the government can find very cheap offshore mitigation, the temptation to walk away from its Paris Agreement obligations may well be too strong to resist for a coalition government focused on fiscal austerity.
Rise in legal challenges over carbon credit schemes
Fri 27 Jun 2025
Scrutiny of how companies plan to meet climate commitments is growing, with many successful legal challenges.
Could ‘orange’ hydrogen be NZ’s key to net-zero?
30 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand could be sitting on resources for a thriving multi-billion-dollar, low-carbon hydrogen economy, which might even be capable of creating a net reduction of carbon dioxide, according to scientists.
Govt’s $200m fossil fuel handout breaches trade agreement – Greens
24 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government's $200 million dollar investment fund for local gas exploration is a "clear breach" of the Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability agreement, according to legal advice commissioned by the Green Party.
Govt undermining its own climate tool – expert
Wed 25 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme is at risk of becoming useless as a tool to cut emissions, partly because of dubious forecasting about emissions, according to a climate policy expert.
NZ's latest climate target 'weak' – Climate Action Tracker
24 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand's new international climate target to 2035 is weak, and could even allow for higher emissions than the 2030 target, according to a global scientific project that tracks government climate action.
UN talks delivered a drop in the ocean of finance and policy change needed to save the sea
Fri 27 Jun 2025
Never has the ocean been the focus of so much investor and political attention as it was in Nice earlier this month.
Fight over coal mine heats up
30 May 2025
Forest & Bird is calling on the government to create a new scientific reserve covering the Denniston Plateau on the West Coast, which would stop a fast-tracked coal mine.
Microplastics found in sand on dozens of NZ beaches
4 Jun 2025
Scientists have extracted microplastics from the sand of 22 beaches from the Far North to Banks Peninsula.
Protesters flood Venice’s streets during Amazon founder Bezos’s wedding
Mon 30 Jun 2025
Protesters denounced the Amazon billionaire’s multimillion-dollar wedding in Venice as the city deals with environmental concerns.
Straterra has a new name: the New Zealand Minerals Council
16 Apr 2025
Media release | Straterra has been renamed as New Zealand Minerals Council, says chief executive Josie Vidal.
How solar panels and batteries can now run close to 24/365 in some cities
24 Jun 2025
A few years ago, solar power became the “cheapest electricity in history”, but it still lacked the ability to meet demand 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.
Mangroves' overlooked climate role
Mon 30 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand’s mangrove forests are pulling tens of thousands of tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere each year, yet their climate benefits remain unrecognised in national emissions reporting.
Green budget 'ludicrous la-la land' – govt
15 May 2025
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the budget was "clown show economics" and an "absolute circus".
Biochar's negative emissions tech coming to Fieldays
6 Jun 2025
Biochar Network New Zealand will showcase its negative emissions technology biochar at this year's Forestry Hub at Fieldays 2025.
United Nations carbon market rules agreed but concerns remain
25 Nov 2024
New carbon market rules agreed at the fractious UN climate summit will be a relief to New Zealand and Singapore, who were leading the negotiations, but concerns about greenwashing and disadvantaging nature-based solutions remain.
Trump just revoked California’s EV rules. How much is California to blame?
19 Jun 2025
Before Trump overturned the state’s electric vehicle rules, California had been pushing automakers too hard, according to one of the state’s leading experts.
As methane climate impacts soar, NGOs, scientists, and advocates launch campaign to 'pull the methane emergency brake'
13 Jun 2025
Media release | International NGOs, scientists, and climate advocates are launching a global campaign calling for deep, rapid, mandatory cuts in methane emissions as the best way to lower near-term global temperature rise.
Waste Levy risks becoming ‘slush fund’ under proposed changes – Commissioner
5 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Proposed changes to New Zealand's waste legislation risk undermining public trust in the waste levy scheme, according to Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton.
Govt's RMA overhaul sparks fears for nature and climate
30 May 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government has opened public consultation on the biggest overhaul of environmental planning rules in New Zealand’s history, with critics warning it puts nature and climate at risk in favour of fast-tracked development and industry expansion.
UN University report warns against carbon credits from REDD, tree planting, and improved forest management
13 Jun 2025
But the report stops short of recommending banning the trade in carbon temporarily stored in trees.
For the first time, China invests more in wind and solar than coal overseas
29 May 2025
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, long derided for its heavy carbon footprint, was dominated by wind and solar power projects for the first time from 2022 to 2023, according to a new analysis. But coal plants financed in earlier years are still coming online.
