Topics tagged with 'Carbon Credits'
Row brews over free credits to heavy emitters
14 Feb 2020
Tension is building over the allocation of free carbon credits to trade-exposed heavy emitters.
Lack of global market hurts offsets investment
13 Feb 2020
The lack of a global carbon-trading market is holding back investment in offsets, a new report says.
Expert warns against offshore credits sprees
3 Feb 2020
New Zealand should be buying offshore carbon credits every year instead of going on a buying spree when its carbon bill falls due, says an expert on international carbon policy and markets.
NICK SMITH: How National's ETS did the job
31 Jan 2020
National MP and former climate minister Nick Smith says his Emissions Trading Scheme has seen New Zealand out-perform Australia on emissions reduction.
Australia wrong about our Kyoto credits
30 Jan 2020
New Zealand comes out on top in a row with Australia about climate change, according to The Guardian.
Way now clear for wood, say biomass champions
29 Jan 2020
The Government’s latest move towards getting rid of coal-fired boilers in hospitals and schools shows growing market confidence in the country’s biomass supply, the Bionergy Association says.
Greens vow to make polluters foot the bill
29 Jan 2020
The Greens go into the September 19 election promising to “fix” the carbon price.
ETS proposals bring record carbon prices
28 Jan 2020
New Zealand carbon prices have shot to record levels on the back of proposed changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Down the track, our emissions rate will fall
19 Dec 2019
New Zealand’s projected greenhouse gas emissions are falling.
Kyoto credits threaten Paris Agreement
13 Dec 2019
Allowing countries to carry Kyoto credits forward could effectively kill the Paris Agreement, negotiators are being told.
PLEASE EXPLAIN: NZ faces grilling at Madrid meet
9 Dec 2019
New Zealand faces up to the world in Madrid today to explain how it is meeting its emissions reduction targets despite a 23 per cent rise in gross emissions and 65 per cent rise in net emissions since 1990.
Why the rulebook matters for us at Madrid talks
3 Dec 2019
New Zealand’s plan to use carbon credits to meet part of its emissions reduction target means the country has a big stake in international climate negotiations now under way in Madrid.
Foresters want pre-1990 trees recognised
26 Nov 2019
Extra carbon stored in pre-1990 forests should be recognised with carbon credits, forest owners say.
Carbon footprints not on Government agenda
22 Nov 2019
The Government is not considering the carbon footprint of imported goods.
WANTED: Someone to run carbon-credit auctions
21 Nov 2019
The Government is looking for someone to build and run its new carbon-credit-auctioning platform.
That's the act done ... now on with the changes
8 Nov 2019
The zero carbon act is law; bring on reform of the Emissions Trading Scheme.
MPs rubbish call on overseas emissions
7 Nov 2019
Parliament has roundly rejected an attempt to get overseas emission reductions given the same weight as New Zealand projects under new climate legislation.
Foresters query claims over dairy land sales
4 Nov 2019
Forest owners are challenging claims that vast areas of productive farmland are being turned into carbon forests by foreign investors.
Forest credits' future unclear as new laws loom
25 Oct 2019
The use of forestry carbon credits to offset agricultural emissions remains unclear as law changes go before Parliament.
Select Committe backs methane status quo
21 Oct 2019
The Environment Select Committee has taken a bob each way on methane targets – recommending the Government’s target stay in place but that the Climate Change Commission should be able to change it.
You don't have the guts, campaigner tells MPs
2 Sep 2019
A young woman who has dedicated her life so far to the zero-carbon bill says she has so little faith in the country’s leaders to act on climate change that she is afraid to have children.
Pressure builds for farming carbon-storage break
26 Aug 2019
Parliament is under increasing pressure to let farmers claim credit for carbon stored in trees and soils on their land.
Pioneer pushes farming for soil-carbon credits
21 Aug 2019
Farming for soil-carbon credits offers landowners in New Zealand and other OECD agricultural countries a vast potential to make money, says a global carbon markets pioneer.
Big Business wants equality for carbon credits
20 Aug 2019
A think-tank representing some of the biggest companies operating in New Zealand wants international carbon credits to be treated the same as domestic emissions reductions.
Big Four's free credits top $1 billion mark
13 Aug 2019
Four companies have been given a total of more than $1 billion worth of free carbon credits in the latest round of subsidies under the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Cash for credits could cause taxpayer headache
12 Aug 2019
Money instead of carbon credits was used to offset half the greenhouse gas emissions liable under the Emissions Trading Scheme last year - creating a potential financial liability for taxpayers.
Government rules out carbon market agency
5 Aug 2019
The Government says it will not set up a new agency to set the volume of carbon credits in the market.
Free credits, existing forests suffer in ETS changes
31 Jul 2019
Free carbon credits to trade-exposed heavy emitters are being phased out and forests registered in the Emissions Trading Scheme before 2019 will be barred from the new averaging accounting system, the Government has just announced.
Stand over Kyoto units could cost us $500 million
29 Jul 2019
Refusing to use Kyoto units to meet New Zealand’s Paris climate promise could cost taxpayers half a billion dollars.
Officials examine future of dodgy Russian credits
19 Jul 2019
Officials are calculating the number of dodgy carbon credits New Zealand used in meeting its emissions reduction target, raising the prospect that the country might yet make good on its actions.
Pay the farmers now, says bioenergy lobby
17 Jul 2019
The Bioenergy Association wants farmers who cut greenhouse gas emissions to be eligible for carbon credits now.
Government moving to auction system - and soon
10 Jul 2019
The Government is gearing up to auction carbon units from the end of next year at the latest.
Shaw optimistic gas emissions will peak early
21 Jun 2019
New Zealand’s domestic demand for carbon credits is expected to exceed 43 million units in 2023 - up more than two million units on this year, new figures show.
Nats vow to fight farm emissions moves
17 Jun 2019
The National Party says it will continue to oppose bringing agricultural emissions into the Emissions Trading Scheme.
UK likes our way with international credits
13 Jun 2019
Britain is following New Zealand's lead in saying it will probably use international carbon markets in its drive to carbon neutrality - despite the advice of its own experts.
Emissions pricing not working, says World Bank
11 Jun 2019
Just one per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions are at prices likely to drive the emissions cuts needed to preserve life as we know it, the World Bank says.
Emitters choose to pay carbon fee to Govt
31 May 2019
More emitters this year are opting to pay the Government fee instead of surrendering carbon units, leaving the Government with a potential carbon deficit when it comes to meeting the country’s international obligations.
Big emitters get together and make a plan
28 May 2019
New Zealand’s trade-exposed industrial emitters – who between them are given more than five million free carbon credits a year – have produced a plan to help to cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
NZ plays different carbon game home and away
23 May 2019
The gap between New Zealand’s international emissions reduction pledge and what it plans to do at home is big enough to drive an electric bus through.
Disbeliever Brash turns financial backer
6 May 2019
Former National Party leader and one-time Reserve Bank Governor Dr Don Brash might have had doubts in the past about whether humans are changing the climate, but now he’s throwing his money and weight behind technology that could help to solve New Zealand’s methane headache.
HALFWAY HOUSE: PM changes our climate focus
24 Apr 2019
Jacinda Ardern’s nuclear-free-moment speech on the campaign trail during the 2017 general election struck a chord.
MEMO LABOUR: The answers are in your files
17 Apr 2019
Labour could find solutions in its own files to the problem of putting a price on greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.
How forests can be long-term carbon stores
27 Mar 2019
Forests can be a long-term store of carbon if they’re managed correctly – but without them, New Zealand has no hope of reaching carbon neutrality by the middle of the century, a forestry expert says.
Farming in ETS good move, says forestry expert
26 Mar 2019
Agriculture should be brought into the Emissions Trading Scheme as soon as possible – and farmers be given the opportunity to make money from it, the Government has been told.
Treasury sees use for international credits
22 Mar 2019
Treasury wants to retain the ability to use international carbon credits to meet New Zealand’s 2050 emissions reduction target, confidential papers show.
Tiwai and dairying push up emissions from coal
21 Mar 2019
The firing up of an extra pot-line at the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter and a strong dairying season pushed up New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of coal.
Big emitters join hands to buy carbon forests
15 Mar 2019
Four of New Zealand’s largest emitters are joining forces to supply their own carbon credits to meet obligations under the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Fertiliser firm wants balance in carbon credits
5 Mar 2019
A company given millions of dollars’ worth of free carbon credits says the system giving it the units should not be stopped until at least 70 per cent of its competitors also face a carbon price.
Farmers must pay for emissions, say foresters
4 Mar 2019
The Government’s latest attempts to make the Emissions Trading Scheme attractive for forestry won’t work if farmers don’t have to pay for their emissions, say foresters.
Auckland Council opens $1m Climate and Emergency Readiness Fund
4 Feb 2026
Community groups across Tāmaki Makaurau are being invited to apply for a new $1 million Climate and Emergency Readiness Fund, designed to support locally led action on climate change, disaster preparedness and climate adaptation.
Hydrogen plant to start construction
Tue 10 Feb 2026
Construction is set to start this month on Hiringa Energy’s long delayed green hydrogen project in South Taranaki, after years of consenting fights that culminated in the Court of Appeal rejecting Greenpeace’s challenge in late 2023.
NZ’s government wants tourism to drive economic growth – but how will it deal with aviation emissions?
22 Oct 2025
By Robert McLachlan, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University | Following a brief dip during the COVID pandemic, aviation is back in a growth phase.
Air NZ inks deal for its first internationally verified carbon credits
9 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Air New Zealand has committed to buying 8000 tonnes of carbon removals by 2030, in partnership with local native forest investment platform My Native Forest.
World fight against invasive species comes to Auckland
Tue 10 Feb 2026
Media release: University of Auckland | From countering invasive pink salmon in Norway to controlling feral cats in the Cayman Islands, knowledge on eradicating invasive species will be shared by international experts in New Zealand.
Govt launches strategy backing wood-based heat sector
23 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Forestry biomass could replace as much as 40% of fossil fuel-generated process heat by 2050, but access to supply, regulatory settings and business cases for converting to wood-based heat sources are required, the Government says in a series of documents released yesterday.
IPBES: Four key takeaways on how nature loss threatens the global economy
Wed 11 Feb 2026
The “undervaluing” of nature by businesses is fuelling its decline and putting the global economy at risk, according to a major new report.
Minister’s letters: Mildly positive or just virtue signalling?
5 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market was buoyed slightly yesterday, after letters between the Government and the Climate Change Commission were proactively released.
LNG plan risks fossil fuel dependency: Environment Commissioner
Wed 11 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Importing liquefied natural gas risks creating a “new path dependency on fossil fuel” unless LNG is ring-fenced for use only in the electricity system and only during extended periods of hydro-electricity water shortages, says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton.
LNG: a rational choice compared to unpalatable alternatives
Tue 10 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: By deciding to underwrite the private construction of a liquefied natural gas import facility in Taranaki, the Government has made a rational choice in favour of energy security and affordability.
RMA’s successors hinge on two untested bets
17 Dec 2025
Two ideas sit at the heart of the Government’s replacement for the Resource Management Act: regulatory relief and spatial planning.
Opposition attacks Govt over fossil fuel phaseout backdown
2 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Revelations that Resources Minister Shane Jones ruled out New Zealand signing up to a 'road map' away from fossil fuels at last year’s global climate summit show the National Party’s minor coalition partners’ undue influence over the Government, according to Labour leader Chris Hipkins.
EU weighing options to support industry in carbon market overhaul
Mon 9 Feb 2026
The European Commission is looking at various ways to support industries in an upcoming overhaul of the EU carbon market to prevent them moving to areas with lower pollution standards, the head of the Commission’s climate department said late on Wednesday.
Govt missing opportunity to slash electricity prices, says expert
Wed 11 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s fixation on eliminating the "dry-year risk margin" as a lever to reduce costs misses a much bigger opportunity to lower electricity prices, according to Christina Hood, head of Compass Climate.
DOC trims costs and winds down jobs for nature
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.
$8.9m research project to map future ocean change around Aotearoa
Tue 10 Feb 2026
The major research project aims to better understand how warming oceans are driving extreme weather events around New Zealand, from heavy rainfall to tropical cyclones.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transport pollution was the biggest contributor to an increase in New Zealand’s consumption-based emissions in 2023, with emissions from household travel up 12%, and consumption-based emissions totalling 58.3 million tonnes – up 1.6% from the previous year.
'Damning' report challenges forestry’s role in Tairāwhiti as sector rejects conclusions
4 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New independent analysis commissioned by Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti challenges long-standing claims that industrial forestry underpins the Tairāwhiti economy.
Australian ministers met Japanese gas companies 20 times amid fossil fuel lobbying push
Wed 11 Feb 2026
Australian government ministers met Japanese gas company executives more than 20 times in the last term of parliament as Labor encouraged investment in the fossil fuel industry.
RMA to speed up fossil fuel consents
18 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | An energy lobby group has welcomed a last-minute amendment to the RMA that puts fossil fuels on the same footing as renewables, however a sustainable energy expert says the move “beggars belief.”
US is canceling almost $30 billion in Biden-era energy loans
27 Jan 2026
The Trump administration said it’s canceling almost $30 billion of financing from the Energy Department’s green bank after reviewing transactions approved under former President Biden.
Green Member’s Bill aims to give whales legal ‘personhood’
Mon 9 Feb 2026
The Green Party wants to give whales legal rights, including the right to sue.
Govt slammed for weakening methane target
15 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams The Government has pushed through legislation under urgency to almost halve New Zealand’s 2050 methane target – a move Opposition parties say disregards scientific advice, breaks the country’s hard-won political consensus on climate action, and shifts the burden of higher warming and higher future costs onto the next generation.
COP30 microcosm of difficult geopolitics, says Vanuatu's Climate Minister
15 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Despite ‘intransigent’ states blocking multilateralism and a disappointing official outcome, Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu says he left the COP30 climate summit feeling more positive than after previous UN climate conferences.
Hydrogen emissions are ‘supercharging’ the warming impact of methane
19 Dec 2025
The warming impact of hydrogen has been “overlooked” in projections of climate change, according to authors of the latest “global hydrogen budget”.
Wales council to buy and demolish homes prone to flooding
4 Feb 2026
A row of homes in a village in south Wales is to be bought by a local authority and demolished as they can no longer be protected from flooding caused by the climate crisis.
Climate law change spanner in the works for Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry
19 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s controversial changes to New Zealand’s legal framework for climate policy have thrown a spanner in the works for a long-running Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry into climate change.
Greenpeace set to take UK Government to court over deep-sea mining licences
5 Feb 2026
Environmental NGO Greenpeace has kick-started a legal challenge against the UK Government’s decision to approve the transfer of two seabed exploration licences to a newly-formed mining company with US links.
Govt unveils plans for carbon storage regulations – and ETS rewards
18 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government has released plans to regulate carbon capture and storage in natural geological formations, which include Emissions Trading Scheme incentives, with the aim of introducing related legislation in 2026.
Ministers celebrate fast-track milestone amid criticism
Tue 10 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government is marking the first anniversary of its fast-track approvals regime, saying it is helping “build New Zealand’s future”, despite continued criticism from environmental groups, opposition parties, and industry voices following several controversial project decisions.
Govt looks to Commission for ways to shore up carbon price
4 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government has asked the Climate Change Commission to look at lower auction volumes and an increase in the auction floor price as options to revive the Emissions Trading Scheme, as carbon prices remain weak.
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.
A turning point for our ocean: why the High Seas Treaty matters for the Pacific
Tue 10 Feb 2026
Media release: UNDP | The global ratification of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Treaty marks a decisive moment in international cooperation and ocean governance. Referred to as the High Seas Treaty, the agreement establishes a legally binding framework to protect marine biodiversity in areas of the ocean that lie beyond national jurisdiction.
Out of Paris, but will the US formally quit the UN climate regime?
30 Jan 2026
The Trump administration has decided to withdraw the US from the broader UN climate convention, raising questions about the legality of the move and what it means in practice.
Commentators slam Govt inaction in aftermath of climate change-fuelled storms
30 Jan 2026
By Liz Kivi | Climate action - or inaction - is shaping up to be an election issue, with multiple commentators drawing a line between the Coalition Government’s backsliding on climate targets and the deadly extreme weather events of the past week.
Major health risks linked to plastics emissions set to soar by 2040
28 Jan 2026
The adverse health consequences stemming from the global plastics system are projected to more than double by 2040, driven by greenhouse gases, air pollutants and toxic chemicals released throughout its lifecycle.
Rushed resource management reform bills unworkable: Environmental Defence Society
Wed 11 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Environmental Defence Society says significant amendments are needed to the government’s Natural Environment and Planning Bills, warning the proposed reforms risk weakening environmental limits, public participation, and regulatory certainty.
Three Greenpeace activists removed by police from Fonterra
17 Dec 2025
Media release | Three Greenpeace activists were removed by police from Fonterra’s downtown Auckland offices, following a protest on Monday at the Shareholders’ Fund meeting over the corporation’s role in the contamination of rural communities’ drinking water.
Critical minerals talks with US questioned in Waitangi Tribunal climate inquiry
Mon 9 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand and the United States' negotiations over critical minerals have raised questions for the Waitangi Tribunal’s long-running inquiry into climate change.
Australia's renewables boom delivers coveted power price payoff
Wed 11 Feb 2026
Australia's wholesale electricity prices fell to the lowest in four years in 2025, bucking the rising price trends seen elsewhere and validating claims that renewables-heavy power system overhauls can help lower consumer power costs.
NZ-UAE partnership boosts advanced tech
Mon 9 Feb 2026
Media release | A new Antarctic science partnership with a leading UAE university will grow New Zealand’s advanced engineering and modelling capability, supporting high-value jobs, encouraging economic growth, and enabling smarter climate risk management, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti says.
Solar households to get little-noticed tax break
23 Sep 2025
A provision in the government’s latest tax bill would exempt households from paying tax on income they earn by selling excess electricity back to the grid.
NZ hydrogen regulation to catch up with the world
18 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The government has announced a regulatory reset for New Zealand’s emerging clean tech hydrogen sector.
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With New Zealand's $1.3 billion international climate finance commitment set to end with no clarity on what follows, the Auditor-General says oversight of that funding remains patchy and long-term outcomes are unclear.
China maximises battery recycling to shore up critical mineral supplies
Wed 11 Feb 2026
Beijing is bracing for a tsunami of spent EV batteries by taking steps to boost recycling – a strategy that could also cut its reliance on imports of clean energy minerals.
Vanuatu introduces draft UN resolution on ICJ demanding full climate compensation
Wed 11 Feb 2026
Media release: Vanuatu Government | Vanuatu has introduced the zero draft of a United Nations General Assembly resolution to endorse the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion on the obligations of states in respect of climate change, delivered on 23 July 2025.
Kaicycle celebrates ten years of collective climate action in Pōneke
14 Nov 2025
Media release: Kaicycle | Since 2015, Kaicycle has grown from a humble pilot project growing kai and collecting compost on bicycles into the thriving urban farm and composting hub that Wellingtonians know and love.
Heatwaves, downpours and droughts – Auckland on track for more extreme weather
1 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show Auckland will face more heatwaves, heavier downpours, worsening droughts and growing coastal threats as climate extremes intensify, according to a new report from Earth Sciences New Zealand.
Argentina fires ravage pristine Patagonia forests, fueling criticism of Milei’s austerity
4 Feb 2026
The wildfires, among the worst to hit the drought-stricken Patagonia region in decades, have devastated more than 45,000 hectares (174 square miles) of Argentina’s forests in the last month and a half, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists.
World's first 20 MW offshore wind turbine powers grid in China
Tue 10 Feb 2026
The world's most powerful offshore wind turbine has begun feeding electricity into the grid off the coast of southeast China, marking a major technological leap in the country's wind power industry.
