Topics tagged with 'Carbon prices'
China is the big fish, says European ETS expert
5 Feb 2019
Linkages between emissions trading scheme in Europe and New Zealand are on the agenda – but it’s China that Europe is really interested in.
How NZ could offer a home to hydrogen
4 Feb 2019
Carbon prices of $300 to $400 a tonne could make hydrogen viable in New Zealand for electricity generation, a new report says.
Govt must show the way, says planning chief
30 Jan 2019
The head of the Planning Institute says the Government needs to step up and show the way for communities to plan for the impacts of climate change.
Hands off carbon price this year, says Contact
30 Jan 2019
Contact Energy is one of the companies which opposed the Government lifting the $25 carbon price cap this year.
MARKET REPORT: NZUs $25.05
30 Jan 2019
Spot NZUs opened at $25.05 bid and $25.20 offered this morning, after last fixing at $25.05.
Tiwai could lead way in new-deal aluminium
22 Jan 2019
The owner of New Zealand’s only aluminium smelter says the country could have a bright future producing low-emissions aluminium for a carbon-constrained world.
Govt explains why $25 cap should stay for now
21 Dec 2018
The Government says the current cap on the price of carbon needs to stay in place while the Emissions Trading Scheme is reviewed.
Fewer animals is real answer, says forest group
14 Dec 2018
A group set up to advise the Government on the role of forestry in cutting greenhouse gas emissions says the real answer is reducing livestock numbers.
Government stalls as carbon price hits high
13 Dec 2018
Record carbon prices have failed to convince the Government that the price cap should be lifted immediately.
We must cut animal numbers, says new report
7 Dec 2018
Another report has confirmed that New Zealand cannot meet its Paris Agreement commitments without reducing the number of farm animals – and says that carbon prices up to $80 a tonne are needed to do it.
FUNDING FUTURE: Why green will rule over brown
15 Nov 2018
Directors of companies in the “brown” economy might struggle to attract money as investors switch to the green economy, says Chapman Tripp.
How we'll pay for National's mismanagement
12 Nov 2018
Climate mismanagement under the National government means New Zealand will have to use international carbon credits to meet its emissions reduction targets, says a leading carbon forestry executive.
New RMA will cover effects of climate change
9 Nov 2018
The Government’s overhaul of the Resource Management Act will include the way it deals with climate change.
Emissions failure will hurt farmers, says Fonterra
31 Oct 2018
A global failure to cut greenhouse gas emissions will see New Zealand farmers face demands for major production cuts, the world’s largest milk-producer is warning.
Pioneering carbon investment fund opens doors
24 Oct 2018
A carbon investment fund six years in the making is open for business.
Why our monetary system suits Zero Carbon Act
15 Oct 2018
New Zealand’s monetary policy system is a good model for the Zero Carbon Act, says the country’s stock exchange.
At last, we're beginning to talk like grown-ups
12 Oct 2018
By publisher ADELIA HALLETT | Depending on your viewpoint, the world moved closer to – or further away from – climate destruction this week.
Government backs cuts to reach 1.5deg
9 Oct 2018
The Government backs emissions cuts in line with keeping global warming to no more than 1.5deg, and says negotiations with the National Party for cross-party agreement on climate policy are going well.
IPCC: Reaching 1.5deg is no easy task
8 Oct 2018
Keeping global warming to no more than 1.5deg is possible and sensible, but it will not be easy, the International Panel on Climate Change says.
ETS farming delay could be costly, says EY
2 Oct 2018
Postponing bringing agriculture into the Emissions Trading Scheme risks exposing New Zealand’s economy to a shock, says one of the world’s largest accounting firms.
Ministry likes look of targeted green taxes
26 Sep 2018
The Ministry for the Environment says it likes environmental taxes – especially for dealing with climate change and water problems.
Getting rid of free credits worth $2b, says TWG
21 Sep 2018
Ditching free carbon credits for trade-exposed heavy emitters could generate $2.1 billion a year in revenue, the Tax Working Group says.
Farmers' cost claims wrong, says commission
7 Sep 2018
Claims by the farming sector that cutting agricultural greenhouse gas emissions will cost farmers $230,000 a year by 2050 are wrong, the Productivity Commission says.
Foresters happy, farmers wary of carbon path
5 Sep 2018
Recommendations for what is being called the biggest land-use change in New Zealand’s history are pleasing foresters but not farmers.
PRODCOM 1: Innovation key to our carbon future
4 Sep 2018
Carbon prices of $200 a tonne, the end of fossil-fuels and agriculture subject to carbon pricing are on the cards if the Government picks up a new report.
PRODCOM 2: Market needs special treatment
4 Sep 2018
The carbon market should be managed by a special authority, the Productivity Commission says.
Calls for Government to act as carbon tops $25
31 Aug 2018
New Zealand carbon is trading over the unofficial cap price of $25, prompting new calls for the Government to hedge the country’s looming carbon debt.
Don't rush free-credits' demise, warn exporters
24 Aug 2018
Trade-exposed heavy emitters should keep getting free carbon credits until 70 per cent of their international competitors face a carbon price, says Export New Zealand.
High cost of land a blocker, say foresters
17 Aug 2018
The high cost of land means that even at $24 a tonne, New Zealand cannot rely on new forests to meet its 2030 emissions reduction target, the forestry industry says.
Carbon at $24 puts pressure on Government
16 Aug 2018
Carbon prices have smashed through the $24 barrier for the first time in nearly a decade of carbon trading in New Zealand, increasing pressure on the Government to lift the $25 price cap.
MARKET REPORT: NZUs $24.20
16 Aug 2018
Spot NZUs opened at $24.05 bid and $24.35 offered this morning, after last fixing at $24.20.
Lift carbon cap to $30 immediately, says broker
15 Aug 2018
The Government is being told to take the brakes off the carbon market and immediately lift the maximum price to $30 a tonne.
Farmers want clear carbon price guides
15 Aug 2018
Farmers want to know what range carbon prices will be over five-year periods, the Farm Forestry Association says.
No floor, but expect early action on carbon prices
14 Aug 2018
The Government might intervene in the market to lift carbon prices before 2020, but it has no plan to introduce a price floor.
At last, a new deal on the table for forestry
14 Aug 2018
The Government has finally unveiled its proposals for changing the way forestry is treated under the Emissions Trading Scheme – including a proposal for new permanent forestry provisions.
Heavy hitters bank more from free carbon credits
13 Aug 2018
The phasing out of the one-for-two carbon subsidy saw a big jump in the number of free carbon credits given to heavy industries last year.
New figures show emitters opting for arbitrage
10 Aug 2018
Emitters appear to be starting to arbitrage the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Businesses reluctant to factor in carbon prices
9 Aug 2018
Carbon prices rarely influence businesses’ decisions to install energy-efficient plant, according to a new report examining the market’s failure to drive down greenhouse gas emissions in the energy sector.
KiwiRail sees exciting future for hydrogen trains
3 Aug 2018
Hydrogen-powered trains could play a big part in cutting New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, KiwiRail says.
STATS SHOW: Shaw about to change the story
31 Jul 2018
Green Party co-leader James Shaw might be the climate minister, but it’s in his statistics portfolio that he is about to change everything.
Minister silent on arbitrage as prices climb
30 Jul 2018
Climate minister James Shaw isn’t commenting on the risk of arbitrage as carbon prices climb closer to the Government’s artificial price cap.
Taxpayers could be left holding carbon bill
26 Jul 2018
Owners of post-1989 forests due for harvest might be tempted to arbitrage carbon credits, leaving taxpayers with the bill and driving liquidity out of the carbon market.
OPINION: If energy grew on trees
20 Jun 2018
By JONATHAN McKEOWN | It is always refreshing when structures and processes work as they were designed to. It’s an absolute triumph when it involves the public sector, an industry body and business.
History says Bridges and Nats are talking hot air
18 Jun 2018
By publisher ADELIA HALLETT | Is Opposition Leader Simon Bridges’ offer to work with the Government on climate change policy worth any more than a dodgy hot-air carbon credit?
Key report dangerously misleading, say Wise men
15 Jun 2018
A document likely to underpin the Government’s plans to decarbonise the economy is being called dangerously misleading.
Trust ticks off benefits of higher carbon prices
14 Jun 2018
Carbon prices of $50 to $350 a tonne by 2020 will drive investments in low-emissions development of Maori land, creating jobs and alleviating poverty along the way, the Government is being told.
Government hears of $800 carbon price possibility
7 Jun 2018
Carbon prices of more than $800 a tonne will be needed if New Zealand doesn’t tackle greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, the Government has been told.
TIME'S UP: It's Surrender Day for carbon emitters
31 May 2018
Today is Emissions Trading Scheme Surrender Day – the last day for emitters to surrender units to cover their emissions last year.
Use taxes for a better world, says thinktank
14 May 2018
Taxes should be aiming at keeping human activity within the planet’s physical capacity – and that means carbon prices that deliver fast, deep and sustained emissions reductions, the Government’s Tax Working Group has been told.
MARKET REPORT: NZUs $21.35
9 May 2018
Spot NZUs opened at $21.35 bid and $21.50 offered this morning, after last fixing at $21.35.
‘Stop burning fossil fuels’ pleads scientist as extreme rain causes floods yet again
Fri 27 Mar 2026
Northland and Auckland have again been lashed by heavy rain, with hundreds of people evacuated last night because of extensive flooding in the Far North, and some areas hit by more than a month's average rainfall in just 24 hours.
Beef production drives 40% of agriculture-linked forest destruction, Brazil leads
Thu 26 Mar 2026
Beef production is the leading driver of agriculture-linked deforestation, accounting for 40% of all forest clearing done to open space for food production, according to details of a study released on Tuesday.
$30m airline fund risks ‘burning public money’ without lasting benefit – expert
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.
Signs of jet fuel hoarding emerge in Asia on Iran oil shock
Thu 26 Mar 2026
Signs are growing that Asian countries are hoarding jet fuel after the Iran war sent oil prices surging, reflecting growing strain on the aviation industry.
Planting mānuka might bring birds, bats and insects back to farms
23 Mar 2026
Media release | New research published today in the New Zealand Journal of Ecology shows that Mānuka forests planted to support honey production provide positive nature-related impacts.
Air NZ joins Marsden Point SAF project
3 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Air New Zealand has quietly added its name to a consortium exploring the viability of green hydrogen production for sustainable aviation fuel at Channel Infrastructure’s Marsden Point energy hub.
Tuvalu prioritises climate change in agreement with NZ
Fri 27 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand has pledged an additional $20 million to climate resilience work in Tuvalu, more than doubling Aotearoa's aid to the tiny island nation in the current financial year.
US cannot meet Iran war-induced LNG shortfall: industry leaders
Fri 27 Mar 2026
Business leaders are warning that the United States lacks the infrastructure to alleviate a global LNG shortage caused by the US-Israel war on Iran, which has kept a fifth of the world's energy supplies from leaving the Gulf.
NSW to ban new coalmines in major shake-up for $23bn industry
23 Mar 2026
A major shake-up is on the way for one Australian state’s single biggest export, which powers homes here and abroad.
Hormuz crisis critical to New Zealand
10 Mar 2026
By Nathan Surendran | COMMENT: Why the Hormuz crisis is a symptom, not the disease – and what it means for New Zealand.
Sustainable retail-office project breaks ground under new Green Star framework
19 Feb 2026
Construction is set to begin on a new retail-office development in central Auckland, which is targeting a 40% reduction in embodied carbon and 25% lower energy.
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.
Carbon price: Ups and downs amid geopolitical uncertainty
Thu 26 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | After ups and downs in recent weeks, the carbon market again broke above the $40 mark this week, with questions around how the Middle East conflict will play out weighing on market confidence.
WWF boss joins Opportunity Party with centrist climate pitch
Thu 26 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Opportunity Party has unveiled its first slate of candidates ahead of November's election, including World Wildlife Fund Aotearoa chief executive Kayla Kingdon-Bebb, as the party positions itself as a 'centrist environmental force' ahead of the election.
Environmental groups call for ETS reform
20 Feb 2026
Several environmental organisations are calling on political parties to make climate and biodiversity central to the 2026 election campaign, with reforming the Emissions Trading Scheme seen as a key priority.
Gisborne $29.7m recovery funding bid awaits Government decision
Fri 27 Mar 2026
By Zita Campbell, Local Democracy Reporter | Gisborne leaders are awaiting the Government’s response to a $29.7 million funding bid for a joint agency/iwi-led recovery plan after January’s severe weather event.
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.
Carbon trading schemes cut more emissions than carbon taxes, according to global study
20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Carbon trading schemes are more effective than carbon taxes at reducing emissions, cutting fossil fuel use, and accelerating the shift to renewable energy, a global study has found.
LNG sold as insurance, but modelling points to a bigger role
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.
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.”
Gaps in adaptation taxonomies hinder climate finance in Asia: report
5 Mar 2026
Without clearer criteria and metrics in adaptation taxonomies, Asia risks widening its climate financing gap, warns a new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
Top scientist speaks out against Trump regime’s attack on premier research centre
23 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | Kevin Trenberth, one of the world’s leading climate scientists, now based in New Zealand, has told the Trump administration he is “appalled” at its attempt to break up the international research centre he has been associated with for nearly 50 years.
Five trees can’t offset a car: Lawyers accuse Mazda of greenwashing
9 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action NZ is taking Mazda to the Advertising Standards Authority over its claims that a tree-planting programme will offset vehicle emissions.
Govt missing opportunity to slash electricity prices, says expert
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.
NZ prepares to join ‘gold rush’ for white hydrogen
Wed 25 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand may be close to commercialising the capture and use of naturally occurring ‘white’ hydrogen, with investment plans for developments in the Wairarapa region picking up pace in response to spiralling oil prices.
Media round-up
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.
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.
Govt process to change climate plan ‘fundamentally flawed’, says judge
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.
Cleantech expo coming to Auckland
Thu 26 Mar 2026
New Zealand’s first national cleantech expo is set to bring together 30 innovators, in what organisers say is the country’s fastest growing area in the tech sector.
Activists occupy controversial gold drilling site
Wed 25 Mar 2026
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | Opposition in Golden Bay to a controversial gold mine at Sams Creek has flared up over the weekend after several activists briefly occupied a drilling site.
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.
Worst in a generation: Environmentalists slam fisheries reform bill
Wed 25 Mar 2026
Media release: Greenpeace | The Fisheries Amendment Bill, which will likely have its first reading in parliament this week, is being labelled the worst fisheries policy in a generation by environmental groups who are calling for it to be rejected to protect ocean health.
Close questioning over ‘ministerial latitude’ at climate hearing
17 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Lawyers challenging the legality of the government’s emissions reduction plans faced close questioning on the limits of ministerial foresight in the first of three days of hearings at the Wellington High Court yesterday.
Kiwis overly optimistic about state of environment
27 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New research suggests many New Zealanders believe the environment is in better shape than it really is, with public perceptions often out of step with scientific evidence.
‘They pushed so many lies about recycling’: the fight to stop big oil pumping billions more into plastics
24 Feb 2026
Plastic production has doubled over the last 20 years – and will likely double again. For author Beth Gardiner, metal water bottles and canvas tote bags are not the solution. So what is?
Govt’s relief package risks entrenching fossil fuel dependence, critics warn
Wed 25 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s $373 million fuel relief package is facing criticism for propping up petrol use rather than reducing demand, as prices surge and some experts predict fuel shortages due to conflict in the Middle East.
Media round-up
20 Feb 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: 'Every tonne matters': The climate scientist who wants to give you hope; Minister says managed retreat is an option; and climate change is here – is New Zealand ready?
China has a new competitor? Kazakhstan reveals huge rare Earth deposit that could power the next tech boom
25 Feb 2026
China’s grip on rare earths might finally see some competition, and the world is already taking notice.
Solar is Southeast Asia’s cheapest buffer against future shocks
Thu 26 Mar 2026
Southeast Asian countries’ planned expansion of gas power could increase the cost of generating electricity to $109 billion by 2030 based on future price projections — more than double the cost of generating the same amount of electricity with solar.
World-leading plasma torch takes aim at NZ's most potent greenhouse gases
Tue 24 Mar 2026
Media release | A high-tech plasma torch was lit up today as Minister of Conservation, Hon Tama Potaka, officially opened the $10 million National Refrigerant Destruction Facility – signalling a new era in addressing the environmental impact of New Zealand’s most potent greenhouse gases.
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.
Why the Iran war may have just killed the AI boom
Thu 26 Mar 2026
The $1.5 trillion in committed AI infrastructure spending by major tech companies is built on an assumption of a functional global supply chain, which the Iran conflict has fundamentally broken.
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.
Govt's $50m EV charging boost to double network
23 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | More than 2,500 new EV chargers are set to be rolled out across New Zealand, more than doubling the public network – but still leaving the total at less than half the Government's 10,000 target.
Infrastructure plan calls for ‘predictable approach’ to electrifying economy
18 Feb 2026
Aotearoa’s first National Infrastructure Plan, introduced to Parliament yesterday, calls for "a predictable approach to electrifying the economy" as one of ten priorities for the next decade.
Global coastal sea-level risks may be underestimated, say scientists
5 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Coastal communities across the Pacific and Southeast Asia could be facing greater sea-level rise risks than previously estimated, researchers say.
AI tool predicts wildfire danger faster than current systems
Thu 26 Mar 2026
Media release | A wildfire forecasting system powered by artificial intelligence could help detect dangerous fire conditions earlier and reduce the cost of wildfire response, according to new research from Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury.
Western Australian communities want mandatory payments from new renewable developments
6 Mar 2026
The West Australian government wants to make new wind and solar farms pay into community funds, but host towns say more work needs to be done to make sure the payments actually happen.
