Topics tagged with 'Carbon prices'
Greens have a tempting carbon tax idea
11 Aug 2014
A carbon price is still the best and fairest way to achieve emissions cuts, but as Australia and New Zealand show, it’s not easy to get it right. How could carbon pricing be improved?
Economist rubbishes Govt's $500 power cost claim
4 Aug 2014
Government claims that lifting carbon prices would cost householders $500 more a year in electricity bills have been debunked.
NZU action around $3.90
31 Jul 2014
The price for spot NZUs finished at $3.97 on CommTrade yesterday, with some action in the market around the $3.90 level. OMFinancial reports:
Tianjin carbon market volatile
28 Jul 2014
Spot NZUs closed at $4 on Friday on CommTrade; selling has dissipated to almost nothing. OMFinancial reports:
Europe lacks courage on energy targets
25 Jul 2014
In proposing a 30 per cent rather than a 40 per cent energy demand reduction target, the European Commission is increasing the risks that European Union member states face from fossil-fuel dependence and slowing the economic and social benefits of better insulated homes and lower energy bills.
It's all eyes on the election
25 Jul 2014
New Zealand has had a quiet week, with the market slowly softening as volumes come to market in small parcels, says Westpac's carbon desk.
$4 is the new $3
23 Jul 2014
There is fresh bidding coming into the market from several sources. OMFinancial reports
Carbon tax repeal could leave businesses marooned
18 Jul 2014
In the short term, the repeal of Australia's carbon tax, passed in the Senate yesterday, may provide some relief for businesses and households as electricity bills fall — although possibly not as much as official estimates.
Study shows Australian emissions cuts were working
18 Jul 2014
Carbon emissions in Australia’s national electricity market would have been 11 to 17 million tonnes higher if Australia had not introduced a carbon price.
ETS pay-off puts millions into climate projects
18 Jul 2014
The sale of carbon credits for the first time will finance projects that help to tackle climate change.
Local market quiet, but Europe firm
16 Jul 2014
The spot NZU market continues to drift with trading occurring around the $4 level. OMFinancial reports:
Small flurry on NZU market
15 Jul 2014
We saw some action yesterday in the market, with more than 100K of Spot NZUs trading around the $4 level. OMFinancial reports.
Australian farmers led astray on carbon farming
11 Jul 2014
Australian farmers and rural land owners are being told that they will be given powerful and direct incentives to store carbon in the land under the federal government’s new climate policy.
Scientists accuse Shell of climate doublethink
11 Jul 2014
The world’s biggest oil company has been accused of ‘doublethink’ in claiming that its fossil fuel assets will continue to be highly profitable and in demand, while recognising the need for decisive action on climate change.
NORMAN: The longer we wait the more it will cost
11 Jul 2014
By RUSSEL NORMAN, Green Party co-leader.- Thanks to Federated Farmers’ incoming president William Rolleston for taking the time to write about the Green Party’s Climate Tax Cut in last week’s Carbon News.
Register handles 10 million units
4 Jul 2014
More than 10 million carbon units were transferred on the New Zealand register last month – the lowest number since January.
Coal forever? It depends on what we do now
4 Jul 2014
At the recent midyear UN climate negotiations in Bonn, an unprecedented 60 countries (including Germany) called for a total phase-out of fossil fuels by 2050, as part of a global agreement on climate change to be concluded in Paris in 2015.
Good support for NZUs in $4 range
30 Jun 2014
Spot NZUs are steady, closing at $4.20 on light volume. OMFinancial reports:
Millionaire miner rocks Canberra carbon camp
27 Jun 2014
Australia’s emissions trading scheme is on again. Maybe.
Carbon tax won't fix troubled ETS, says report
27 Jun 2014
New Zealand's emissions price beacon is "obscured in the fog of policy uncertainty", but dumping it in favour of a carbon tax isn't the only way to fix it, say Motu Research's Catherine Leining and Suzi Kerr.
Australian Senate likely to pass carbon tax repeal
27 Jun 2014
The bill to repeal Australia’s carbon tax is poised to pass the Senate, potentially leaving Australia without a working price on carbon.
Market watchdog welcomes Palmer move
27 Jun 2014
An international carbon market watchdog is welcoming Australian politician Clive Palmer's shift on climate change.
All quiet on carbon front
27 Jun 2014
NZUs remain quiet, with many participants absent from the market. OMFinancial reports:
Maori act to mobilise carbon-conscious voters
20 Jun 2014
Maori angry about the Government’s twin failures over carbon prices and sustainable economic development are looking to mobilise the crucial 18-to-34-years-old vote.
NZUs down 20 cents yesterday
4 Jun 2014
The Greens announcement that it would replace the Emissions Trading Scheme with a carbon tax has definitely taken the wind out of the sails of Spot NZUs. OMFinancial reports:
ETS more workable than carbon tax, says Labour
3 Jun 2014
Labour says that it will be easier to lift carbon prices under the Emissions Trading Scheme than under a carbon tax, as proposed by the Greens.
Greens: Climate change biggest issue world has faced
3 Jun 2014
"They used to call climate change the biggest issue of our time; more recently, I've heard it described as the biggest issue of all time." Green Party co-leader RUSSEL NORMAN on why his party will replace the Emissions Trading Scheme with a carbon tax:
Angry iwi to file carbon prices Treaty claim
30 May 2014
A $600-million Treaty of Waitangi claim over the Government’s climate change policies and carbon prices is to go ahead.
Carbon prices on steady upward path
23 May 2014
Domestic carbon prices are up 25 per cent on last week – and are still climbing.
NZUs trade up on back of forestry announcement
19 May 2014
The main regular supply of NZUs dried up on Friday, after the Government announced that post-1989 forest owners could not de-register (and re-register) with ERUs, effective immediately. OMFinancial reports:
Maori unhappy about having to back carbon move
16 May 2014
The Maori Party says it is being forced against its will to support Government moves to stamp out arbitrage by one sector of the carbon market.
Coal use spiking climate mitigation costs
16 May 2014
The global cost of pegging global warming to 2deg has risen by $8 trillion in the past two years, due to soaring coal use which has eclipsed the roll-out of renewable energies, says a new report.
Canberra finds ways to implement emissions plan
9 May 2014
The Australian Government will be able to implement its Emissions Reduction Fund in July - but business may bypass the scheme in year one.
California moves on offset units
9 May 2014
California issues the first round of second-generation offset units (CCO3s), and the United States and China hold high-level talks on climate change as that country looks to expand its pilot emissions trading schemes.
NZUs trade the higher end of the range
6 May 2014
NZUs traded at $3.09 yesterday. OMFinancial reports:
It's surrender month
2 May 2014
CommTrade fixed at $3.02 yesterday on a very quiet day. OMFinancial reports:
NZUs home on the range
1 May 2014
Small trades yesterday, as spot NZUs bedded down in the $3.00-to-$3.10 range. OMFinancial reports:
Aussie Greens gain, but the rest is much the same
24 Apr 2014
The theme of the past 30 days – much like the past 12 months – has been politics, with market focus squarely on the Western Australia Senate election re-run on April 5 and the implications for the balance of power in the new Senate from July 1, says market analyst Reputex.
Householders doing their bit in Australia
24 Apr 2014
The latest review of Australia’s energy-saving appliance scheme has delivered a rare trifecta: a good news story for the economy, the community and the environment.
Climate policy and the need for clarity and certainty
24 Apr 2014
Cutting emissions now makes business sense for industry, writes TAMARYN NAPP, a research associate at Imperial College, London.
March busy month for trading carbon units
4 Apr 2014
TWENTY-THREE million carbon units were traded on the New Zealand market last month.
We need a price target range, says forest expert
28 Mar 2014
A LEADING forestry services executive is calling on the Government to set a target range for carbon prices.
Not worth it, say international traders
28 Mar 2014
INTERNATIONAL carbon traders say there is little incentive for the private sector to get involved in carbon-sequestering forestry projects.
International wrap-up
28 Mar 2014
WESTPAC'S carbon desk takes a look at developments on international markets.
Govt unveils National Adaptation Framework
Thu 16 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Minister of Climate Change Simon Watts has revealed the first actions under New Zealand’s National Adaptation Framework, which sets out the Government's approach to the rising risks from natural hazards such as floods and storms.
All carrot, no stick for farmers on methane
Fri 17 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: The abandonment of methane emissions pricing and the adoption of a weaker target is effectively the last nail in the coffin of the historic cross-parliamentary consensus embedded in the Zero Carbon Act 2019.
NZ needs to be part of a regional SAF strategy: Z, Air NZ
9 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand needs to be part of a regional strategic approach to sourcing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with domestic production less the aim than ensuring access to the fuel from one of a number of strategically positioned bio-refineries around the world.
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.
NZ not 'holding the line' on wilding pine management – experts
Wed 15 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand is no longer “holding the line” against invasive threats, with the country’s scale, remoteness and rugged terrain making control costly and complex, one expert has said ahead of this week's Wilding Pines Conference.
Researchers say sealing old oil wells with bio-oil from crop waste is a dual carbon-removal solution
19 Sep 2025
A new analysis shows that oil made from corn husks, wood chips, and other waste could plug greenhouse gas-belching abandoned oil wells while sequestering carbon for about $152 per ton.
Broker predicts all this year’s carbon auctions will fail
10 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Marex New Zealand is forecasting that the government will sell no ‘pollution permits’ at the NZU auctions this year, with a significant gap continuing between secondary market prices and this year’s $68 auction floor price.
UN agency says CO2 levels hit record high last year, causing more extreme weather
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Heat-trapping carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere jumped by the highest amount on record last year, soaring to a level not seen in human civilisation and “turbo-charging” the Earth’s climate and causing more extreme weather.
Electricity to remain in ETS
1 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The Government has rejected Frontier Economics' recommendation that electricity should be removed from the Emissions Trading Scheme.
The merchants of doubt are back
3 Sep 2025
OPINION: If you don’t follow climate policy closely, you might not know that the Trump administration is launching an effort to overturn one of the most fundamental pillars of American climate policy.
Milestone for NZ Steel electrification
10 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | NZ Steel has passed an installation milestone for its new electric arc furnace, which will reduce emissions from the Glenbrook steel mill site by as much as one megatonne (1Mt) a year.
UN limits staff at COP30 climate summit over accommodation concerns
19 Sep 2025
High hotel prices for Brazil's COP30 climate summit in November have prompted the United Nations to urge its staff to limit attendance, while government delegations are still scrambling to find rooms within their budgets.
Unlocking the national potential of flexible energy use through residential appliances – EECA calling for submissions
Thu 16 Oct 2025
Media release | EECA is asking for feedback from the energy sector on a newly published green paper about unlocking the potential of demand flexibility through end-use products, such as appliances, used in New Zealand homes.
From nuisance to crisis: New report on pest wasps In Aotearoa
24 Sep 2025
Media release: Moths and Butterflies NZ Trust | Just published is the Final Report of the Pest Wasps Survey carried out by the Moths and Butterflies of NZ Trust (MBNZT) offering a comprehensive look at New Zealanders’ awareness, experiences, and attitudes toward wasps and the growing ecological, health, and social issues associated with them.
Difficult trade-offs ahead for climate adaptation
Fri 17 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | While climate impacts are already here, bringing the urgent need to accelerate effective adaptation now, the Government's newly minted adaptation framework still leaves important questions unanswered about who will pay.
NZ marine heatwaves could double in intensity under high-emissions pathway
Thu 16 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show marine heatwaves will grow more intense around the North Island and more frequent around the South Island as the climate warms – raising risks for fisheries, aquaculture, coastal ecosystems and tourism.
World falling far behind deforestation goals with farms and fires driving loss, report says
Wed 15 Oct 2025
The report said the world permanently lost 8.1 million hectares (20 million acres) of forest, an area about the size of England, in 2024 alone.
‘Damp squib’ – Govt energy plan slammed for locking in fossil fuels
2 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Critics across business, climate groups and the opposition say the Government’s electricity reforms duck structural change, double down on LNG and gas, and offer little relief for soaring power prices – warning of an “expensive white elephant", deeper energy poverty and a missed chance to scale renewables.
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.”
Climate investment is only growth opportunity of 21st century, says leading economist
Wed 15 Oct 2025
Investment in climate action is the economic growth story of the 21st century, while growth fuelled by fossil fuels is futile because the damage it causes ends in self-destruction, the economist Nicholas Stern has said.
Where’s Watts? Climate Minister no-show at climate conference
Thu 16 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Opposition parties have slammed the Climate Change Minister’s failure to front up to a major international conference in Christchurch, saying it shows that climate adaptation is a low priority for the National Party.
Climate credibility gap widening for Aussie firms
1 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Australian public companies’ climate change commitments are in retreat, reflecting difficulty in achieving stated targets and increased fossil use, but not because of any pressure to make less effort, according to a study of major companies’ ESG reporting.
Coal imports up 650%
12 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams and Liz Kivi | Coal imports are up 650% as generators stockpile the most polluting fossil fuel ahead of next winter.
Hiringa eyes green methanol plant near Whanganui
29 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Green hydrogen pioneer Hiringa Energy is deep in planning to develop an “eight-to-nine figure” methanol plant near Whanganui, using a combination of biomass and hydrogen produced using renewable energy.
Study warns climate leadership falling short in NZ
1 Oct 2025
Media release - Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland | Research suggests New Zealand’s climate leadership is falling short, with current adaptation efforts focused on property and cost-cutting rather than protecting communities.
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.
Judge dismisses suit by young climate activists against Trump’s pro-fossil fuel policies
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Plaintiffs had ‘overwhelming evidence’ of climate crisis but a court injunction would be ‘unworkable’, ruling says.
'Non-negotiable' – EU carbon pricing to hit Kiwi exporters, expert warns
11 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | High carbon exports will inevitably face a high carbon tax at the EU border, possibly in the next five years, and high methane agricultural products might not be exempt, an international expert told a local audience yesterday.
Deep sea mining threatens sharks, rays and ghost sharks
6 Oct 2025
Mining the world’s deep seas for metals will likely threaten many species of sharks, rays and chimaeras (ghost sharks), according to researchers.
Govt promises ‘earlier action’ in response to Commission’s warning climate targets at risk
Fri 17 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government says it will “explore opportunities for earlier action” ahead of the third Emissions Reduction Plan, and has committed to looking at ways to stop the system of free carbon credits for industrial polluters from disincentivising industrial decarbonisation.
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.
‘Weird and sad’ – Tuvalu Climate Minister condemns NZ halving methane target
Wed 15 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Dr Maina Talia, Tuvalu’s Minister for Home Affairs, Climate Change, and Environment, says he’s surprised at New Zealand’s decision to weaken its target for reducing methane emissions – and is planning to take up the issue with his counterpart Climate Minister Simon Watts this week.
NZ’s biggest ever climate meeting kicks off
Tue 14 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | The world's largest climate adaptation conference kicked off in Christchurch yesterday, with nearly 2000 attendees expected, making it potentially the biggest international climate meeting Aotearoa New Zealand will ever host.
Bottom trawling a triple threat to marine environments - new report
9 Oct 2025
Media release | Greenpeace is calling for urgent action to restrict bottom trawling after a new government report highlights the compounding effects this destructive fishing method has on climate change, habitat degradation and biodiversity loss.
Lobby group launches ‘blueprint’ for ocean management reform
18 Sep 2025
The Environmental Defence Society yesterday released its plan to tackle widespread ecological decline in our oceans.
Councils need funding tools to address climate challenges – LGNZ
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Media release | Local Government New Zealand is welcoming the Government’s new National Adaptation Framework, while cautioning that councils will struggle to meet its new expectations without additional funding tools.
Students repeat request for Victoria University to divest from fossil fuel investments
24 Sep 2025
Media release | A group of students campaigning for climate action at Victoria University of Wellington have dropped a banner protesting against the university’s lack of action on its 2014 commitment to divest from fossil fuels.
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.
Record global renewable energy growth remains short of climate target, report says
Thu 16 Oct 2025
A new report finds that a record amount of global renewable energy capacity was added last year, but that still leaves countries “short of targets towards meeting a UN climate goal to triple capacity by 2030”.
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.
Climate scientists and republican lawyers are taking aim at Big Tech’s emissions
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Technology companies have long been one of the biggest investors in clean energy, but new accounting rules could upend that.
Last minute change to oil and gas legislation over cleanup costs
31 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government is expected to repeal the oil and gas ban today, with a last-minute amendment handing discretionary power to two ministers over the controversial issue of decommissioning.
For Australia to get moving on electric vehicles, we must ban petrol and diesel cars by 2035
Fri 17 Oct 2025
COMMENT: If nothing is done, transport is projected to be Australia’s largest emissions source by 2030.
Fix it, don't ditch it: University of Auckland hosts first Repair Cafe
9 Oct 2025
Media release - Auckland University | The University's first-ever Repair Cafe is bringing students and staff together to give broken items a new lease on life, while promoting a culture of repair and reuse.
Farmers face heightened solvency risks as climate changes: research
10 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Increasingly volatile weather patterns, higher insurance costs driven by climate change risk and global financial volatility represent risks to New Zealand farmers’ capacity to service debt and remain solvent, according to new research by Christchurch-based research firm Kōmanawa Solutions.
‘Con,’ ‘scam,’ ‘hoax’: Trump’s UN speech on climate
24 Sep 2025
The president used a large chunk of his hour-long speech to world leaders to condemn climate science and clean energy policies.
Trump administration moves to revoke permit for Massachusetts offshore wind project
24 Sep 2025
The Trump administration has moved to block a Massachusetts offshore wind farm, its latest effort to hobble an industry and technology that President Donald Trump has attacked as “ugly” and unreliable compared to fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas.
