Topics tagged with 'Carbon prices'
MfE sees no need to investigate NZU price drop prior to govt announcement
20 Dec 2022
The Ministry for the Environment won’t be investigating a significant drop in the price of NZUs on the secondary market and the first drop in price at an ETS auction since the auctions began.
Cabinet ETS decision a “hospital pass” for incoming government
19 Dec 2022
A former head of the International Energy Agency’s climate change unit has described the Cabinet’s rejection of the Climate Change Commission’s recommended changes to ETS settings as a “hospital pass” for the incoming government.
Price of carbon plummets in response to Cabinet rejection of Climate Change Commission recommendations
16 Dec 2022
By Jeremy Rose | Cabinet has ignored a Climate Change Commission recommendation to significantly increase the trigger price of the cost containment reserve and failed to reduce the number of credits available at auction by as much as the commission proposed.
Biden administration updates social cost of carbon
9 Dec 2022
Amid the flurry of news from the recent UN climate summit COP27, the Biden administration made an overlooked announcement that could help modernize U.S. climate policy.
ETS auction clears at $79.00
7 Dec 2022
The final ETS auction of the year cleared at $79.00 this morning.
Price of carbon down 6.8% over past fortnight
2 Dec 2022
With the final ETS auction of the year set to take place next Wednesday, the price of carbon on the secondary market has dropped by 6.8% since hitting an all-time high of $88.50 on November 14.
EU’s carbon removal certification could be global trend setter after COP delay: expert
24 Nov 2022
If done well, the EU’s new certification for carbon removals, due on 30 November, could provide vital clarity for international discussions following a failure to agree on a key text for removals at the COP27 climate conference, according to Kathy Fallon, director of land and climate at the Clean Air Task Force.
Carbon price hits all time high
15 Nov 2022
The price of carbon has hit new heights on the secondary market this week.
Why it's so hard to put a price on carbon
27 Oct 2022
In the past decade, the phrase “put a price on carbon” has gathered steam around the globe. And carbon pricing has been hailed by scientists, economists, and business leaders as one of the most cost-effective tools to decarbonize economies.
ETS carbon stockpile grows by nearly 8 million tonnes over past year
19 Oct 2022
The stockpile of carbon units in the ETS grew by close to 8 million NZUs from September 2021 to September 2022.
Concerns ETS changes could rapidly accelerate carbon price and risk ‘carbon leakage’
10 Oct 2022
The BusinessNZ Energy Council (BEC) says the Emissions Reduction Scheme should be left to do its job.
Seeing the forest for the trees: government to put brakes on planting exotics
7 Oct 2022
The government has announced consultation on how forests are managed, with a press release making it clear continuing the status quo – which it says would result in the over planting of permanent pine forests – isn’t an option.
Phantom forests: why ambitious tree planting projects are failing
7 Oct 2022
It was perhaps the most spectacular failed tree planting project ever. Certainly the fastest. On March 8, 2012, teams of village volunteers in Camarines Sur province on the Filipino island of Luzon sunk over a million mangrove seedlings into coastal mud in just an hour of frenzied activity.
NZUs down more than 10% on last month’s record high
4 Oct 2022
The price of NZUs on the secondary market have fallen more than 10% since hitting a high of $87.30 on the CommTrade platform in the lead up to last month’s ETS auction.
Consultation on proposals to update ETS unit settings
13 Sep 2022
The government is consulting on proposals to update the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) unit settings for the period 2023 to 2027.
New UN global carbon market must involve civil society to serve the climate and local communities
12 Sep 2022
The new body tasked with designing and supervising the global carbon market under the Paris Agreement must put in place environmental safeguards and protect the interests of local and indigenous communities.
Forests make a comeback as African governments look to grow their carbon market
12 Sep 2022
In villages dotted across the African continent, locals living in once-heavily forested regions are starting to find their land in high demand.
Consultations open on ETS forestry cost recovery settings
9 Sep 2022
The Ministry for Primary Industries has opened consultations on proposed changes to the cost recovery settings for forestry in the emission trading scheme.
ETS auction clears at $85.40
7 Sep 2022
Today's ETS auction cleared at $85.40 - a couple of dollars below the spot price being achieved at the close of trade yesterday.
Price of carbon hits record high on eve of 3rd ETS auction of the year
6 Sep 2022
The price of has carbon continued its steady rise, hitting an all-time high of more than $87 at the close of trade yesterday.
Berlin freezes carbon price in the name of crisis relief
6 Sep 2022
The German government will suspend the price increase of its domestic carbon price for one year as part of a €65 billion relief package meant to alleviate the strain of record-breaking energy prices.
Costs associated with carbon emissions three times US govt estimate: study
6 Sep 2022
The social cost of carbon is significantly higher than the federal estimate, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Nature.
Price of carbon nears record high
23 Aug 2022
The price of NZUs on the secondary market is just 25 cents shy of the record high of $86.25 achieved in February.
The big firms snapping up Scottish carbon credits
23 Aug 2022
Weapons manufacturers, the oil giant Shell, and financial institutions which poured billions of pounds into fossil fuels are among firms buying Scottish carbon credits, prompting critics to claim the country is experiencing an era of “rampant carbon capitalism”.
EU carbon price hits record
22 Aug 2022
The price of carbon in the EU’s emissions trading system hit a new all-time high on Friday, August 19, as traders warned coal was becoming “re-embedded” in Europe’s electricity generation because of tight supplies of gas.
Australia may be heading for emissions trading between big polluters
19 Aug 2022
Could Australia soon have a form of emissions trading? Yes, if Labor's much-anticipated paper on fixing Australia's mediocre emissions-reduction framework, released yesterday, is any guide.
Democrats jettison carbon pricing in favor of incentives to counter climate change
15 Aug 2022
The US's first comprehensive climate law, expected to be sealed with a vote in the House of Representatives on Friday, will not look anything like the program imagined by either climate economists or those in Washington and the environmental movement who had faith in bipartisan action
Canada’s carbon tax is hurting working people: opinion
11 Aug 2022
In 1912, the fact that excess carbon released into the atmosphere could warm up the earth was first made public knowledge. Here we are, one hundred ten years later, still wondering what to do about the problem.
Chinese companies seek global carbon market for green hydrogen
9 Aug 2022
Three Chinese organisations are leading the charge to create an international carbon market for green hydrogen.
Forestry policy juggling competing priorities
8 Aug 2022
By Ian Llewellyn - Energy & Environment | The finance and expenditure committee has reported back the Overseas Investment (Forestry) Amendment Bill, highlighting the Government’s attempt to grapple with competing priorities in the sector.
India developing a carbon market
5 Aug 2022
India is developing its carbon market by undergoing several climate action plans in just a matter of days. The world’s 3rd-biggest emitter planned to set up a carbon credit market for the hard-to-abate sectors. These would initially include energy, steel, and cement industries.
Future governments could sell offshore carbon credits into ETS
4 Aug 2022
The government could purchase carbon credits from another government and then sell them through the ETS, Climate Change Commission commissioner Catherine Leining told an open Zoom session on Tuesday.
Carbon market wakes from its slumber following Climate Change Commission advice
28 Jul 2022
The price of NZUs on the secondary market reached $82.50 – a jump of close to 13% on its opening price – following yesterday’s release of the Climate Change Commission’s advice to government on the NZ ETS settings.
Climate Change Commission recommends reducing number of NZUs on offer
27 Jul 2022
The Climate Change Commission has recommended the government reduces the number of NZUs on offer at auction and an increase in the trigger price of the cost containment reserve, in advice to the climate change minister released this morning.
Taupo’s carbon bill grows by close to $2 million since 2017
22 Jul 2022
Taupo District Council’s ETS obligations have grown from $75,560 in 2017 to an estimated $2.057 million in the 2022/23 financial year.
Government to slash number of free carbon credits given to industry
21 Jul 2022
The government has announced the first reduction in the number of free carbon credits allocated to trade exposed businesses under the Emissions Trading Scheme in more than a decade.
Five buyers gobbled up 95% of NZUs at June’s ETS auction
18 Jul 2022
The top five participants in June’s ETS auction bought more than 96% of the 6,125,000 NZUs up for grabs, the interim NZETS auction monitoring report reveals.
Kenyan bourse brings carbon exchange to East Africa
14 Jul 2022
Climate change mitigation efforts in Kenya have received new impetus after the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), inked a deal with the AirCarbon Exchange (ACX) and the Nairobi International Finance Centre (NIFC) to set up Kenya’s first carbon offset exchange.
Shanghai to trial personal carbon accounts
8 Jul 2022
China is trying to tap the emissions reduction potential of personal consumption, and package such reductions as a class of carbon asset to be incorporated into the country’s growing carbon market.
Hong Kong launches international carbon council, to support cross-border trading
7 Jul 2022
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, or HKEX, has launched the Hong Kong International Carbon Market Council, the exchange said in a statement late July 5, with developing an international carbon market as its principal focus.
Review of Australia’s carbon credit units announced
5 Jul 2022
The Australian government has announced the appointment of an independent panel (Panel) to review the integrity of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs).
EU lawmakers back stricter emission caps in climate change fight
23 Jun 2022
European Union lawmakers stepped up the fight against global warming Wednesday by requiring deeper emission cuts from power plants, factories and planes in the EU and by endorsing an unprecedented import tax.
Carbon Markets set to continue growth as countries double down on climate ambition: IETA Survey
22 Jun 2022
Carbon markets around the world are set to continue growing rapidly as countries double down on climate ambition, and as corporates continue to pursue net-zero goals, finds IETA’s latest annual Market Sentiment Survey
CCR trigger price likely to get a boost next year
20 Jun 2022
With the Cost Containment Reserve fully depleted at last week’s second ETS auction of the year market commentators are picking the Climate Change Commission will advise the government to up the trigger price.
Carbon tariffs are coming. Here’s how the U.S. is preparing
17 Jun 2022
The world’s first carbon border fee was always expected to roil nations that export their emissions through polluting goods. Now it could go further than originally proposed.
ETS auction clears at $76.00
15 Jun 2022
THE second NZ ETS auction of the year cleared at a price of $76 today.
Tomorrow’s carbon auction expected to empty the Cost Containment Reserve
14 Jun 2022
With the spot price of carbon trading more than $6 above the Cost Containment Reserve’s $70 trigger price the remaining 1.306 million NZUs in the CCR are expected to be snapped up at tomorrow’s ETS auction.
I AMs not worth the paper they're written on: Stilglitz
14 Jun 2022
In a new paper, Sir Nicholas Stern, Nobel Laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz and Charlotte Taylor conclude that climate-energy-economy Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs), which are the key tool in producing emission-reduction scenarios, “have very limited value in answering the two critical questions” of the speed and nature of emissions reductions.
Hold applause on carbon tax rebates: Toronto Sun
13 Jun 2022
The good news is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is about to begin sending out “climate action incentive payments” directly to households in the four provinces where he imposed his carbon tax.
Rebooting China’s carbon credits: What will 2022 bring?
10 Jun 2022
Carbon market players are watching closely to see how China’s version of carbon credits, the China Certified Emission Reductions (CCER) scheme, will be rebooted.
NZ art focussing on climate on display at Beijing Biennale
Today 11:30am
An artist responding to the consequences of climate disruption is the first New Zealander in six years to feature at the prestigious Beijing Art Biennale.
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.
Why Trump might be onboard with a UN carbon-offset programme for airlines
Today 11:30am
The president’s team has backed the rollout of an initiative that calls for the use of sustainable aviation fuel and carbon credits, even as Trump has pulled back from other international emissions-reduction efforts.
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.
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.
Trump is wiping out all climate regulation. Big Oil may regret it.
Today 11:30am
For decades, oil majors fought climate regulation. Now, they’re afraid Trump’s extreme rollbacks could leave them on the hook to pay for what they’ve done.
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.
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.
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.
January floods driven by tropical systems and La Niña conditions
Today 11:30am
Record-breaking rainfall across parts of Aotearoa in January was fuelled by tropical moisture and persistent low-pressure systems, with some regions recording more than five times their normal monthly rainfall, Earth Sciences New Zealand says.
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.
Kiwi startup takes on global plastic pollution
Today 11:30am
A New Zealand startup is launching what it says is the world’s first plastic-free effervescent drink tablet, with the ambitious aim of eliminating bottled beverages to reduce global plastic pollution.
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.
Climate change linked to decline in southern right whale
Today 11:30am
Scientists in Australia are warning southern right whales are showing signs of climate-related stress, just days after a Green Party Member’s Bill was introduced in New Zealand proposing legal personhood for whales.
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.
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-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.
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.
EU to ban destruction of unsold clothes and shoes
Today 11:30am
The European Commission has adopted new measures that will require medium and large companies to stop discarding unsold clothing and footwear, in the bloc’s latest move to target textile waste.
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.
