Topics tagged with 'Emissions trading'
Our ETS already up and running, says law firm
26 May 2009
A publicly issued backgrounder on the emissions trading scheme by a top-tier law firm is being taken by some to represent a semi-official policy statement to the effect that the ETS is long past the point of no return.
Greens and Nationals aim to defeat Aussie emissions scheme
26 May 2009
The Australian Greens want the federal government's emission trading scheme legislation put to a vote as soon as possible - so they can defeat it once and for all.
Smith delivers significant pro-ETS policy steer
22 May 2009
National still prefers an emissions trading scheme and has hinted at ways in which the scheme can be ‘harmonised’ with Australia’s.
Dumped Wall Streeters race to join carbon trading
22 May 2009
Jobless American stock traders and other Wall Street refugees are looking to carbon trading shops for work.
Banks who kept the faith look for carbon payday
22 May 2009
For the handful of investments banks that resiliently kept their carbon-trading desks during the financial crisis, a potential payday may come a step closer this week as the US debates its emissions future.
European investors call for carbon trading revamp
22 May 2009
As fresh details emerge confirming that US legislators plan to water down proposed cap-and-trade legislation, a group of European investors have called on world leaders to move in the opposite direction and undertake urgent reforms designed to tighten up emerging carbon markets.
Analysts see carbon windfall profits for EU industry
22 May 2009
European Union moves to exempt industries such as steel, refining and cement from the cost of buying carbon permits risk handing them windfall profits and could blunt EU green investment, analysts say.
UN posts Copenhagen talks text online
22 May 2009
Progress towards achieving an ambitious new treaty on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is gathering pace, the top United Nations climate change official said yesterday.
Suspending ETS punishes forestry, says grower
19 May 2009
Suspending the emissions trading scheme would mean the forestry sector isn’t rewarded for the work it is doing on climate change, says Forest Enterprises’ managing director Steve Wilton.
Turnbull puts biochar at centre of emissions deal
19 May 2009
Australian Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull has confirmed that incentives to encourage the use of biochar in the fight against climate change will be central to his negotiations with the Rudd Government over its emissions trading scheme.
GREENS 3: Business leaders welcome package
15 May 2009
The Green Party’s Green Stimulus Package is being welcomed by business and union leaders.
ETS reviewers eye June date for report
15 May 2009
The emissions trading scheme review committee could report back to Parliament by the end of next month.
Analysis: Solid Energy reveals its hand
15 May 2009
Solid Energy’s decision to close its Terrace underground mine at Reefton by mid-year points up the way in which the State-owned enterprise intends to focus on the low-hanging fruit of the coal extraction business while diversifying into non-fossil energy generation.
Forum voices opposition to ETS
15 May 2009
The Sustainable Energy Forum is being seen as a surprise opponent of the emissions trading scheme.
No special deals for NZ, Australian climate officials say
12 May 2009
Australian officials warned the emissions trading scheme review committee yesterday that were no special deals for New Zealand if it sought to align itself with the Australian carbon pollution reduction scheme.
Coal’s idea for tiny tax and trees given solid debunking
12 May 2009
Business leaders have debunked Solid Energy’s proposal for a small new carbon tax.
Air NZ wants carbon price cap in ETS
12 May 2009
Air New Zealand wants the emissions trading scheme review committee to consider including a price cap for carbon liability.
Emissions trading wrong route, say AA members
12 May 2009
Automobile Association members oppose the emissions trading scheme.
Australian carbon market does a disappearing act
12 May 2009
The delay in the Australian Government's proposed emissions trading scheme had an immediate, but virtually unreported, effect on financial markets, says the Australian.
Japanese ask world: What should we do?
12 May 2009
The nonprofit group Japan for Sustainability is asking people around the world for their comments about the country's greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.
Chauvel: We'll help National fix the mess
12 May 2009
National needs to fix the mess that it has made of climate change policy and Labour is willing to help, Labour Climate Change spokesperson Charles Chauvel says.
Solid Energy pushes new 'tax and plant' emissions strategy
8 May 2009
State coal producer Solid Energy is pushing an alternative policy to the emissions trading scheme which will see the Government raise new taxes and regulations.
No takers for first NZUs offered on Trade Me
8 May 2009
The first auction of NZUs to be listed on the internet auction site Trade Me has closed without a sale.
Aussie officials to visit amid calls to end NZ policy 'chaos'
8 May 2009
Australian officials will brief New Zealand MPs about their new emissions trading plans next week.
NZX looks to regain carbon market ground
8 May 2009
Sources say that the New Zealand Stock Exchange is looking to repossess the alternate exchange ground as well as embarking on a scheme to become an international-grade market maker in carbon .
Landfill operator wants ETS delay for waste
8 May 2009
Delaying the solid waste sector’s entry into the emissions trading scheme until 2018 and increasing the scope of the existing environmental standard for landfill gas is the way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from New Zealand’s landfills, Envirowaste told the ETS review committee yesterday.
R&D vital to success of ETS, says Landcare
8 May 2009
Investment in research and development, particularly in New Zealand-specific climate change research, is pivotal to the success of an emissions trading scheme, Landcare Research has told the ETS review committee.
Carbon rules make it hard, says airline industry
8 May 2009
Carbon trading and increased regulation could hinder efforts to reduce aircraft greenhouse gas emissions through innovation and increased use of biofuels, airline industry leaders said this week.
We still want to harmonise, says Smith
5 May 2009
Talks on harmonising the New Zealand and Australian emissions trading schemes will continue, despite Australia’s decision to delay the start of its scheme.
Farming groups split on need for ETS
5 May 2009
Federated Farmers continued its call for the emissions trading scheme to be scrapped when it appeared before the emission trading scheme review committee yesterday - but not everyone in the agriculture sector agrees.
All eyes on first auction-site sale of NZUs
5 May 2009
The first auction of NZUs on internet auction site Trade Me closes on Thursday, with bids currently sitting at around $21 per tonne – well below the current price of secondary CERs of approximately $28 per tonne.
Solid Energy on trail of carbon accounting
5 May 2009
State-owned coal miner Solid Energy says it is well on the way to tracking carbon in its operations, but can’t say yet how the emissions trading scheme will affect the price of coal next year.
Ngai Tahu faces bill of millions in clawbacks
5 May 2009
Ngai Tahu has become an early example of the peril of ETS clawbacks, with tribal authorities indicating that it might have to pay anything between $40 million and $120 million in clawbacks, depending on the price of carbon at the time.
Rudd delays emissions trading till 2011
5 May 2009
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd yesterday announced that his government would delay by one year the introduction of its emissions trading scheme.
ETS should be suspended, says coalition
5 May 2009
Greenhouse Policy Coalition executive director Catherine Beard, representing the energy-intensive sector on climate change issues, is calling on the select committee reviewing the emissions trading scheme to suspend the introduction of the industrial sector into the scheme until such time as the "flawed legislation has been properly reviewed and fixed".
Business leaders: emissions trading policy delays causing major investment blight
5 May 2009
Business leaders told the Parliamentary select committee reviewing the emissions trading scheme yesterday that indecision is stalling hundreds of millions in investments in sectors which will both benefit from or fear having a price of carbon.
Fonterra wants intensity approach to ETS
5 May 2009
Dairy production in New Zealand may be reduced by five per cent, costing the New Zealand economy $650 million annually and allowing other countries to fill the gap in global supply risking further global emissions growth, unless the existing Emissions Trading Scheme is altered, says Fonterra.
Gull wants fixed carbon price after ETS
1 May 2009
Independent oil company Gull has asked the emissions trading scheme review committee to set the price of carbon for at least the first 18 months after the liquid fuel sector enters the ETS.
Smith still quiet on Labour ETS offer
1 May 2009
The Government has not yet responded to Labour's offer to work with it on an emissions trading scheme.
ETS certainty vital, says wind energy chief
1 May 2009
Certainty over the emissions trading scheme is vital to encouraging investment in new wind-energy projects, says the Wind Energy Associaton.
Fifty years of work under threat, says Oxfam
1 May 2009
Climate change could reverse all the international development work of the past 50 years, the emissions trading scheme review committee heard yesterday.
Australian powerco in landmark carbon deal
1 May 2009
The owner of a coal power station yesterday began to deal with the major costs it will face under an emissions trading scheme by signing the first firm carbon trading deal between two Australian parties.
Top businessman bags carbon trading scheme
1 May 2009
One of Australia’s most respected businessmen has made a blistering attack on the Rudd Government's proposed carbon pollution reduction scheme, saying it would cost jobs and probably increase global emissions.
Traders call for land-use offsets in climate deal
1 May 2009
Reducing emissions from land use should play a key role in the post-Kyoto climate agreement, the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) says.
Carbon Market Expo planned for Australia
1 May 2009
October 26-28, Gold Coast - Australia’s premier Trade Fair & Conference for carbon market participants & service providers, Carbon Market Expo Australasia 2009 will be held at the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre 26-28 October 2009.
Minister delays release of ETS risk report
28 Apr 2009
A new report into the economic risks of the emissions trading scheme has not yet been made public amid concerns that it does not adequately cover the potential benefits.
Labour expects ETS answer this week
28 Apr 2009
The Labour Party expects a formal response from the Government this week on its offer to co-operate on an emissions trading scheme.
Forest focus wrong, institute tells ETS hearing
28 Apr 2009
New Zealand should focus on the role that forests play in mitigation of climate change - and not just on forestry emissions, says the Institute of Forestry.
ETS will close mills, warn wood processors
28 Apr 2009
The emissions trading scheme will force mill closures and have a catastrophic impact on rural communities, says the Wood Processors' Association.
Miliband calls for populist push in climate battle
28 Apr 2009
British Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband says he is "fearful" that the world may miss the opportunity to halt global warming and is calling for a Make Poverty History-style popular movement to push for a breakthrough at this year's Copenhagen summit.
New Zealanders losing ambition on climate change: Ipsos
Wed 20 May 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealanders’ belief that their government has a plan to combat climate change has taken another serious hit in the latest poll of 31 countries by global research firm Ipsos.
Six NZ climate solutions up for 2026 Earthshot prize
Today 11:30am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Six New Zealand climate and sustainability initiatives have been nominated for the 2026 Earthshot Prize, with the shortlist showcasing Kiwi-led solutions tackling emissions, plastic waste and ocean restoration.
$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.
Europe has 'maybe six weeks of jet fuel left', energy boss warns
20 Apr 2026
Stocks would reach a tipping point in June if Europe was unable to replace at least half of its imports from the Middle East, the organisation said in a report this week.
Govt unveils long-awaited voluntary carbon market guidance
Fri 15 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government has released long-awaited guidance for New Zealand’s voluntary carbon and nature markets, as questions continue for the sector despite ministers signalling support for its growth.
Biomass sector asks: where did the love go?
Mon 18 May 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand has sufficient biomass in its plantation forests to replace natural gas for industrial process heat at lower costs than electrification, but is failing to get the attention it deserves, sector leaders say.
Carbon News updates forward curve
13 May 2026
Carbon News has updated its ten-year NZU forward curve, following a recent rise in spot market prices, with NZUs rallying from about $34 in January to nearly $54 in early May.
UN members reinforce nations' climate change obligations
Today 11:30am
The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday adopted a resolution reinforcing states' obligations to combat climate change, a long-awaited move toned down under pressure from major greenhouse gas emitters.
Drop in ETS forestry registrations
5 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | ETS forestry registrations have dropped off this year, with the new mandatory emissions return period, new land-use rules, and carbon price volatility all meaning participants aren’t rushing to register forestry in the emissions trading scheme.
Hipkins pans LNG plan as ‘massive step backwards’
Tue 19 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | Labour leader Chris Hipkins has told a Queenstown audience that a Government he leads would not proceed with a planned LNG import terminal, if elected at November’s election.
Tairāwhiti deserves better than weakened forestry rules
5 May 2026
OPINION: The government's proposed amendments to forestry standards, released yesterday, ignore the hard lessons learned in our region and ignore the voices that have fought hardest to protect it, writes Manu Caddie.
Green building council calls for clean energy policies
Mon 18 May 2026
The New Zealand Green Building Council has released its 2026 election manifesto calling for policies to reduce energy waste in buildings, lower household and business energy costs, and improve New Zealand’s energy security.
What Magyar’s defeat of Orbán in Hungary means for climate and energy
21 Apr 2026
Hungary has played a disproportionate role in EU climate and energy policy in recent years, by repeatedly vetoing climate action and by delaying the phaseout of Russian fossil-fuel imports.
New solar farm to boost West Coast energy security
Today 11:30am
Construction has begun on a new 13.5MW solar farm in Reefton, with developer Lightyears saying the project will help strengthen electricity security on the West Coast and support future regional growth.
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.
Are hailstones getting bigger due to climate change?
Today 11:30am
Scientific studies suggest that a warmer climate does not necessarily lead to more frequent hail, but rather to more severe hailstorms with larger hailstones.
EDS urges MPs to scrap the Fisheries Amendment Bill
5 May 2026
Media release | The Environmental Defence Society today lodged a substantive submission on the Fisheries Amendment Bill.
Govt presses ahead with forestry rule changes despite opposition
14 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government is pushing ahead with changes to commercial forestry rules despite most submitters opposing the proposals, with critics warning the reforms will weaken councils’ ability to manage erosion and forestry slash risks in vulnerable regions such as Tairāwhiti.
Iran war pushes Portugal to halve fossil fuel use over next 10 years
Wed 20 May 2026
Lisbon fast-tracks plans after the Iran war caused oil and gas costs to soar, Energy Minister Maria da Graça Carvalho tells POLITICO.
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.”
New funding for low methane farming uptake
29 Apr 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The government will co-fund projects under an Early Adoption Accelerator scheme announced today to accelerate the uptake of low emissions farming technologies emerging from the AgriZero public-private partnership.
NZ Govt’s move to halt climate litigation under international scrutiny
Tue 19 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | Local and international NGOs have signed an open letter calling on the Government to reconsider its decision to shield major emitters from legal liability for climate-related harm.
Why ‘greenhushing’ signals deeper issues with NZ’s climate risk reporting regime
Fri 15 May 2026
By Hang Pham, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington | Most of us are familiar with the concept of greenwashing: organisations exaggerating or overstating their environmental credentials. But in New Zealand, there are signs the country’s climate disclosure regime may inadvertently be driving a very different trend: not saying much at all.
‘Formidable’ El Niño expected this winter
29 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Meteorologists are anticipating a significant El Niño influence on weather patterns across the country from winter onwards, with predicted lower rainfall for some areas and heavier rain for others likely to impact multiple sectors of the economy as well as the carbon market.
Victorian Hydrogen announces Southland urea fertiliser project using coal
22 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Australian-based Victorian Hydrogen has announced it is developing a new 1.5 million-tonne-a-year urea fertiliser operation in Southland, which it will apply for under fast-track legislation.
Media round-up
24 Apr 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: What is the real cost of storm-hit infrastructure? Urgency is needed over climate adaptation funding; and a community conservation group has won a legal victory against multinational mining company OceanaGold.
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.
Labour condemns Govt plan to stop climate litigation
Fri 15 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Labour Party has slammed the Government’s move to block climate lawsuits against big emitters but won’t say if they would repeal the legislation if elected in November.
GIDI-style help cheaper than LNG: MBIE
11 May 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Officials advised ministers last July that the lowest-cost way to free up gas for use during dry winters was to assist industrial gas users to switch to electricity.
Govt missing tricks to save fuel in crisis
30 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government is being urged to shift its response to the fuel crisis away from short-term relief and towards measures that reduce demand, with public health experts warning it is missing an opportunity to boost energy security and lower household costs.
Climate risks could reshape business finances, new guidance warns
15 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New guidance warns climate change is set to fundamentally reshape financial outcomes for businesses, including difficult-to-model climate “tipping points” – irreversible changes such as ice sheet collapse or ocean circulation shifts – which threaten severe and sudden financial impacts.
Move to block lawsuits could strengthen climate case against Govt
14 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s plan to block climate lawsuits – while potentially fatal for one groundbreaking climate case – could actually bolster claims in another live climate case underway against the Government.
‘Utterly elated’ – controversial Sams Creek gold mine application declined
Today 11:30am
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | Campaigners are elated after the controversial gold mining application for Sams Creek in Golden Bay was declined.
Conservation land open for voluntary carbon market schemes
12 May 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The government is to open up the Crown-owned conservation estate to private investment in voluntary carbon market projects.
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.
Pacific voice on climate at the UN
Wed 20 May 2026
A New Zealand-based researcher has told a United Nations forum that rising sea levels are already reshaping life across the Pacific and climate change is causing irreversible impacts on water supplies, food security and cultural identity.
Environmental groups sue Trump administration over approval of new ultra deep-water drilling project
23 Apr 2026
Environmental groups sued the Trump administration on Monday over its approval last month of oil company BP’s ultra deep-water drilling project in the Gulf of Mexico.
Opposition slams environment ministry merger
13 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Opposition MPs accused the Government of downgrading climate and environmental protections as legislation to abolish the Ministry for the Environment and merge it into a new mega-ministry passed its second reading in Parliament.
A real ‘intergenerational equity’ budget would address Australia’s unceasing environmental decline
Fri 15 May 2026
Labor has unveiled a budget designed to tackle intergenerational equity in Australia through bold tax reform.
ESG funds include petrochemical companies, report finds
5 May 2026
Global banks have invested US$133bn into US petrochemical expansion, even as the industry is linked to climate change.
NZTA rejects covering $145m of Wellington public transport projects
Wed 20 May 2026
By Justin Wong, Local Democracy Reporter | More than $145 million of Wellington public transport projects - including new bus spines along the harbour quays and the redevelopment of ageing Waterloo station - never made it into the Government’s $32.9 billion national land transport plan.
Thousands protest in Germany urging faster shift to renewable energy, amid Iran war
20 Apr 2026
Thousands of people demonstrated across Germany on April 18, urging a faster shift to renewable energy and accusing conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition of putting the brakes on the transition.
Green Party calls for national electrification plan
20 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Green Party is calling for a national plan to electrify homes, transport and industry using renewable energy, to reduce fossil fuel dependence in response to the Middle East crisis.
China widens its clean energy lead
Mon 18 May 2026
Chinese companies account for more than half of global investments in clean energy manufacturing since 2019, while new U.S. investments declined last year.
‘Landmark’ conservation reform bill – boost or bust for nature?
8 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government has announced an overhaul of the country’s conservation system, which environmental organisation Forest & Bird says will undo the work of many generations of Kiwis to protect public conservation land.
Combined climate extremes may prompt carbon budget rethink
14 May 2026
Media release: Springer Nature | Combined extreme climate events are likely to become more common in the future if carbon emissions continue to rise, a paper in Nature suggests.
Media round-up
Fri 15 May 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: The government's move to change climate law removes a key protection for NZ citizens, farmers should be paid to use methane-busting tools, and it's one step forward, three steps back on environment policy.
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.
Why both trees and technology are important in the race to mitigate carbon emissions
4 May 2026
Different carbon‑removal approaches solve different problems, and pitting these technologies against each other could slow progress.
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.
UN members prepare for pivotal vote on landmark ICJ climate justice ruling
Fri 15 May 2026
If the resolution is passed, governments will recognise their legal responsibility to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
NZ First moves to revive container return scheme
4 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | NZ First is aiming to launch a national container return scheme, which could recycle over a billion wasted containers each year, reviving a policy shelved by the previous Labour-led Government in 2023.
Commission urges Govt action on climate risks
7 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | Climate change currently poses major risks to our water infrastructure with “significant gaps” in readiness to manage risks and increasing hazards, according to the Climate Change Commission.
Why is Northern Ireland facing a growing threat from wildfires?
7 May 2026
Figures show that spring drought events are happening more often while there has been a sharp rise in "fire weather" - a mix of warmth, dryness, and wind that allows fires to ignite and spread rapidly. Experts warn this combination, along with climate change, is creating a longer and more volatile wildfire season.
Human health appears unaffected by living near wind turbines
Today 11:30am
Media release: PNAS | High-resolution data collected across the United States show negligible evidence of adverse health outcomes tied to wind turbine exposure, a study finds.
