Topics tagged with 'Green finance'
NZ submits first Paris Agreement progress report
19 Dec 2024
New Zealand has submitted its first report to the UN on how the country is tracking towards its international climate target to 2030 under the Paris Agreement.
NZGIF chair quits following SolarZero collapse
13 Dec 2024
NZ Green Investment Finance chair Cecilia Tarrant has resigned in the wake of the SolarZero debacle.
New Zealand Green Investment Finance shares Ministers' concerns with SolarZero liquidation
6 Dec 2024
Yesterday representatives of New Zealand Green Investment Finance (NZGIF) met with its Shareholding Ministers to discuss matters relating to the voluntary liquidation of SolarZero.
Auckland Council awards grants to advance community climate action
4 Dec 2024
Media release | Auckland Council has approved $260,000 from a total funding pool of $372,451 to support 11 community-led initiatives addressing climate change projects from sustainable water infrastructure to increasing access to bikes.
Pacific Youth hope historic hearing in the Hague delivers climate justice where COP did not
3 Dec 2024
Media release | Save the Children is urging world leaders to heed the call of Pacific children and young people as a landmark action to clarify states’ obligations to tackle the climate crisis gets underway before the International Court of Justice.
New Zealand must step up and pay our fair share post-COP29
29 Nov 2024
Media release | World Vision New Zealand and Oxfam Aotearoa are urging the New Zealand Government to seize the momentum off the back of the global climate conference, Cop29, and pay our fair share toward global climate action.
Investment lagging in climate action – report
27 Nov 2024
A new report looks at the barriers to investment at the core of the priorities of COP29.
‘Underwhelming’: Poor countries push for way more climate funding than the EU is floating
21 Nov 2024
Privately, however, some conceded they may have to settle for the lower figures for now as COP29 talks amble toward the finish line.
New carbon market rules could lock out forestry
19 Nov 2024
By Liz Kivi | New carbon market rules negotiated at the United Nations climate summit could have negative consequences for carbon forestry in New Zealand, experts are warning.
What is the ‘new collective quantified goal’ on climate finance?
19 Nov 2024
Countries need to invest trillions of dollars to build clean-energy systems, prepare for an increasingly hotter world and deal with the aftermath of climate change-fuelled disasters, and the UN climate convention specifically requires developed nations to provide climate finance to help developing countries do this.
Pacific debt surging as climate impacts hit
18 Nov 2024
Media release | With Pacific countries swamped by surging climate debt, New Zealand has the moral authority to head off a regional debt crisis, says Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand.
XRB delays obligations on Scope 3
15 Nov 2024
The External Reporting Board has decided to delay the obligation to report and assure scope 3 emissions - indirect emissions from an organisation's supply chain - but has retained its requirement for climate-reporting entities to publish transition plans.
NZ experts on UN climate conference
12 Nov 2024
With the United Nations’ major climate summit kicking off in oil-rich Azerbaijan, New Zealand’s climate policy experts are divided over the value of the meeting.
Carbon markets could boost climate action in least developed countries
6 Nov 2024
Media release | UNCTAD’s Least Developed Countries Report 2024 highlighted on Monday that the group of 45 least developed countries (LDCs) could use carbon market projects to enhance climate action by offsetting the buyers’ emissions at improved rates which will allow more investment.
COP29: What is the ‘new collective quantified goal’ on climate finance?
6 Nov 2024
As nations assemble at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, one issue is expected to dominate the summit: climate finance.
Biodiversity summit makes some breakthroughs but fails to progress finance
5 Nov 2024
COMMENT: The UN’s biodiversity summit ended in a race against the clock at the weekend, writes David Hall, who was at the conference representing Aotearoa start-up the Toha Network.
Carbon credits essential part of decarbonisation toolkit: new report
31 Oct 2024
Carbon credits remain at the heart of global efforts to limit dangerous climate change, with prices predicted to rise towards US$125 by 2035, according to new analysis.
NZ adopts 'underwhelming' Commonwealth Ocean Declaration
30 Oct 2024
Commonwealth nations including Aotearoa and Pacific Island states have adopted the Apia Commonwealth Ocean Declaration.
Use KiwiSaver for climate action, urges charity
25 Oct 2024
Media release | New Zealand charity Mindful Money is calling on Kiwis to drive climate action with their investments.
Govt finances still don’t recognise climate liability
17 Oct 2024
Treasury has failed to recognise a liability for New Zealand’s international climate commitments in its latest financial statement, with its position unchanged on the multibillion dollar price tag of purchasing offshore mitigation.
NZ must work with other countries to reach climate goals: new research
14 Oct 2024
By Liz Kivi | Aotearoa’s international climate targets can only be met through funding significant emissions reductions in other countries. But a lack of public support to spend this money overseas is paralysing New Zealand’s progress towards its goal, according to researchers.
Amazon state that will host COP30 strikes largest carbon credit sale in history
9 Oct 2024
A coalition of developed countries and corporations has agreed to a massive purchase of carbon credits from the Amazon rainforest worth $180 million.
Centre seeks experts to classify sustainable claims
4 Oct 2024
The Centre for Sustainable Finance is looking for experts in sustainable finance, agriculture, and forestry, to develop the agriculture and forestry taxonomy for Aotearoa New Zealand.
Carbon offset pioneer charged with $100 million fraud scheme
4 Oct 2024
US regulators say Australian national Ken Newcombe faked data for carbon credits investment. The Goldman and World Bank veteran denies the allegations but is facing up to 20 years in jail.
Fossil fuel dominance of India’s power mix to end by 2030, says central bank
3 Oct 2024
India's burgeoning economy continues to be overwhelmingly powered by fossil fuels including coal, but that dominance will be consigned to the history books by end of this decade, according to the country's central bank.
ESG is dead. Long live ESG
1 Oct 2024
OPINION: We must urgently address the tension between profitability and sustainability.
'Why are carbon offsets not dead yet?'
26 Sep 2024
Journalist and environmental activist George Monbiot discusses neoliberalism, nature, and negative consequences with the Australia Institute's Climate and Energy program director.
Govt developing sustainable finance strategy
23 Sep 2024
The government is partnering with the Centre for Sustainable Finance to develop a sustainable finance strategy for Aotearoa New Zealand.
500 finance institutions call for better govt climate policy ahead of COP29
20 Sep 2024
More than 500 financial institutions, collectively worth more than $29 trillion in assets under management, have written to national governments urging them to update and introduce policies to unlock investment into climate action and nature restoration.
NZ’s decision to restart fossil fuel exploration will be ‘hard to explain to future generations’: leading climate scientist
19 Sep 2024
By Liz Kivi | The government’s plan to restart oil and gas exploration is set to lock in higher levels of global warming, according to a leading Australian climate scientist.
New reports highlight NZ’s opportunity to boost climate finance
29 Aug 2024
Media release | Two new reports reveal how New Zealand can meet its climate finance obligations ahead of COP29.
Progress on work to classify 'sustainable' economic activity
7 Aug 2024
It may include some taxing terminology, but a ‘sustainable finance taxonomy’ could be just what the doctor (or the accountant) ordered for investors keen to ‘go green’.
Investment sector must accelerate climate action – new research
9 Jul 2024
A survey of investors managing more than $230 billion suggests the sector is moving too slowly to bankroll climate action.
NZ to cooperate with Philippines on international climate target, pledges $41 million climate finance to Southeast Asia
23 Apr 2024
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand has made its first tentative step towards forging an international agreement to meet its United Nations climate target by buying offshore offsetting.
Banks need to actively manage climate-related risks: Reserve Bank
23 Apr 2024
Too little climate action taken too late will cut banks’ profits, but won’t threaten bank solvency or financial stability, according to the latest Reserve Bank modelling.
Govt working on classification system for sustainable finance
26 Mar 2024
The government is setting up a specialised group to advise on a classification system for sustainable finance.
RBNZ signals banks must account for climate risk
7 Mar 2024
The Reserve Bank says financial institutions need to understand and manage climate-related risks - and it highlights agriculture as a risky sector.
NZ lagging in forging agreements to meet climate obligations
16 Feb 2024
New Zealand is lagging behind other countries in sealing bilateral deals to meet climate targets - a delay which could lead to higher costs, according to a climate policy consultant.
Climate finance is targeting the wrong industries
14 Feb 2024
Roughly half of the world’s emissions currently can’t be reduced, yet green investment continues to avoid the sectors that need the most help—manufacturing, agriculture, and built environment.
Shift to ethical KiwiSaver investment - but fossil fuel investment at all-time high
9 Feb 2024
The past six months has seen the biggest fall in ‘harmful’ Kiwisaver investments for five years, according to Mindful Money. But Kiwisaver investment in fossil fuel companies is at the highest level ever, at $3.29 billion.
Best by the rest...
9 Feb 2024
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in local media: Climate levy proposed for Christchurch; Peters promises $16.5 million to climate change initiatives in the Cook Islands; and more New Zealand companies are disclosing climate-related risks.
Gold in dem thar hills. Why not leave it there?
29 Jan 2024
By Jeremy Rose | Australian mining company Santana Minerals estimates there’s 82 tonnes of gold in its Rise and Shine site in the central Otago hills.
Biodiversity finance? Definitely. Biodiversity credits? Maybe
24 Nov 2023
By Jeremy Rose | The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment and some of the country’s major environmental groups have questioned the government’s one-eyed focus on biodiversity credits.
Germany tops €6 bln climate finance target for poorer nations three years early
4 Oct 2023
Public climate financing from Germany for poorer countries reached a new record level last year, already surpassing the 6-billion euro target set for 2025, the government has said.
NZ green investment finance provides $15m debt facility to fund Lightyears Solar’s future farms
18 Sep 2023
Lightyears Solar has received $15 million from New Zealand Green Investment Finance to help finance construction of a pipeline of consented, ground-mounted solar farm projects.
RBNZ releases results of industry climate survey
6 Sep 2023
Media release | The Reserve Bank of New Zealand - Te Pūtea Matua has published a Bulletin article highlighting high level results from a survey of prudentially regulated entities on climate change.
Record level of KiwiSaver investments in companies causing harm
4 Sep 2023
Media release | New data analysis from charity Mindful Money shows that Kiwisaver investments in companies the public want to avoid have hit record levels.
IMF warns NZ at risk of failing international emissions obligations
29 Aug 2023
The International Monetary Fund says New Zealand must do more to meet its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for 2030, and is off track to meet its international obligations.
Climate mitigation patent program boosts green tech financing
10 Aug 2023
The US Patent and Trademark Office’s newly expanded program aimed at accelerating patents for climate mitigation technology is critical to garnering the funding necessary to advance the clean energy transition, researchers say.
G20 environment chiefs ready fresh bid for climate deals
28 Jul 2023
G20 environment ministers in India readied a fresh bid to strike deals tackling climate change, days after heavy criticism for failing to agree on cutting fossil fuel use.
Media round-up
Fri 14 Nov 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Simon Watts acknowledges he may face ‘challenging’ conversations with Pacific nations at COP30, New Zealand's climbdown on its methane emissions target is "embarrassing", and corporates are the real winners of the gutting of the Zero Carbon Act this week.
Kaicycle celebrates ten years of collective climate action in Pōneke
Fri 14 Nov 2025
Media release: Kaicycle | Since 2015, Kaicycle has grown from a humble pilot project growing kai and collecting compost on bicycles into the thriving urban farm and composting hub that Wellingtonians know and love.
NZ’s government wants tourism to drive economic growth – but how will it deal with aviation emissions?
22 Oct 2025
By Robert McLachlan, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University | Following a brief dip during the COVID pandemic, aviation is back in a growth phase.
Air NZ inks deal for its first internationally verified carbon credits
9 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Air New Zealand has committed to buying 8000 tonnes of carbon removals by 2030, in partnership with local native forest investment platform My Native Forest.
NZ’s shameful new role as ‘international climate pariah’
Thu 13 Nov 2025
OPINION: New Zealand has ratcheted up its climate backsliding in the past month – losing any shred of climate credibility we once had and showing the world we’re giving up on a net zero future, writes Kayla Kingdon-Bebb.
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.
ETS price spike fears drove NDC decoupling
Thu 13 Nov 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Fears about the economic and fiscal costs of failure to buy enough offshore carbon credits to meet New Zealand’s Nationally Determined Contribution drove last week’s key climate change policy decision.
Australia's green energy push, Pacific ties face setback from COP31 impasse
Fri 14 Nov 2025
Australia risks undermining efforts to establish itself as a leader in the green energy transition and letting down its vulnerable Pacific island neighbours if its bid to host next year's biggest climate summit fails, diplomats and analysts say.
Carbon price’s dead cat bounce
Wed 12 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | The carbon price rebounded briefly in what looked like a ‘dead cat bounce’ last week, following the Government’s announcement it was unlinking the Emissions Trading Scheme from international climate targets.
Act-NZ First split over future of the energy sector
Fri 14 Nov 2025
Act leader David Seymour has set out an energy policy platform that diverges sharply from coalition partner NZ First, arguing New Zealand must accept coal-fired backup generation, consider nuclear power, remove political interference from the electricity sector and sell down the government’s majority stakes in the gentailers.
'Little to be hopeful about' – NZ scientists caution ahead of COP30
31 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Record heat, worsening climate impacts and global backsliding on emission reduction commitments have left some New Zealand climate experts with little optimism as COP30 approaches.
$235 billion worth of NZ buildings exposed to flooding
30 Oct 2025
More than 750,000 New Zealanders live in locations exposed to one-in-100-year floods, according to a nationwide study which shows escalating flood risk.
COP30: Brazil tries to find a home for tricky issues
Fri 14 Nov 2025
Brazil is trying to craft a compromise package on several contentious issues and has dismissed the idea of a roadmap away from fossil fuels.
NZ backs international government push for high-integrity carbon markets
Thu 13 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand has joined a coalition of governments aiming to strengthen corporate demand for voluntary carbon credits.
Clean energy could become a huge political winner
Wed 12 Nov 2025
Rising power bills quietly shaped this year’s races – and gave Democrats a new attack line on climate.
DOC trims costs and winds down jobs for nature
Mon 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.
Coastal roads in the climate spotlight
Fri 14 Nov 2025
By Sue Teodoro, Local Democracy Reporter | Vulnerable coastal roads across New Zealand, including in Masterton district, are coming under the spotlight as the Government works on a plan to address the cost of climate-related damage.
NZ marine heatwaves could double in intensity under high-emissions pathway
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.
Does NZ's 2035 NDC meet Paris Agreement obligations?
7 Nov 2025
By Christina Hood | COMMENT: New Zealand’s 2035 Paris Agreement Target needs strengthening, with multiple reasons the 51 to 55% emissions reduction target does not meet our obligations under the accord.
Govt gas expansion 'climate vandalism' – Greens
7 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Green Party has labelled the Government’s move to broaden the scope of its $200 million fossil gas investment fund as vandalism, accusing Prime Minister Christopher Luxon of breaking trust with New Zealanders.
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.”
Building resilient cities in a time of climate change
Thu 13 Nov 2025
Media release: Otago University | Local and international experts are meeting in Wellington this month to share their knowledge on creating healthier, more resilient cities in the face of the challenges posed by climate change.
TotalEnergies loses in Paris court, marking a turning point for fossil fuel truth-in-advertising
5 Nov 2025
TotalEnergies was found to have misled consumers about its role in the energy transition.
Lake Onslow battery project set for revival?
29 Oct 2025
A newly formed private consortium has emerged with plans to finance and build the massive Lake Onslow pumped-hydro project, despite the coalition government’s decision to abandon the scheme.
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.
Media round-up
31 Oct 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: A controversial seabed mining project could lead to sediment flows knocking over rigs and damaging wind turbines; weather-related insurance claims climb; and is the government playing Russian Roulette with our future over methane targets?
Why I’m not outraged at the Govt’s latest climate backsliding
7 Nov 2025
COMMENT: The Government’s latest climate rollbacks underline New Zealand’s long history of a lack of genuine desire to cut emissions, writes Geoff Bertram.
Z Energy settles greenwashing case over ‘quitting petrol’ claims
4 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Z Energy has settled a landmark greenwashing case over claims it misled the public about moving away from petrol – a result Lawyers for Climate Action NZ says delivers long-overdue accountability.
Nelson commuters urged to ditch car once a week
22 Oct 2025
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | Nelson has a bold carbon emission reduction target and residents are being encouraged to leave the car at home one day a week to help meet it.
Supermarket fast-track a ‘cynical ploy’, risks climate and environmental protections
5 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s “express lane for supermarkets” announcement has been met with fierce backlash, with critics calling the Fast-track Approvals Amendment Bill a Trojan horse that strips environmental protections, sidelines communities, and hands sweeping powers to ministers at the expense of democracy.
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 impacts hit NZ with increasing wild weather
23 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand is facing a triple whammy of climate impacts today, with severe winds and rainfall predicted for much of the country while some areas are still dealing with wildfires ignited earlier in the week.
Carbon Finance Program upscales efforts to close climate investment gap in climate vulnerable nations
22 Oct 2025
Media release | The Climate Vulnerable Forum and its V20 Finance Ministers (CVF-V20) will work with the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) to upscale the Carbon Finance Program in reach and impact, supporting more climate-vulnerable countries to host high-integrity carbon projects that yield tangible climate, nature, and sustainable development benefits.
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.
Protesters and UN security clash at climate summit in Brazil
Thu 13 Nov 2025
Activist groups and United Nations security clashed in chaotic scenes late Tuesday after protesters appeared to force their way into the COP30 climate conference venue, in the most serious act of unrest seen in years inside one of the annual gatherings.
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.
Scotland's first wind farm 'supercharged' after upgrade
Tue 11 Nov 2025
Scotland's first commercial wind farm will be able to deliver five times more clean power than before after being upgraded.
New national dataset to unlock blue carbon potential in NZ’s coastal wetlands
Wed 12 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Ministry for the Environment and the Nature Conservancy have collaborated on a dataset to inform a framework to potentially include coastal wetlands into compliance and voluntary carbon credit schemes.
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.
AgriZero backs first nitrous oxide solution with $1.2m investment
6 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A Kiwi ag-tech start-up developing a device for cows to wear to drastically cut nitrous oxide emissions has secured $1.2 million in government-industry funding.
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.
EV and hybrid sales soar in Australia as internal combustion cars fall below 70% market share for first time
Thu 13 Nov 2025
Data from peak motoring body shows battery-electric vehicles accounted for 9.7% of new cars sold in September quarter, the highest proportion on record.
EU’s new climate target lines up multibillion dollar boost for carbon markets
Mon 10 Nov 2025
Analysts estimate the EU will buy at least 50 billion euros worth of carbon credits in the 2030s to help meet its emissions-cutting goals.
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.
Council buys dairy farm to help clean up Lake Rotorua
21 Oct 2025
Bay of Plenty Regional Council has bought a 266-hectare dairy farm in the Lake Rotorua catchment and plans to retire it from production to reduce nitrogen entering the lake.
Adaptation plan at odds with public sentiment: survey
21 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s position on climate adaptation buyouts shows a disconnect with public opinion, according to survey findings from insurer Suncorp NZ.
We have more renewable energy than ever before. Why are we switching it off?
Tue 11 Nov 2025
Experts say until more storage is installed to soak up the waves of renewable energy flooding the grid, much of that power will occasionally have to be curtailed.
