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Topics tagged with 'Litigation'

More in: Litigation
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Wetland protections failing to stop losses

28 May 2026

By Shannon Morris-Williams | New mapping commissioned by the Environmental Law Initiative shows wetlands across New Zealand are still being converted to pasture, forestry and mining despite stronger national protections introduced in 2020, with researchers warning enforcement gaps may be undermining the rules.

Minister of Justice Paul Goldsmith

Officials told Govt not to stop climate court case

27 May 2026

By Liz Kivi | Government officials advised ministers not to intervene in a groundbreaking climate court case, according to newly released documents.

Climate resolution conundrum for NZ

26 May 2026

By Vernon Rive | COMMENT: While the United Nations resolution endorsing a landmark climate ruling is significant – politically, diplomatically and legally – its impact on international climate negotiations and domestic action is likely to be indirect and incremental.

Supreme Court

Mike Smith’s asymmetric victory

25 May 2026

By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: The New Zealand Government’s recent move, undercutting citizens’ rights and the rule of law to cancel the country’s most important climate case is a massive win for Mike Smith, the climate change activist who brought it.

The announcement last week prompted a call for Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith's resignation

NZ Govt’s move to halt climate litigation under international scrutiny

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.

Labour climate spokesperson Deborah Russell with Fonterra group director, global external affairs, Simon Tucker, Fonterra director of sustainability Charlotte Rutherford, and Fonterra director Alison Watters.

Labour condemns Govt plan to stop climate litigation

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.

Media round-up

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.

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.

Some inconvenient truths in bringing climate science to the judiciary

14 May 2026

OPINION: Climate science had been knocking on the courthouse doors for quite some time when the Supreme Court of the United States finally invited it into the realm of legal action in 2007.

How big oil companies can slow the green transition by suing governments that ban fossil fuels

13 May 2026

Simply put, this rule lets big oil companies sue sovereign states and demand exorbitant amounts of money if they are prohibited from digging up fossil fuels.

Supreme Court

Govt moves to block climate change litigation

12 May 2026

By Liz Kivi | The Government’s move to limit lawsuits holding climate polluters accountable for damage is putting the interests of big emitters ahead of communities, according to Lawyers for Climate Action.

Waihora Forest, Gisborne – land currently for sale.

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.

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.

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.

Judge dismisses Trump administration’s bid to block Hawaii climate lawsuit

20 Apr 2026

It was the second defeat for the Trump administration’s unusual litigation to stop states from acting on climate change.

Cook River near Fox Glacier

Environmental groups launch legal action over Govt's 'tick-box approach' to conservation land

8 Apr 2026

By Liz Kivi | Forest & Bird and the Environmental Defence Society are taking the Government to court over decisions about the future of publicly-owned land on Te Tai Poutini/the West Coast.

Greenpeace spokesperson Sinéad Deighton-O’Flynn

Fonterra admits ‘100% grass-fed’ claim breached law in greenwashing row

2 Apr 2026

By Shannon Morris-Williams | Fonterra has admitted its “100% New Zealand grass-fed” claims on Anchor butter were misleading and breached the law, settling a case brought by Greenpeace Aotearoa over packaging used between December 2023 and April 2025.

Lawyers complain to ombudsman over Govt failure to release LNG modelling

1 Apr 2026

By Liz Kivi | Lawyers for Climate Action has made a formal complaint to the Ombudsman over the Government’s failure to release information about its controversial decision to build a LNG import terminal.

Media round-up

20 Mar 2026

In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Crown lawyers agree High Court could quash emissions plan if found unlawful; NZ is locked in 'disaster inertia'; and climate change is notably absent from new development laws.

Protesters outside Wellington High Court at the start of the hearing on Monday

Govt process to change climate plan ‘fundamentally flawed’, says judge

18 Mar 2026

By Pattrick Smellie | The government’s 2024 changes to New Zealand’s first Emissions Reduction Plan was “as fundamentally flawed a process as I think I have ever seen”, the judge presiding in a case challenging climate change decision-making has said.

Protestors outside Wellington High Court yesterday

Close questioning over ‘ministerial latitude’ at climate hearing

17 Mar 2026

By Pattrick Smellie | Lawyers challenging the legality of the government’s emissions reduction plans faced close questioning on the limits of ministerial foresight in the first of three days of hearings at the Wellington High Court yesterday.

Associate Professor Vernon Rive, Auckland Law School

Climate in the courtroom – where to from here?

17 Mar 2026

Media release: University of Auckland | Around the world, climate lawsuits are reshaping environmental law. Experts in Auckland are examining what this means for New Zealand.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Simon Watts at last year's Carbon Forestry conference

Govt challenged in the High Court over climate plans

16 Mar 2026

A landmark case starts today that will see Climate Change Minister Simon Watts taken to the High Court over claims the Government’s climate plans are unlawful.

Five trees can’t offset a car: Lawyers accuse Mazda of greenwashing

9 Mar 2026

By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action NZ is taking Mazda to the Advertising Standards Authority over its claims that a tree-planting programme will offset vehicle emissions.

EDS puts environmental lawmaking under the spotlight

26 Feb 2026

Media Release |The Environmental Defence Society has launched the first in a series of investigative pieces into how environmental laws are being made in Aotearoa New Zealand.

US Supreme Court to hear bid by oil companies to toss climate suits

25 Feb 2026

The U.S Supreme Court has agreed to hear a bid by ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy to scuttle a lawsuit brought by officials in Boulder, Colorado that seeks to hold the oil companies liable for helping fuel climate change in a case that could affect dozens of similar lawsuits around the country.

South Korean farmers sue utility giant KEPCO over climate damage to crops

25 Feb 2026

As harvest season approached last November, farmer Ma Yong-un walked through his apple orchard in southern South Korea with a growing sense of dread.

Australian gas producer Santos wins court fight over net zero claims

18 Feb 2026

An Australian court on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit against gas producer Santos that alleged the company misled the public on its plans to achieve net zero carbon emissions.

Lawyers for Climate Action executive director Jessica Palairet

Lawyers seek answers on climate impacts of LNG import facility

13 Feb 2026

By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action has written to Climate Change and Energy Minister Simon Watts warning that the Government's plan for an LNG import terminal could be in conflict with New Zealand’s climate obligations and emissions reduction targets.

Green Member’s Bill aims to give whales legal ‘personhood’

9 Feb 2026

The Green Party wants to give whales legal rights, including the right to sue.

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.

US court says Energy Dept climate group violated law

3 Feb 2026

The Trump administration violated federal law when it secretly formed a climate science advisory group to work on a contentious global warming report, a court has ruled.

Govt updates emissions plan to blow past legislated target

29 Jan 2026

By Liz Kivi | The Government has updated its emissions reduction plan, with agricultural emissions now set to blow past the legislated 2030 target.

Dutch government discriminated against Bonaire islanders over climate adaptation, court rules

29 Jan 2026

The Dutch government discriminated against people in one of its most vulnerable territories by not helping them adapt to climate change, a court has found.

Lawyers for Climate Action executive director Jessica Palairet (right) with Environmental Law Initiative director Matt Hall

Court rejects challenge to Minister and Commission over climate targets

28 Jan 2026

By Liz Kivi | The Supreme Court has rejected Lawyers for Climate Action’s bid to challenge the Climate Change Commission and former Climate Minister James Shaw over climate targets, ending a long-running case which had been working its way through the courts since 2021.

Supreme Court mandates climate consideration in petroleum permitting

26 Jan 2026

By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government must consider climate change when offering petroleum exploration permits, according to a recent ruling from the Supreme Court.

Financial sector must account for hard realities of climate change

26 Jan 2026

COMMENT: While the world’s largest asset manager ditching its $2 billion climate tech commitment to New Zealand is part of a greater walkback of climate finance, concerns about climate-related risk continue to shape present-day financial decisions, writes David Hall.

Waitangi Treaty Grounds

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.

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.

Govt slammed for weakening methane target

15 Dec 2025

By Shannon Morris-Williams The Government has pushed through legislation under urgency to almost halve New Zealand’s 2050 methane target – a move Opposition parties say disregards scientific advice, breaks the country’s hard-won political consensus on climate action, and shifts the burden of higher warming and higher future costs onto the next generation.

Shell facing first UK legal claim over climate impacts of fossil fuels

12 Dec 2025

Victims of a deadly typhoon in the Philippines have filed a legal claim against oil and gas company Shell in the UK courts, seeking compensation for what they say is the company's role in making the storm more severe.

Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment  Simon Upton

Is Govt rushing through changes to climate framework to avoid litigation?

11 Dec 2025

By Liz Kivi | The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment says the Government’s motivation for proposed changes to the country’s climate framework law are unclear: “The only reason I can think of is one grounded in potential litigation risk.”

The International Court of Justice delivers its landmark advisory opinion on states’ legal obligations to address climate change.

NZ’s rejection of emission targets fuels risk of international law breach

8 Dec 2025

By Karen Scott, Professor in Law, University of Canterbury | The New Zealand government’s decision this week to reject all of the Climate Change Commission’s emission target recommendations was just the latest in a string of policy statements that weaken the country’s action on climate.

Amy Westervelt: It’s time we stopped treating corporations as people

4 Dec 2025

COMMENT: Treating corporations as people and granting them First Amendment rights has warped US politics and harmed the climate. We need to overturn Citizens United.

Climate Change Minister Simon Watts delivering New Zealand's national statement at COP30 last week.

Minister warned over lack of rationale for climate policy

25 Nov 2025

By Liz Kivi | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ formal explanation of why the Government isn’t going to follow the independent Climate Change Commission’s advice on climate targets is still in the pipeline, the Minister has confirmed.

A landmark court ruling looms over US absence at COP30

20 Nov 2025

The historic climate change advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice suggests the United States is violating international law on climate, legal experts say.

South Korean growers sue state power utility, blaming climate change for crop damage

17 Nov 2025

Five South Korean farmers recently sued the state utility Korea Electric Power Corporation and its power-generating subsidiaries, alleging that their reliance on coal and other fossil fuels has accelerated climate change and damaged their crops.

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.

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.

Judge says Greenpeace must pay $345 million in pipeline lawsuit, cutting jury amount nearly in half

31 Oct 2025

A North Dakota judge has ordered Greenpeace to pay damages of $345 million, reducing an earlier jury award after it found the environmental group and related entities liable for defamation and other claims in connection with protests of an oil pipeline nearly a decade ago.

Adaptation
More >
Waiwhetu Marae

Marae-based climate projects announced while future funding cut

Thu 4 Jun 2026

The Government has announced two more marae-based projects will benefit from the Māori Climate Platform, while quietly cutting funding for the initiative in last week’s budget.

Agriculture
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Changes to emissions factors prompt caution over climate claims

Thu 4 Jun 2026

By Shannon Morris-Williams | Organisations may need to revisit how they calculate and communicate their greenhouse gas emissions after the Ministry for the Environment released an updated version of its Measuring Emissions Guide, incorporating new emissions factors based on New Zealand's latest greenhouse gas inventory.

Airlines
More >

$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.

Aviation
More >

Europe's green jet fuels see upside in Iran war

Wed 3 Jun 2026

Interest in synthetic propellants is growing as the Iran war pushes Europe to reassess its dependencies, raising hopes of a turnaround for the struggling sector, according to industry experts.

Biodiversity
More >

NZ’s ‘light‑touch’ approach to voluntary carbon and nature markets may unlock finance but risks credibility

Tue 2 Jun 2026

By Jennifer Campion, University of Waikato | The government’s recent announcement of support for voluntary carbon and nature markets effectively offers a “warrant of fitness” to signal which markets can be trusted, without directly regulating them.

Biofuels
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Huntly Power Station

Huntly biomass option no cheap fix, Genesis tells MPs

28 May 2026

Genesis Energy says biomass can be burned in Huntly's Rankine units, but current costs put it in roughly the same price range as imported LNG and extra Rankine capacity would be expensive and could take years.

Carbon Credits
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Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Finance Minister Nicola Willis

Willis touting mysterious ‘new approaches’ to meet Paris Agreement

Tue 2 Jun 2026

By Liz Kivi | Finance Minister Nicola Willis has again said that New Zealand is unlikely to buy significant offshore mitigation to meet the country’s international climate targets.

Carbon News world
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Britain sets 87% emissions reduction target by 2040

Thu 4 Jun 2026

Britain on Tuesday set a target to cut emissions ‌by around 87% by 2040 from 1990 levels as it increases efforts to meet net zero goals that it says will help to curb energy costs and create jobs, but it has yet to outline how the goal will be met.

Carbon prices
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‘Fiscal hole’ likely to deepen as another carbon auction looms

28 May 2026

By Liz Kivi | A broker is picking the NZU price will push towards $60 in the coming weeks on the back of improved confidence, however prices on the secondary market are still lagging well below the auction floor, with the second auction of this year less than two weeks away.

Coal
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Lack of demand leads to Bathurst pausing coal mine expansion

Tue 2 Jun 2026

By Liz Kivi | Bathurst Resources has confirmed it is struggling to find a market for coal from its planned extension of the Rotowaro coal mine in North Waikato, and is putting the project on ‘pause’.

Comment
More >
Supreme Court

Mike Smith’s asymmetric victory

25 May 2026

By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: The New Zealand Government’s recent move, undercutting citizens’ rights and the rule of law to cancel the country’s most important climate case is a massive win for Mike Smith, the climate change activist who brought it.

Construction
More >
Andrew Eagles, NZGBC chief executive (centre) launched the manifesto last week

Green building council calls for clean energy policies

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.

COP
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Parliament Buildings, Budapest

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.

Emissions trading
More >

Govt unveils long-awaited voluntary carbon market guidance

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.

Energy
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LNG isn’t the best 'dry year' solution – new report

Thu 4 Jun 2026

By Liz Kivi | The Government’s proposed LNG import terminal isn’t the best solution for ‘dry year’ electricity security, according to a new report.

Extinction
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WWF-New Zealand chief executive Kayla Kingdon-Bebb

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.

Extreme weather
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Rod Carr, former chair of the Climate Change Commission

Seven ‘new approaches’ to avoid our Paris commitments: Carr

Thu 4 Jun 2026

Praying for “new approaches” to materialise to meet our international climate obligations isn’t a strategy, writes Rod Carr.

Fishing
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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.

Forestry
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World-first trial turns NZ pine into bitumen alternative

Thu 4 Jun 2026

New Zealand researchers have successfully developed a road surfacing binder made entirely from pine trees, a world-first breakthrough that could reduce the country's reliance on imported petroleum-based bitumen.

Fossil fuels
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Renewables alone won’t fix ‘broken’ electricity prices

Thu 4 Jun 2026

COMMENT: While many people agree the electricity market is broken, simply adding more renewables to a broken system isn’t the fix we need, writes Geoff Bertram.

Gas
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Govt legislates for more gas market transparency

Tue 2 Jun 2026

The Government has passed its Gas Market Transparency Bill through all stages under urgency, giving itself stronger powers to see into a gas market where tightening supply is creating significant uncertainty for businesses.

Geothermal
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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.”

Green finance
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Former Energy Minister Megan Woods at an Ara Ake event in 2022

Budget quietly kills renewable energy innovation centre Ara Ake

29 May 2026

By Pattrick Smellie | The axe has fallen in the Budget on the last Labour-led government’s Ara Ake future energy development centre.

Greenhouse Effect
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8,000 people were left without water supply in the coastal town of Whitstable, Kent

Record-breaking heat and dry spring leave parts of England without water

Tue 2 Jun 2026

Thousands of households in southeast England were left without water or facing low pressure during a record-breaking heatwave this week, ‌as high demand followed a dry spring to expose the failings in Britain's ageing infrastructure.

Greenwashing
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Why ‘greenhushing’ signals deeper issues with NZ’s climate risk reporting regime

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.

Hydro power
More >
Political debate at Electrify Queenstown

Hipkins pans LNG plan as ‘massive step backwards’

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.

Hydrogen
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Farmer spreading fertiliser

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.

Insurance
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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.

Kyoto
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Waitangi Treaty Grounds

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.

LNG
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LNG vital to prevent economic damage as gas leaves NZ economy

27 May 2026

By Pattrick Smellie | Importing natural gas will make the difference between an “orderly” or “chaotic and unnecessarily costly" decline as domestically produced gas runs out, the chief executive of the Gas Industry Company, David Prentice, said yesterday.

Low carbon
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E-bike users on the Hauraki Rail Trail and the Great Lake Trail can look forward to new charging stations.

New e-bike charging stations valued at $900,000 for Hauraki and Tāupo trails

Tue 2 Jun 2026

By Jordan Smith, Local Democracy Reporter | About $900,000 of the Government's $2.5 million Electrifying the Great Rides fund will go towards e-bike charging stations on trails in Hauraki and Tāupo.

Market advice
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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.

Methane
More >

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.

Mining
More >

Wetland protections failing to stop losses

28 May 2026

By Shannon Morris-Williams | New mapping commissioned by the Environmental Law Initiative shows wetlands across New Zealand are still being converted to pasture, forestry and mining despite stronger national protections introduced in 2020, with researchers warning enforcement gaps may be undermining the rules.

NZ Market Report
More >

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.

Oceans
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Ōkaihae Marine Reserve

Deep South marine reserves boost protection by nearly 50%

Wed 3 Jun 2026

Five new marine reserves protecting more than 300 square kilometres of ocean habitat along the Otago and south Canterbury coast will come into force next month, marking one of the largest expansions of mainland New Zealand's marine reserve network in decades.

Oil
More >

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.

Paris Agreement
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Climate takes back seat in Budget 2026

29 May 2026

By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate change featured only lightly in Budget 2026, with most climate-related spending focused on resilience and disaster recovery rather than emissions reduction, while the Government again left out any updated estimate of the cost of meeting New Zealand’s Paris Agreement obligations.

Planetary boundaries
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A real ‘intergenerational equity’ budget would address Australia’s unceasing environmental decline

15 May 2026

Labor has unveiled a budget designed to tackle intergenerational equity in Australia through bold tax reform.

Plastics
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Six NZ climate solutions up for 2026 Earthshot prize

21 May 2026

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.

Protest
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New breed of political prisoner arises in Britain as anti-protest sentences rise

27 May 2026

More people are being jailed in England and Wales as a result of acting to prevent climate breakdown and the war in Gaza, research reveals.

Rare earth minerals
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Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson

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.

Regulation
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US to ‘kill’ climate disclosure rule

Tue 2 Jun 2026

In the latest action to undo Biden-era regulations on climate change, the Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed repealing a rule that requires some public companies to report their greenhouse gas emissions and the risks they face from global warming.

Resource management
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Cruise ship in Milford Sound

‘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.

Science
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NZAS co-president Troy Baisden

Science losing the long game

29 May 2026

Media release: New Zealand Association of Scientists  | Budget 2026 pushes the science system into a quiet purgatory, with zero announcements from the Minister’s office since 1 April.

Tax
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Associate Professor Ru Hong

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.

Technology
More >
Solar panels on Moanataiari School in Thames

Govt redirects energy innovation funding to solar on schools

Wed 3 Jun 2026

By Liz Kivi | Schools will save money, have greater energy security, and reduce carbon emissions through a $30 million Government initiative to put solar panels on up to 500 schools across New Zealand, say Energy Minister Simeon Brown and Education Minister Erica Stanford.

The House
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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.

United Nations
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Prepare for imminent return of El Niño, UN warns

Thu 4 Jun 2026

The world must prepare for the imminent return of El Niño and the supercharged weather extremes it brings, the UN has warned.

Waste
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Project linking food waste to cutting methane emissions gets underway

27 May 2026

Media release | Kai Commitment is leading a New Zealand-first project to help understand the connection between food waste and methane emissions and identify effective interventions.

Wildfires
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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.

Wind energy
More >

Waves with world's first wind power undersea data center

Thu 4 Jun 2026

China has begun operations of the world's first undersea data center directly powered by offshore wind, as the country races to solve the soaring energy demands of artificial intelligence with greener and more efficient infrastructure.

More in: Litigation
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