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Topics tagged with 'Litigation'

More in: Litigation
Previous 1 2 3 1 of 3 Next
Labour climate spokesperson Deborah Russell

Labour promises to repeal bill to block climate lawsuits

Today 12:15pm

By Liz Kivi | The Government bill aiming to block climate lawsuits passed its first reading under urgency after a heated debate in Parliament last night, with the Labour Party promising it will repeal the bill if elected in November.

Media round-up

Today 12:15pm

In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Getting the most impact from the Government's investment in school solar; NZ needs an objective assessment of LNG imports and renewable storage options; and while greener suburbs are healthier on all kinds of metrics, achieving them isn’t straightforward.

Chief Ombudsman John Allen

Ombudsman upholds complaint PM’s office ‘unreasonably withheld’ climate law briefing

Thu 2 Jul 2026

By Liz Kivi | The Ombudsman has upheld a complaint that the Prime Minister’s office unreasonably held information, as Parliament is set to read – under urgency – the climate bill at the centre of the scandal.

High Court upholds forestry directors' environmental liability

Thu 2 Jul 2026

By Shannon Morris-Williams | The High Court has dismissed appeals by a forestry company, its directors, and a landowner, against enforcement orders over environmental damage in a Gisborne forest, reinforcing that company directors can be personally liable for environmental breaches.

Conservation bill risks climate goals, lawyers say

Wed 1 Jul 2026

By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action NZ says the Government's plan to change the law to encourage economic development on conservation land could undermine New Zealand's climate goals by weakening the land's ability to store carbon, as well as allowing new sources of emissions such as mining.

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith

Smith files High Court case against Govt move to block climate lawsuits

Mon 29 Jun 2026

By Liz Kivi | Climate activist and iwi leader Mike Smith has filed High Court proceedings challenging Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith's decision to introduce legislation to outlaw climate tort litigation.

Verra reinstates Kenya carbon project despite ongoing court case

25 Jun 2026

The Northern Kenya Grassland Carbon project is “the world’s largest soil carbon removal project” according the organisation running the project. It is also one of the most controversial carbon projects anywhere in the world.

UN intervention could become election focus

22 Jun 2026

By Liz Kivi | A United Nations recommendation that the Government should change course on a proposed climate law change could become an election issue if it eventuates, according to a legal expert.

Mike Smith

Climate advocates take complaint to UN over Govt’s plan to block climate lawsuits

18 Jun 2026

By Liz Kivi | Climate activist and iwi leader Mike Smith has joined forces with other advocates in a complaint to the United Nations over the Government’s proposed legislation change to block climate lawsuits.

Govt climate claims don't match reality, lawyers say

17 Jun 2026

By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action has accused the Government of presenting an overly positive picture of New Zealand's climate progress at the United Nations climate summit in Bonn, arguing key claims on emissions reductions and support for the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C goal are not reflected in domestic policy.

Associate Professor Vernon Rive, Auckland Law School

Media round-up

12 Jun 2026

In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: A legal expert labels the government's climate law change "constitutionally abhorrent", the first critical minerals project has applied for fast-track, and warming winters are changing New Zealand’s landscapes.

Green Party Co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick

Call for wider investigation into private back-channel emails in PM’s office

9 Jun 2026

By Liz Kivi | The Green Party is calling for a full investigation into the use of private email in the Prime Minister's Office, as the scandal following a missing Fonterra and Z Energy climate policy briefing document drags on.

EU sues Ireland over failure to protect carbon-rich bogs

8 Jun 2026

The European Commission is taking Ireland to court over its failure to protect environmentally crucial boglands from commercial turf-cutters.

Dutch court agrees to hear Greenpeace lawsuit against US energy company

5 Jun 2026

Judges in Amsterdam handed Greenpeace a preliminary victory on Wednesday in an anti-intimidation court case, rejecting a request from fossil fuel pipeline company Energy Transfer to toss the complaint out.

Appeals Court affirms dismissal of youth climate case against Trump

5 Jun 2026

The lead attorney for the 22 plaintiffs said the court has “slammed the courthouse doors on children fighting for their lives.”

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.

Adaptation
More >

Conservation bill risks climate goals, lawyers say

Wed 1 Jul 2026

By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action NZ says the Government's plan to change the law to encourage economic development on conservation land could undermine New Zealand's climate goals by weakening the land's ability to store carbon, as well as allowing new sources of emissions such as mining.

Agriculture
More >

Strong El Niño raises drought and wildfire concerns

Thu 2 Jul 2026

By Shannon Morris-Williams | A newly declared El Niño is expected to bring drier conditions to parts of New Zealand over the coming months, increasing the risk of drought, water shortages and wildfires, while experts warn communities should prepare for potentially significant impacts.

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 >

‘They want to destroy Corsia’: Brussels takes aim again at airline emissions

Thu 2 Jul 2026

The European Commission is planning to shoot down the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) largely voluntary decarbonisation scheme, CORSIA, when it presents plans to overhaul the EU’s carbon pricing system, sources suggest.

Biodiversity
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Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton

Upton warns of 'expensive mess' if catchments carved up

Wed 1 Jul 2026

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has warned the Government risks creating an "expensive mess" if it abolishes regional councils without first deciding which environmental functions must still be managed at catchment or regional scale.

Biofuels
More >

Inaction on shipping decarbonisation could cost NZ up to $94b by 2050, report says

Tue 30 Jun 2026

By Oli Lewis | Failing to support and enable the decarbonisation of the shipping industry could result in losses of $17.5 billion to $94.4b to the New Zealand economy by 2050, according to a report from the Aotearoa Circle.

Carbon Credits
More >

Tens of millions swelter as heatwave blasts US

Thu 2 Jul 2026

Tens of millions of Americans sweltered under furnace-like temperatures Tuesday as central and eastern cities hunkered down for a heat wave set to last through the July 4 holiday weekend.

Carbon News world
More >

Ocean surface temperatures hit record high as world enters ‘uncharted territory,’ scientists warn

Today 12:15pm

“The planet is warming because we’re emitting vast quantities of greenhouse gases, primarily from fossil fuel burning,” one expert said.

Carbon prices
More >
Biochar

Carbon markets and biochar: a golden opportunity for NZ?

Wed 1 Jul 2026

By John O’Brien | COMMENT: New Zealand’s abundant and increasing forestry waste could become a multi-billion dollar opportunity for biochar carbon sequestration – as long as the right policies, programmes, and incentives are in place.

Coal
More >

China's coal power on the rise again in 2026, reversing first-in-a-decade decline

25 Jun 2026

China's coal-fired power generation is set to rebound this year from its first fall in a decade, analysts said, due to the impact of El Nino and ‌the Iran war and as renewable sources of energy have failed to keep pace with demand.

Comment
More >
Dr Rod Carr working in his previous role as Climate Change Commission chair

Politicians need to lead on climate: Carr

Tue 30 Jun 2026

As the election campaign heats up, former Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr has a list of actions he's hoping to see from our aspiring leaders, which includes confronting climate denial as well as refusing funds or policy advice from vested interests.

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
More >
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
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BNZ and Pāmu team up on ‘carbon insetting’ with existing native forests

Tue 30 Jun 2026

By Liz Kivi | BNZ and state-owned enterprise Pāmu (Landcorp) have teamed up on what they say could be a model for landowners to earn revenue from existing native forests, while businesses pay for carbon removals. The organisations involved say this is “not offsetting,” with less stringent rules needed than for carbon credits.

Energy
More >

Taranaki offshore wind developer eyes mid-2030s commissioning after law change

Today 12:15pm

By Oli Lewis | The first offshore wind farm in New Zealand could be commissioned by the mid-2030s, with its developer saying a new permitting framework has bolstered investor confidence.

Extinction
More >
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
More >

Confidence in tackling climate risks remains low

Today 12:15pm

By Shannon Morris-Williams |New Zealanders have little faith in the country's ability to tackle climate risks, with a new poll finding fewer than one in three are confident the country can reduce the impacts of climate change, while many are calling for stronger Government leadership on climate hazards.

Fishing
More >

Tarakihi on verge of extinction: Stock collapse exposes major fisheries management failings

Today 12:15pm

Media release: Environmental Defence Society | Fisheries NZ is consulting on new sustainability measures for the country’s two tarakihi stocks.

Forestry
More >

High Court upholds forestry directors' environmental liability

Thu 2 Jul 2026

By Shannon Morris-Williams | The High Court has dismissed appeals by a forestry company, its directors, and a landowner, against enforcement orders over environmental damage in a Gisborne forest, reinforcing that company directors can be personally liable for environmental breaches.

Fossil fuels
More >

EECA seeks answers on NZ's future fuel mix

Today 12:15pm

By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority is looking for specialists to assess the role future low-emissions fuels could play in New Zealand’s energy system.

Gas
More >
Rewiring Aotearoa chief executive Mike Casey

Savings gap doubles: all-electric households stand to save $3000 a year, report finds

Mon 29 Jun 2026

By Oli Lewis | The economic incentive for households to electrify has become more compelling, although overcoming upfront installation costs remains a barrier.

Geothermal
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Resources Minister Shane Jones at Marsden Point last week

Cabinet green-lights $55M super-critical geothermal drilling programme

9 Jun 2026

By Pattrick Smellie | Cabinet has agreed to release the $55 million unspent of the $60m secured by Resources Minister Shane Jones to drill up to 5 kilometres deep into super-critical geothermal heat under the Taupō volcanic zone.

Green finance
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World Bank to abandon goal to devote 45% of lending resources to climate change projects

Wed 1 Jul 2026

The World Bank Group said on Monday it will "retire" its previous goal ‌to devote 45% of its annual lending resources to projects with climate co-benefits, but extend its longstanding Climate Change Action Plan that was due to expire on Tuesday.

Greenhouse Effect
More >
Myles Allen (left) and Pattrick Smellie

Carbon capture and the need for ‘net zero oil’

16 Jun 2026

By Pattrick Smellie | The answer to making carbon capture and storage work is to make fossil fuel producers responsible for making it happen rather than consumers, says Oxford University climate change policy expert, Professor Myles Allen.

Greenwashing
More >

Govt climate claims don't match reality, lawyers say

17 Jun 2026

By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action has accused the Government of presenting an overly positive picture of New Zealand's climate progress at the United Nations climate summit in Bonn, arguing key claims on emissions reductions and support for the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C goal are not reflected in domestic policy.

Hydro power
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Lake Onslow

Lake Onslow pumped hydro consortium secures funding for consent push

26 Jun 2026

By Oli Lewis | The consortium behind Lake Onslow pumped hydro has secured funding to finalise its resource consent application, aiming to lodge it under the fast-track process before 2027.

Hydrogen
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Kapuni Project Wind Turbines in South Taranaki - Visual Simulation

Ballance secures gas for 2026 as it progresses energy transition plan

16 Jun 2026

By Oli Lewis | One of the largest industrial gas users in New Zealand is working on an energy transition plan to futureproof domestic fertiliser manufacturing, while continuing to secure ongoing gas supply contracts.

Insurance
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$75k up for grabs for climate resilience and inclusion projects

25 Jun 2026

Community organisations and charities working to strengthen climate resilience and social inclusion can apply for a share of $75,000 through the QBE Foundation's 2026 Local Grants.

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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Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton

Commissioner ‘unconvinced’ LNG is the best dry-year solution

26 Jun 2026

By Liz Kivi | The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has told the Energy Minister he is “unconvinced” the government’s proposed LNG import terminal is the best ‘dry year’ solution for the country, and criticised the Government’s “extremely limited” options analysis.

Low carbon
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Ed Harvey

Australia is at least ten years ahead of us on solar. It’s time we caught up.

Today 12:15pm

By Ed Harvey | OPINION: Starting this week, millions of households across New South Wales, South Australia and Southeast Queensland will have access to three hours of free electricity every single day.

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 >

UN chief says fossil fuel industry must cut methane for warming “relief”

25 Jun 2026

UN chief António Guterres called for stronger action to cut emissions of planet-heating methane, taking aim at the fossil fuel industry’s practices and profits, and pointing to coal, oil and gas as the root of today’s climate and energy crises.

Mining
More >

New report sounds alarm on risks of unregulated radioactivity from deep-sea mining

Today 12:15pm

Media release | A groundbreaking scientific report released today by the Deep Sea Mining Campaign exposes a critical, unaddressed threat to global ocean health: the mobilisation of naturally occurring radioactive materials by proposed deep sea mining operations.

NZ ETS
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Forestry at heart of ETS problems – commissioner

24 Jun 2026

By Shannon Morris-Williams | Forestry is a central driver of growing problems within New Zealand's Emissions Trading Scheme, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton told the Environment Select Committee during Parliamentary Scrutiny Week.

Oil
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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.

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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UN plastics pact talks restart amid fears production curbs will be left out

Thu 2 Jul 2026

Diplomats reconvene a year after negotiations collapsed, but campaigners fear the agenda risks burying tricky discussions on key elements.

Policy development
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Labour climate spokesperson Deborah Russell

Labour promises to repeal bill to block climate lawsuits

Today 12:15pm

By Liz Kivi | The Government bill aiming to block climate lawsuits passed its first reading under urgency after a heated debate in Parliament last night, with the Labour Party promising it will repeal the bill if elected in November.

Politics
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Media round-up

Today 12:15pm

In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Getting the most impact from the Government's investment in school solar; NZ needs an objective assessment of LNG imports and renewable storage options; and while greener suburbs are healthier on all kinds of metrics, achieving them isn’t straightforward.

Protest
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Northern Thai residents march for action on polluted rivers. ‘This is an emergency’

9 Jun 2026

More than 600 residents of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces embarked May 31 on a roughly 68-kilometer, six-day ‘peace walk’ to demand the Thai government take action on the river pollution crisis that has seen Thai rivers polluted with heavy metals.

Rare earth minerals
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US defence spending on critical minerals surges in the last decade

22 Jun 2026

Members of communities affected by some of these projects said that U.S. state backing has meant projects are being fast-tracked without the necessary social and environmental checks or meaningful consultation.

Regulation
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A tale of two electricity systems as NZ and Australia roll out new cost-saving measures

Wed 1 Jul 2026

By Oli Lewis | New rules requiring electricity retailers to offer time-of-use pricing plans, where consumers can access lower-cost electricity at off-peak times, have come into effect.

Renewable energy
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Offshore renewable energy bill passes, opening path for developers

Thu 2 Jul 2026

By Oli Lewis | Feasibility permits for offshore wind developments could be issued within months after the Government passed a long-awaited law to establish a regulatory regime.

Resource management
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Labour won't scrap RMA replacement laws: Hipkins

26 Jun 2026

By Shannon Morris-Williams | Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins says New Zealand needs to move beyond the "repeal and replace" approach to resource management, confirming the party would amend rather than scrap the Government's RMA reforms, if elected.

Science
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Climate scientist wins 'emerging scientist' prize

Wed 1 Jul 2026

By Shannon Morris-Williams | University of Waikato scientist Luke Harrington has been awarded the Prime Minister's MacDiarmid Emerging Scientist Prize for developing new ways to measure how climate change is increasing the likelihood and intensity of extreme weather.

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
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Lack of finance stalling sustainable innovation – report

12 Jun 2026

By Shannon Morris-Williams | A lack of access to suitable finance is threatening growth in New Zealand's sustainable innovation sector, despite strong confidence and ambitious expansion plans among purpose-driven businesses, according to a new report.

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.

Transport
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New Delhi offers residents $1,000 to scrap old cars for EVs to curb air pollution

Thu 2 Jul 2026

India's capital New Delhi will offer a cash incentive of over$1,000 to car owners willing to scrap their old vehicle for an EV, according to a new ‌policy finalised by the government on Monday in a move aimed at reducing high levels of air pollution.

United Nations
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‘Those blocking climate science are not our friends': Pacific leaders warn at Bonn talks

23 Jun 2026

Pacific nations and civil society groups have united at UN climate talks, pushing back against efforts to weaken agreed language on global temperature limits as negotiations continue behind closed doors.

Waste
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Next Govt must restart action on plastic pollution

Wed 1 Jul 2026

Media release - Zero Waste Aotearoa | Plastic Free July begins with an urgent call to put plastic pollution back on the political agenda. Plastic Free July is a worldwide campaign to reduce plastic waste and eliminate single use plastics.

Water
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Waikato river

Waikato Council advances water security action plan

23 Jun 2026

Waikato Regional Council has endorsed a new action plan to strengthen the region’s water security.

Wildfires
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Increase in wildfire-driven ozone linked to premature deaths across the U.S.

10 Jun 2026

Smog linked to wildfires is getting worse across much of the U.S., playing a role in more than 300 additional premature deaths every year since 2013, researchers say.

More in: Litigation
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