Topics tagged with 'Litigation'
Minister warned over lack of rationale for climate policy
Tue 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.
Norway faces European Court climate ruling over oil licences
29 Oct 2025
The European Court of Human Rights will decide on Tuesday if Norway breached its climate obligations when it awarded Arctic oil exploration licenses in 2016.
Media round-up
24 Oct 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: The Government planned to gut New Zealand's world-leading climate disclosure law - even as it bragged about it on the world stage; a new Indigenous climate adaptation network launches; and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts admits that the new methane target might breach the global 1.5C goal.
Judge dismisses suit by young climate activists against Trump’s pro-fossil fuel policies
17 Oct 2025
Plaintiffs had ‘overwhelming evidence’ of climate crisis but a court injunction would be ‘unworkable’, ruling says.
In China, climate litigation starts with the state
16 Oct 2025
With thousands of dedicated courts and more than a million recent cases, environmental and climate litigation is booming in China, but it often looks different to the trend seen elsewhere.
‘Weird and sad’ – Tuvalu Climate Minister condemns NZ halving methane target
15 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Dr Maina Talia, Tuvalu’s Minister for Home Affairs, Climate Change, and Environment, says he’s surprised at New Zealand’s decision to weaken its target for reducing methane emissions – and is planning to take up the issue with his counterpart Climate Minister Simon Watts this week.
NZ’s biggest ever climate meeting kicks off
14 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | The world's largest climate adaptation conference kicked off in Christchurch yesterday, with nearly 2000 attendees expected, making it potentially the biggest international climate meeting Aotearoa New Zealand will ever host.
Bonaire residents take Netherlands to court over climate
9 Oct 2025
The trial is a first for Europe and follows an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice, which provides a legal interpretation of international climate law.
Groups sue E.P.A. over cancelled $7 billion for solar energy
8 Oct 2025
The lawsuit accused the Environmental Protection Agency of illegally revoking the money without congressional approval.
NZ quiet on climate target at UN meeting
2 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand didn't mention its recently minted – but widely criticised – climate target for 2035 at a major multilateral climate meeting in New York last week, at an event which was ostensibly billed as a platform for leaders to present their new targets.
Can the courtroom save the climate?
2 Oct 2025
It was in early 2017 when it seemed like nearly every person I knew from home was asking me the same question: Should they be worried about what was about to happen in Washington, D.C.?
Exxon and Shell sue the Netherlands in secret tribunals for closing Europe’s biggest gas field
19 Sep 2025
Following billions in profits and over a thousand gas extraction-related earthquakes, the oil and gas giants filed claims against the Dutch state in four separate investor-state disputes concerning compensation for home damages and the permanent closure of the Groningen gas field.
Young activists won a landmark state climate trial. Now they’re challenging Trump’s orders
18 Sep 2025
Young climate activists and their attorneys who won a landmark global warming trial against the state of Montana are trying to convince a federal judge to block President Donald Trump’s executive orders promoting fossil fuels.
Apple Watch not a 'CO2-neutral product,' German court finds
28 Aug 2025
Apple can no longer advertise its Apple Watch as a "CO2-neutral product" in Germany, following a court ruling on Tuesday that upheld a complaint from environmentalists, finding that the U.S. tech company had misled consumers.
Forestry sector could take legal action over ETS changes
14 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | The forestry sector is threatening legal action against the Government over changes to legislation intended to limit whole farm-to-forest conversions in the Emissions Trading Scheme.
First-of-a-kind US class-action lawsuit would force EPA to reinstate $3bn climate program
7 Aug 2025
Coalition of non-profits, tribes and local governments sued EPA chief for halting climate justice grants.
BlackRock, other fund managers lose bid to dismiss Texas climate collusion lawsuit
5 Aug 2025
A U.S. judge on Friday largely rejected a request by top asset managers including BlackRock, to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Texas and 12 other Republican-led states that said the companies violated antitrust law through climate activism that reduced coal production and boosted energy prices.
Multi-day protest continues at coal mine
30 Jul 2025
Bathurst Resources has been forced to truck coal from its Stockton mine as climate activists occupy coal buckets at the mine for a third day.
The ICJ’s ruling means Australia and other major polluters face a new era of climate reparations
25 Jul 2025
By Harj Narulla | OPINION: Australia has found itself on the wrong side of history.
NZ govt’s fossil fuel plans could break international law
24 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government could be breaching international law with its plans to subsidise and expand fossil fuel extraction, following a ruling overnight from the world’s highest court.
Torres Strait leaders lost their landmark case. How can governments be held to account on climate?
21 Jul 2025
Experts and advocates say it’s time for the law to change after judge says matters based on climate policy cannot be decided by courts.
Local govt bill 'completely misses the point,' passes first reading
18 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government’s bill making changes to the Local Government Act to "refocus" councils on their core functions passed its first reading in Parliament last night, with critics saying it will set back climate resilience.
Activists sue US development bank over $4.6bn loan to massive Mozambique gas project
18 Jul 2025
Environmental groups claim loan is ‘unlawful’ in legal filing.
Does Aussie court ruling hold lessons for NZ?
17 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | A recent Australian court ruling should serve as a warning to New Zealand's decision-makers on how important it is to align climate targets and climate policies with the best available science, according to a climate litigation expert.
‘Ideological sludge’: How NZ is quiet quitting climate action
17 Jul 2025
New Zealand once stood out as a world leader on climate change. In June it became the first country in the world to abandon a commitment to phase out oil, gas and coal.
Indigenous elders lose landmark climate battle against Australian government
16 Jul 2025
The Australian government has won a landmark climate case against residents of islands under siege from the impacts of climate change.
Debanking bill 'financially dangerous'
15 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A private member’s bill aiming to stop financial institutions from considering ESG factors has been slammed by leading investment groups, legal experts, and climate finance advocates as misguided, financially dangerous, and legislative overreach.
In Latin America, the energy transition stirs a rise in human rights lawsuits
8 Jul 2025
A new report shows that more than half of the 95 energy transition-related lawsuits recorded globally since 2009 took place in Latin America and the Caribbean.
High Court agrees with Environmental Defence Society - law must be followed as it stands now
7 Jul 2025
Media release – Environmental Defence Society | The Environmental Defence Society (EDS) welcomes the High Court’s finding in Box Property Investments Ltd v The Expert Consenting Panel that decisions must be made based on the law as it currently stands, not on potential future legislative changes.
Rise in legal challenges over carbon credit schemes
27 Jun 2025
Scrutiny of how companies plan to meet climate commitments is growing, with many successful legal challenges.
Major report shows top courts are increasingly a battleground for climate action
27 Jun 2025
Landmark cases in 2024 and 2025 have reinforced the importance of legal pathways in helping or hindering climate action.
Pre-trial skirmishes kick off in groundbreaking climate case
26 Jun 2025
By Vernon Rive | The Supreme Court’s February 2024 ruling clearing the way for Māori climate spokesperson Mike Smith’s tort claims against a group of New Zealand ‘carbon majors’ to proceed to trial has set the stage for years of protracted, contentious litigation.
Govt’s $200m fossil fuel handout breaches trade agreement – Greens
24 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government's $200 million dollar investment fund for local gas exploration is a "clear breach" of the Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability agreement, according to legal advice commissioned by the Green Party.
Environmental Protection Authority in court over glyphosate risk
19 Jun 2025
The Environmental Protection Authority has been taken to court over its decision not to re-assess the herbicide glyphosate.
Legal experts sue Climate minister over ‘glaring holes’ in climate plan
11 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | Legal experts are taking the government to court over its Emissions Reduction Plan, alleging it fails to fulfil basic requirements of the law – with one of the arguments focussing on an over-reliance on tree-planting.
Greenwashing is rife in Australia, but could its days be numbered?
28 May 2025
COMMENT: Have you ever ticked the box to “fly carbon neutral”, had something delivered via “carbon-neutral shipping” or chosen to pay a bit extra to buy “carbon-neutral gas” from your energy retailer?
Energy Australia apologises to 400,000 customers and settles greenwashing legal action
22 May 2025
Energy retailer says carbon offsetting ‘not the most effective way’ to reduce emissions.
Trump is illegally trying to overturn state climate laws
14 May 2025
OPINION: States are stepping up to respond to the rising toll of climate-fueled disasters. More than ten states have introduced climate superfund legislation based on a simple idea: those massive, multinational oil and gas corporations that caused the climate crisis should help pay for the damage.
Dismissals 'massive win' for climate movement
13 May 2025
The outstanding charges against 25 climate activists who disrupted traffic in Wellington have been dropped, a move the group calls a win for the climate movement.
Media round-up
9 May 2025
In our weekly round-up of climate coverage in local media: When climate resilience meets resident resistance in Auckland; atmospheric and marine heatwaves in and around New Zealand are increasing climate extremes; and seaweed's climate superpowers.
Lawyers move to take Climate Commission to NZ’s top court
1 May 2025
Lawyers for Climate Action has filed a case challenging New Zealand's climate targets in the Supreme Court.
Environmental group takes legal action against Shane Jones for failure to protect dolphins
14 Apr 2025
The Environmental Law Initiative is taking legal action against Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Shane Jones for what it says is a failure to adequately protect Māui and Hector’s dolphins.
‘All other avenues have been exhausted’: Is legal action the only way to save the planet?
10 Apr 2025
Monica Feria-Tinta is one of a growing number of lawyers using the courts to make governments around the world take action.
Court of Appeal rejects case against Climate Commission
31 Mar 2025
The Court of Appeal has dismissed a case against the Climate Change Commission and former climate minister James Shaw, which argued that New Zealand has adopted climate targets that are too weak.
New bill to block climate litigation ‘constitutional overreach’ - lawyers
27 Mar 2025
Climate and environmental advocates have slammed a National MP’s bill that would block people suing companies for climate damage.
Govt slashes environmental funding by $1 billion
Tue 25 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Central government funding for the environment is set to fall by a quarter in 2025/26, prompting warnings that hard-won environmental improvements may now stall or reverse.
Govt's emissions ‘buffer’ an illusion with all NZ's carbon budgets off track
Fri 28 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Dr Christina Hood, head of consultancy Compass Climate, says the Government’s claim that New Zealand has a comfortable emissions “buffer” to absorb higher agricultural pollution is misleading, with projections showing emissions budgets are actually set to be missed in real terms.
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.
Wilding pines threaten Kaikōura ranges in ‘looming catastrophe’
Thu 27 Nov 2025
Kira Carrington, Local Democracy Reporter | Wilding pines are threatening to make their way into the Kaikōura ranges, as their rampant spread sparks a renewed call for more central government funding.
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.
Marex invests in methane-busting biotech, hopes to kickstart NZ methane credits
Thu 27 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | NASDAQ-listed financial services group Marex has taken a minority stake in Ruminant Biotech, an Auckland-based agritech startup, with a view to kick-starting Marex’s methane-based carbon credits trading business in New Zealand.
The carbon capture plan turning cattle farms into power plants
Fri 28 Nov 2025
The Frontier coalition is backing new technology that produces green electricity from biogas, while capturing waste carbon.
Elevated volatility continues for carbon market despite govt reassurances
Wed 26 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | While carbon prices have recovered somewhat from recent lows, the market is still plagued by low prices and volatility, despite soothing words from the government intended to calm rattled participants.
Media round-up
Fri 28 Nov 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: How the oil and gas industry helped rewrite New Zealand’s drilling rules, confusion reigns as the climate minister appears unaware of his own announcement, and the fierce battle over mining on Denniston Plateau.
Investors must support positive climate-tech
Fri 28 Nov 2025
OPINION: We need better leadership than the current ‘climate opportunism’ that is rife in the Beehive, and we need to back a marketplace that will make it happen, writes Rob Campbell.
$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’s biofuel gamble could cost the global food supply – and the planet
Fri 28 Nov 2025
What was once considered a climate holy grail comes with serious tradeoffs. The world wants more of it anyway.
Govt must do the work to close gap to NZ’s Paris Agreement goal
Thu 27 Nov 2025
OPINION: New Zealand needs to wake up to the fact that under current policies we are not going to meet our international climate target and this comes with commercial and diplomatic consequences: risking our European and UK free trade agreements; risking carbon border charges; and threatening the reputation of our ‘clean and green’ export brand, writes Nigel Brunel.
‘Highly uncertain’ ETS hampers Genesis biomass plans
Fri 28 Nov 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | “Highly uncertain” New Zealand carbon prices and market settings are identified as a commercial threat by Genesis Energy to its planned use of biomass to replace coal and gas at its Huntly power station by 2028.
DOC trims costs and winds down jobs for nature
10 Nov 2025
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is entering a new phase of tighter budgets and structural change as it winds down the pandemic-era Jobs for Nature programme and reshapes its operations to absorb long-term cost pressures.
Floods in Thailand, Malaysia kill over 30, displace thousands
Thu 27 Nov 2025
Tens of thousands of people in Thailand and neighbouring Malaysia were displaced by widespread flooding, with streets submerged, homes inundated and at least 34 dead.
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.
Foresters warn ETS reforms could fell innovation
17 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Elizabeth Heeg, chief executive officer for the Forest Owners Association, says forestry must not be stripped from the Emissions Trading Scheme, arguing that carbon income underpins forest management and rural resilience.
Cheaper power and lower emissions for Chatham Islands funded by ETS revenue
Wed 26 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has hailed the success of a wind turbine project for the Chatham Islands paid for by Emissions Trading Scheme revenue from a fund the Coalition Government has since canned.
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.”
European Investment Bank pledges over 2 billion euros for African renewables projects
Wed 26 Nov 2025
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is pledging more than 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) of financing for renewable energy projects on the African continent over the next two years.
Govt’s rejection of CCC’s advice on climate targets undermines independent watchdog’s role, says opposition
21 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s latest dismissal of Climate Change Commission advice shows they have their heads in the sand about the reality of meeting climate targets, according to the Labour Party, while the Greens say Government decisions were an embarrassment on the world stage at COP30 this week.
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.
Insurers welcome govt decision to keep NHC levy unchanged
21 Nov 2025
Media release |The Insurance Council of New Zealand | Te Kāhui Inihua o Aotearoa (ICNZ) has welcomed the Government’s decision to leave the Natural Hazards Commission levy unchanged, amid ongoing concerns around the cost-of-living.
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.
NZ fails to back ‘roadmap’ to phase out fossil fuels at COP
Mon 24 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Eighty-six countries including Australia, the UK, Germany, and Ireland backed a proposal at COP30 for national plans on how to quit oil, gas and coal – but New Zealand wasn’t one of them.
Greens put miners ‘on notice’, pledge to revoke fast-track approvals
18 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Greens have pledged to revoke fast-track consents for coal, hard-rock gold, and seabed mining projects if elected to government next year.
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.
‘We must keep 1.5 alive’ – Minister’s statement to climate summit
19 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts has delivered New Zealand’s National Statement to this year’s United Nations climate summit, affirming the country’s commitment to international climate targets and saying “we must keep 1.5 alive.”
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.
Local council shakeup will weaken environmental protection, say critics
Wed 26 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s sweeping overhaul of local councils threatens to erode hard-won environmental protections, warning that stripping regional councils of directly elected governance will weaken oversight of freshwater, biodiversity and land-use decisions.
Thousands march outside COP30 summit in call for action
18 Nov 2025
Marching to the beat of pounding sound systems, thousands of climate protesters have been bringing their message to the gates of the COP30 climate talks in Brazil.
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.
Climate and carbon-removal researcher takes top honours at scientists' awards
Thu 27 Nov 2025
Dr Terry Isson has received the prestigious Beatrice Hill Tinsley Medal for research that is reshaping global understanding of Earth’s climate system and driving real-world carbon-removal solutions.
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.
Artificial intelligence sparks debate at COP30 climate talks in Brazil
20 Nov 2025
At the U.N. climate talks in Brazil, artificial intelligence is being cast as both a hero worthy of praise and a villain that needs policing.
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.
Singapore sets course for 'green' methanol ship fuel supplies
Wed 26 Nov 2025
Singapore will start issuing bunkering licences next year to companies supplying methanol as marine fuel, in an effort to help global shipping cut carbon emissions.
10 years after the Paris Agreement, world leaders are letting go of its most famous goal
Thu 27 Nov 2025
This year's U.N. climate negotiations crashed out on a hard truth: It’s all about the money.
Kaicycle celebrates ten years of collective climate action in Pōneke
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.
Study provides a step-change in understanding NZ’s groundwater
Fri 28 Nov 2025
Media release | Earth Sciences New Zealand has developed a world-first National Groundwater Age Map and a powerful suite of tools to support the sustainable management of our hidden groundwater resources, from national through to local scales.
Amid the ashes
Wed 26 Nov 2025
This year the LA wildfire came for my hometown. What happened next is a warning for us all.
NZ’s energy system at a crossroads – report
21 Nov 2025
A new report says New Zealand’s rapid shift toward a 95% renewable electricity system is at a critical turning point, urging faster consenting, stronger firming solutions and better grid planning.
