Topics tagged with 'NZ ETS'
Work on market governance framework for ETS underway
23 Aug 2023
The government is developing a market governance framework for the Emissions Trading Scheme. It is also progressing work on an optional exchange for the secondary market.
Unexplained anomaly in NZU surrenders
23 Aug 2023
An unexplained reporting anomaly suggests a big emitter - or emitters - are late submitting their NZU surrenders, with about 13 million units unaccounted for.
Secondary carbon market “pops” to 5-month high, ETS announcement later today
22 Aug 2023
The NZU price hit a 5-month high late last week, trading as high as $66.50 on Friday - up 10% for the week.
Updated bill “big win” for climate
17 Aug 2023
Activists are claiming a climate bill update as a significant win against big polluters - with 800,000 tonnes of subsidised carbon dioxide pollution now cut from free allocations.
ETS needs to incentivise gross emissions reductions: Consultations close tomorrow
10 Aug 2023
By Ann Smith | Although New Zealand has updated its international commitment to reduce emissions, it is still ranked as “Highly Insufficient” by Climate Action Tracker.
Tender for forestry NZUs
9 Aug 2023
An unnamed buyer is in the market for a “significant volume” of forestry NZUs through a tender process.
Māori forestry lobby welcomes Nat’s commitment to leave ETS unchanged
7 Aug 2023
Māori forestry group Te Taumata has welcomed a National Party statement that they would not make major changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme if voted into government at the upcoming election.
Carbon price fluctuates with potential for more volatility
2 Aug 2023
It’s been a big week for NZUs on the secondary market, with the price rising almost $18 to $65 on Wednesday last week, hovering around $60 for several days, but then dipping below the $60 mark.
Energy Council releases wish list for the next govt
31 Jul 2023
The BusinessNZ Energy Council says the next government should set long-term energy goals and stick to them - without reactive kneejerk policy changes.
Foresters welcome ETS reset
27 Jul 2023
Foresters have welcomed the government’s reset of Emissions Trading Scheme auction settings, saying it should incentivise forestry and wood processing investors for the embattled industry.
Forestry consultations
27 Jul 2023
The Ministry for Primary Industries is consulting on two forestry-related issues, with the deadline for one just a week away.
Govt U-turn adopting Commission’s advice on ETS auction settings
26 Jul 2023
The government has adopted the Climate Change Commission’s advice on ETS auction settings from December, with a significantly higher floor price, lower auction volumes, and two-tiers of much higher prices for the cost containment reserve.
Carbon price bounces but how high will it go?
26 Jul 2023
Pundits are picking the government’s decision to adopt most of the Climate Change Commission’s ETS recommendations, rejected by Cabinet last year, will result in a sustained increase in the price of carbon. But few expect it to return to the $88.50 high of last November anytime soon.
Govt signals ETS announcement, market “drifting”
25 Jul 2023
The Ministry for the Environment has signalled it will make an announcement about the Emissions Trading Scheme tonight, after the market closes.
The ETS works just fine, but unaffordable, ideological reforms will set us back
25 Jul 2023
By Andrew Cushen | OPINION: We are seeing a lot of noise about the Emissions Trading Scheme at the moment. If you listen to the likes of Climate Change Minister James Shaw, and previous Carbon News correspondent, Deirdre Kent, you may be thinking the scheme is a failure and in desperate need of reform.
Greens and NZ First launch election campaigns
24 Jul 2023
The Greens and NZ First were the first parties to officially launch their election campaigns over the weekend, with the climate crisis a core part of the Greens campaign - while it got only a passing mention at the NZ First launch.
ETS reforms puts $16 billion of potential Māori forestry earnings at risk, UN told
21 Jul 2023
By Jeremy Rose | A representative of Māori forestry interests in the Far North this week told a United Nations hearing in Geneva that the government’s ETS reforms were putting a $16 billion economic opportunity at risk
Govt gives Fonterra $90 million as part of $790 million spend to cut coal
20 Jul 2023
The government is giving Fonterra $90 million as part of a $790 million investment to cut coal use at six of its dairy factories.
Carbon price jumps 30%
19 Jul 2023
The price of NZUs on the secondary market has rebounded since last week’s unexpected revelation that the government would be forced to change Emissions Trading Scheme settings.
Carbon stockpile down
19 Jul 2023
The “stockpile” of NZUs is down after the last surrender deadline, with emitters using primarily forestry or industrial allocation to meet their obligations under the ETS.
High Court orders govt to review ETS settings
17 Jul 2023
By Liz Kivi | The government will be forced to review Emissions Trading Scheme settings, after climate activist lawyers won a High Court case arguing the decision-making process for the December 2022 regulations was flawed.
Isn’t it time to admit the Emissions Trading Scheme will never work?
13 Jul 2023
By Deirdre Kent | OPINION: The ETS won’t work and the time has come to explore other methods of reducing emissions instead, like Tradable Energy Quotas.
Govt to include carbon sinks in Emissions Trading Scheme
12 Jul 2023
Cabinet agreed last week to reform the Emissions Trading Scheme to recognise all forms of carbon sinks rather than just forestry.
Forestry lobbying heats up over ETS review
11 Jul 2023
Forestry interests are continuing their campaign to ensure forestry retains value under a reviewed Emissions Trading Scheme, with another open letter to the government saying climate goals are at risk.
Govt launches consultation on biodiversity credits
7 Jul 2023
The government has launched consultation on a national biodiversity credit system, which it says could address “the gap” between exotic and native forests under the emissions trading scheme.
Carbon price crashes, “split market” developing
7 Jul 2023
The carbon price dropped to a two-year low this week, and insiders say a split market is developing, with lower prices for forestry-derived NZUs.
Foresters launch campaign to stop their carbon credits losing value
6 Jul 2023
The climate change minister says a new campaign entitled “Halt the NZU Grab” is spreading misleading information.
Forestry investment at risk, along with climate targets
4 Jul 2023
By Liz Kivi | Foresters may lose their businesses if the carbon price stays low, with contractors already losing their jobs.
NZU spot price drops further
29 Jun 2023
The price of NZUs on the secondary market is in freefall following the government’s consultation announcement on ETS settings and restrictions on permanent forestry.
Polluters aiming to meet ETS obligations at auction: report
29 Jun 2023
Nearly half the bidders in June’s declined carbon auction were polluters aiming to meet ETS obligations, and their bids would have been successful if the auction had cleared.
Forestry Institute's open letter warns NZ may fail to meet climate commitments
23 Jun 2023
The New Zealand Forestry Institute has penned an open letter to MPs and the media outlining “deep concerns” about the future of forests and forest investment, with climate commitments at stake.
Carbon credits: how do you know if you’re buying quality?
23 Jun 2023
By Ann Smith | COMMENT: It doesn’t matter whether carbon credits originate in New Zealand or from overseas, they can be credible or they can be questionable. So how do you tell the difference between high quality carbon credits and those of questionable origin?
Best by the rest...
23 Jun 2023
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in local media: major risks to NZ’s climate plan; experts argue that the ETS shouldn't be our only weapon against the climate crisis; and the Forever Project’s quarterly magazine looks at future farms.
Carbon price plummets: what does ETS review mean for future prices?
22 Jun 2023
By Liz Kivi | The carbon price on the secondary market has slumped to its lowest point since 2021 in the wake of the government’s ETS announcement, after rallying briefly following last week’s failed Emissions Trading Scheme auction.
ETS forestry review critical to achieving emissions goals
20 Jun 2023
By Christina Hood | COMMENT: The government’s review of the Emissions Trading Scheme is critical and long overdue, with the potential to drive much deeper gross emission cuts and set up forestry as the long-term carbon sink New Zealand needs for net-negative emissions. But if done badly, the review risks trading off these separate but important goals and achieving neither.
ETS review options will take too long to implement: expert
20 Jun 2023
Proposed changes to the ETS will take too long to come into effect and do not go far enough to solve the core issues, according to an expert.
ETS review looks at reducing NZUs at auction
19 Jun 2023
The government has opened public consultation on the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme as well as consultation on redesigning its Permanent Forest Category.
Best by the rest...
16 Jun 2023
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in local media: Antarctic tipping points: the irreversible changes to come if we fail to keep warming below 2℃, climate change minister says NZ must pick a team; and warming seas threaten Māori food sources.
ETS auction fails to clear
14 Jun 2023
Today’s ETS auction has been declined because the clearing price did not meet the minimum price settings. As a result, there are no winning bids.
The Transatlantic carbon-pricing clash
14 Jun 2023
Economists have long argued that regulation alone cannot bring about the reduction in global greenhouse-gas emissions that is needed to curb climate change; a carbon price is also essential.
National vows to keep agricultural emissions out of the ETS, restrict forestry planting
13 Jun 2023
By Liz Kivi | The NZ Institute of Forestry says the National Party’s newly unveiled climate and agricultural policy will hinder the country’s climate goals.
Best by the rest...
9 Jun 2023
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in local media: Climate scientist James Renwick says, on a finite planet, never-ending growth of anything is unsustainable; National says He Waka Eke Noa is “dead”; and Taranaki council wants seabed mining banned.
What if all auctions fail this year? Does the Registry oversupply problem disappear?
8 Jun 2023
By Nigel Brunel | COMMENT: All 2023's ETS carbon auctions failing is one of many scenarios for NZU prices in the next 12 months. But it could go a long way to solving the registry oversupply if it happens.
High court action requesting a delay on ETS consultation fails
7 Jun 2023
There was a move in the high court to delay the release of the ETS consultation. The court ruled against the request.
Battle lines harden over how to slash CO2
7 Jun 2023
Banish fossil fuels, capture their emissions, pull CO2 from thin air -- diplomats in Bonn for UN-led climate talks agree there's too much planet-warming carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but remain at loggerheads on the best way to reduce it.
Offshore unit procrastination could cost NZ billions
6 Jun 2023
New Zealand must buy around 80mt offshore carbon units to meet its Paris NDC commitment in 2030.
Which deserves a carbon credit – nature or technology?
6 Jun 2023
The United Nations has drafted a document that will define a new global carbon market for years to come, which seems to favor nature-based solutions over technological or engineered carbon removals.
Price collapse causes 20% loss for carbon fund
29 May 2023
Carbon prices collapsed at the end of 2022, causing more than 20% loss to Salt Management’s carbon fund in the 12 months to March.
Govt, NZ Steel to take action towards a low emissions economy
22 May 2023
The government will invest up to $140 million to subsidise one of the country’s largest greenhouse gas emitters, making it New Zealand’s biggest decarbonisation plan to date.
NZ ETS consultation launched
22 May 2023
The NZ government announced a four week consultation on proposals to update “unit limits and price control settings for the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)”.
Urgent need to rethink tourism says expert
Today 12:00pm
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The post-pandemic recovery has created an urgent need to rethink how tourism operates, who benefits from it, and how it impacts the social and environmental systems it depends on, according to new research.
Media round-up
Fri 15 May 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: The government's move to change climate law removes a key protection for NZ citizens, farmers should be paid to use methane-busting tools, and it's one step forward, three steps back on environment policy.
$30m airline fund risks ‘burning public money’ without lasting benefit – expert
20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A $30 million government package to support regional air routes risks delivering poor value for money while increasing emissions, according to transport strategist Tim Adriaansen.
Europe has 'maybe six weeks of jet fuel left', energy boss warns
20 Apr 2026
Stocks would reach a tipping point in June if Europe was unable to replace at least half of its imports from the Middle East, the organisation said in a report this week.
Govt unveils long-awaited voluntary carbon market guidance
Fri 15 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government has released long-awaited guidance for New Zealand’s voluntary carbon and nature markets, as questions continue for the sector despite ministers signalling support for its growth.
Biomass sector asks: where did the love go?
Today 12:00pm
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand has sufficient biomass in its plantation forests to replace natural gas for industrial process heat at lower costs than electrification, but is failing to get the attention it deserves, sector leaders say.
Carbon News updates forward curve
Wed 13 May 2026
Carbon News has updated its ten-year NZU forward curve, following a recent rise in spot market prices, with NZUs rallying from about $34 in January to nearly $54 in early May.
Vanuatu’s legal battle against climate superpowers heads to the UN
Today 12:00pm
COMMENT: The United Nations General Assembly upcoming vote responding to the International Court of Justice’s landmark 2025 advisory opinion on climate change could help move climate responsibility from political promise to legal accountability.
Drop in ETS forestry registrations
5 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | ETS forestry registrations have dropped off this year, with the new mandatory emissions return period, new land-use rules, and carbon price volatility all meaning participants aren’t rushing to register forestry in the emissions trading scheme.
Coal pollution is cutting solar power output worldwide, study finds
Today 12:00pm
New research led by the University of Oxford and University College London has revealed pollution from coal-fired power plants is significantly reducing the energy output of solar photovoltaic installations, particularly where these are expanding side by side.
Tairāwhiti deserves better than weakened forestry rules
5 May 2026
OPINION: The government's proposed amendments to forestry standards, released yesterday, ignore the hard lessons learned in our region and ignore the voices that have fought hardest to protect it, writes Manu Caddie.
Green building council calls for clean energy policies
Today 12:00pm
The New Zealand Green Building Council has released its 2026 election manifesto calling for policies to reduce energy waste in buildings, lower household and business energy costs, and improve New Zealand’s energy security.
What Magyar’s defeat of Orbán in Hungary means for climate and energy
21 Apr 2026
Hungary has played a disproportionate role in EU climate and energy policy in recent years, by repeatedly vetoing climate action and by delaying the phaseout of Russian fossil-fuel imports.
Conservation land open for voluntary carbon market schemes
Tue 12 May 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The government is to open up the Crown-owned conservation estate to private investment in voluntary carbon market projects.
Natural gas to play key role in strategy to double Canada’s electricity grid by 2050
Today 12:00pm
A new national strategy will double the capacity of the country’s electricity grid by 2050, Prime Minister Mark Carney said as he announced the plan last week.
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.
Future big droughts may be worse than we think – NZ’s past shows why
Today 12:00pm
By Adam Brown, University of Waikato; Dave Frame, University of Canterbury, and Luke Harrington, University of Waikato | For an agricultural nation like New Zealand, severe drought is one of the most ominous consequences of a warming planet.
EDS urges MPs to scrap the Fisheries Amendment Bill
5 May 2026
Media release | The Environmental Defence Society today lodged a substantive submission on the Fisheries Amendment Bill.
Govt presses ahead with forestry rule changes despite opposition
Thu 14 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government is pushing ahead with changes to commercial forestry rules despite most submitters opposing the proposals, with critics warning the reforms will weaken councils’ ability to manage erosion and forestry slash risks in vulnerable regions such as Tairāwhiti.
GIDI-style help cheaper than LNG: MBIE
11 May 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Officials advised ministers last July that the lowest-cost way to free up gas for use during dry winters was to assist industrial gas users to switch to electricity.
RMA to speed up fossil fuel consents
18 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | An energy lobby group has welcomed a last-minute amendment to the RMA that puts fossil fuels on the same footing as renewables, however a sustainable energy expert says the move “beggars belief.”
New funding for low methane farming uptake
29 Apr 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The government will co-fund projects under an Early Adoption Accelerator scheme announced today to accelerate the uptake of low emissions farming technologies emerging from the AgriZero public-private partnership.
A real ‘intergenerational equity’ budget would address Australia’s unceasing environmental decline
Fri 15 May 2026
Labor has unveiled a budget designed to tackle intergenerational equity in Australia through bold tax reform.
Why ‘greenhushing’ signals deeper issues with NZ’s climate risk reporting regime
Fri 15 May 2026
By Hang Pham, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington | Most of us are familiar with the concept of greenwashing: organisations exaggerating or overstating their environmental credentials. But in New Zealand, there are signs the country’s climate disclosure regime may inadvertently be driving a very different trend: not saying much at all.
‘Formidable’ El Niño expected this winter
29 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Meteorologists are anticipating a significant El Niño influence on weather patterns across the country from winter onwards, with predicted lower rainfall for some areas and heavier rain for others likely to impact multiple sectors of the economy as well as the carbon market.
Victorian Hydrogen announces Southland urea fertiliser project using coal
22 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Australian-based Victorian Hydrogen has announced it is developing a new 1.5 million-tonne-a-year urea fertiliser operation in Southland, which it will apply for under fast-track legislation.
Media round-up
24 Apr 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: What is the real cost of storm-hit infrastructure? Urgency is needed over climate adaptation funding; and a community conservation group has won a legal victory against multinational mining company OceanaGold.
Climate law change spanner in the works for Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry
19 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s controversial changes to New Zealand’s legal framework for climate policy have thrown a spanner in the works for a long-running Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry into climate change.
Labour condemns Govt plan to stop climate litigation
Fri 15 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Labour Party has slammed the Government’s move to block climate lawsuits against big emitters but won’t say if they would repeal the legislation if elected in November.
Methanexit: writing on the wall for NZ’s biggest gas user
6 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand’s biggest fossil gas user, Methanex, is expected to stop production by the end of this year, with the company confirming its Motunui methanol operation won’t survive Māui gas field’s closure.
Govt missing tricks to save fuel in crisis
30 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government is being urged to shift its response to the fuel crisis away from short-term relief and towards measures that reduce demand, with public health experts warning it is missing an opportunity to boost energy security and lower household costs.
Climate risks could reshape business finances, new guidance warns
15 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New guidance warns climate change is set to fundamentally reshape financial outcomes for businesses, including difficult-to-model climate “tipping points” – irreversible changes such as ice sheet collapse or ocean circulation shifts – which threaten severe and sudden financial impacts.
Move to block lawsuits could strengthen climate case against Govt
Thu 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.
Coal mine challenge reaches Aus High Court
Wed 13 May 2026
What climate change impacts should a planning authority have to take into account when assessing a mining project?
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.
Deep-sea mining risks biodiversity loss lasting decades, scientists warn
11 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The first comprehensive review of deep-sea mining research has found mining could cause ecological damage lasting decades and, in some ecosystems, irreversible biodiversity loss, with New Zealand experts warning the industry poses major risks to fragile ocean environments.
Environmental groups sue Trump administration over approval of new ultra deep-water drilling project
23 Apr 2026
Environmental groups sued the Trump administration on Monday over its approval last month of oil company BP’s ultra deep-water drilling project in the Gulf of Mexico.
Opposition slams environment ministry merger
Wed 13 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Opposition MPs accused the Government of downgrading climate and environmental protections as legislation to abolish the Ministry for the Environment and merge it into a new mega-ministry passed its second reading in Parliament.
Commission urges Govt action on climate risks
7 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | Climate change currently poses major risks to our water infrastructure with “significant gaps” in readiness to manage risks and increasing hazards, according to the Climate Change Commission.
ESG funds include petrochemical companies, report finds
5 May 2026
Global banks have invested US$133bn into US petrochemical expansion, even as the industry is linked to climate change.
Thousands protest in Germany urging faster shift to renewable energy, amid Iran war
20 Apr 2026
Thousands of people demonstrated across Germany on April 18, urging a faster shift to renewable energy and accusing conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition of putting the brakes on the transition.
Green Party calls for national electrification plan
20 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Green Party is calling for a national plan to electrify homes, transport and industry using renewable energy, to reduce fossil fuel dependence in response to the Middle East crisis.
China widens its clean energy lead
Today 12:00pm
Chinese companies account for more than half of global investments in clean energy manufacturing since 2019, while new U.S. investments declined last year.
‘Landmark’ conservation reform bill – boost or bust for nature?
8 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government has announced an overhaul of the country’s conservation system, which environmental organisation Forest & Bird says will undo the work of many generations of Kiwis to protect public conservation land.
Combined climate extremes may prompt carbon budget rethink
Thu 14 May 2026
Media release: Springer Nature | Combined extreme climate events are likely to become more common in the future if carbon emissions continue to rise, a paper in Nature suggests.
Africa secures major clean energy deals as France deepens investment push
Fri 15 May 2026
French and African leaders have announced more than $11 billion in renewable energy investments across Africa, underscoring the continent’s growing importance in the global push for cleaner energy and industrial development.
Carbon trading schemes cut more emissions than carbon taxes, according to global study
20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Carbon trading schemes are more effective than carbon taxes at reducing emissions, cutting fossil fuel use, and accelerating the shift to renewable energy, a global study has found.
Why both trees and technology are important in the race to mitigate carbon emissions
4 May 2026
Different carbon‑removal approaches solve different problems, and pitting these technologies against each other could slow progress.
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With New Zealand's $1.3 billion international climate finance commitment set to end with no clarity on what follows, the Auditor-General says oversight of that funding remains patchy and long-term outcomes are unclear.
More red lights for cars might mean more green lights for sustainable transport
7 May 2026
Media release: Royal Society Open Science | Reducing the amount of green light time for cars at traffic lights could encourage commuters to switch to more sustainable transport.
UN members prepare for pivotal vote on landmark ICJ climate justice ruling
Fri 15 May 2026
If the resolution is passed, governments will recognise their legal responsibility to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
NZ First moves to revive container return scheme
4 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | NZ First is aiming to launch a national container return scheme, which could recycle over a billion wasted containers each year, reviving a policy shelved by the previous Labour-led Government in 2023.
Greens condemn planned coal mine next to protected wetland
4 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Green Party says a new plan for a coal mine and fertiliser plant next to an internationally significant wetland is “ecological vandalism and climate denial.”
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.
Trump has hindered offshore wind while China and other countries invest heavily
Today 12:00pm
President Donald Trump is stopping offshore wind projects in the United States, just as the industry was poised to grow significantly.
