Topics tagged with 'Politics'
Govt at risk of litigation if emissions reduction plan doesn’t cut it
4 Mar 2024
By Liz Kivi | The government might find itself in court if it doesn’t come up with a credible plan this year to meet its emissions budget, according to legal experts.
Government announces review of forestry ETS costs
29 Feb 2024
Forestry minister Todd McClay has announced an independent review into the forestry component of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) register.
In its current state the ETS will fail to deliver significant emission reductions: Rod Carr
28 Feb 2024
By Jeremy Rose | Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr has told the Environment Select Committee that, in its current state, the ETS will fail to deliver significant emissions reductions.
The protesters planning to disrupt business as usual
27 Feb 2024
By Jeremy Rose | Restore Passenger Rail – the protesters who took to gluing their hands to the tarmac and disrupting commuter traffic – have rebranded.
Environmental Defence Society says "radical anti-environment government" could harm NZ's reputation
27 Feb 2024
The Environmental Defence Society says the government’s environmental policies could cause environmental harm as well as threaten New Zealand’s international reputation.
Wave of civil disobedience could upset corporate balance sheets
26 Feb 2024
By Jeremy Rose | Companies ignoring the potential cost of protests, which could reduce the economic value of carbon intensive investments, are risking the future viability of their businesses, a former McKinsey & Company consultant is warning.
NZ and Aus will work to align climate regulations: Finance minister
23 Feb 2024
Finance minister and associate Climate Change minister Nicola Willis says Australia and New Zealand will work together to align regulations to reduce climate emissions.
Biden vs. Trump: Do young climate voters care?
20 Feb 2024
Biden, who signed the biggest climate law in US history, has angered environmentalists by approving fossil fuel projects.
Govt to spend $3.6 billion on environment in 2023/24 fiscal year
15 Feb 2024
Media release | Central government agencies are estimated to spend $3.6 billion on the environment in the 2023/24 financial year according to new figures from the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
MfE lays out issues for new minister
13 Feb 2024
Environment officials’ briefings to incoming ministers are a guarded affair with the papers outlining issues and choices, including what the new government wants to do with resource management laws, water issues, as well as climate mitigation and adaptation.
Forest & Bird says hazard policy a must to protect Kiwi communities from future floods
13 Feb 2024
Media release | Forest & Bird is calling on Penny Simmonds and Simon Watts – the respective ministers for the environment and climate change – to take action and pass the National Policy Statement on Natural Hazard Decision Making.
Best by the rest...
9 Feb 2024
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in local media: Climate levy proposed for Christchurch; Peters promises $16.5 million to climate change initiatives in the Cook Islands; and more New Zealand companies are disclosing climate-related risks.
Best by the rest...
2 Feb 2024
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in local media: Watts says government ‘strongly committed’ to emissions targets; what climate scenario should we plan for?; and sediment runoff from the land is killing NZ’s seas.
Green co-leader resigns - stays on to support bill drafted by climate lawyers
31 Jan 2024
By Liz Kivi | The Green Party’s James Shaw has resigned as co-leader, but is staying on in Parliament to support a private member’s bill to recognise the right to a sustainable environment in the Bill of Rights.
Govt spends $8 million on flood resilience for the Wairarapa
25 Jan 2024
The government has committed $8 million to improve flood resilience in the Wairarapa across five different projects.
Micro-EVs safer than motorbikes but less safe than cars
22 Dec 2023
Allowing lightweight electric vehicles on our roads would make us a cleaner and greener country but could see an increase in fatalities, a Waka Kotahi report has found.
Relying on the invisible hand of the carbon market to reduce emissions
19 Dec 2023
By Jeremy Rose | The new government is in the process of incinerating every climate change mitigation policy other than the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Wellington emissions now below COVID lockdown levels
18 Dec 2023
Wellington’s emission are down by 10% since 2020 and 1% below the levels achieved during the Covid lockdowns of 2019.
Bill passed to repeal Clean Car Discount
15 Dec 2023
The Government has passed legislation repealing the Clean Car Discount, which it nicknamed the “Ute tax,” for all vehicles registered after 31 December 2023.
“Pixie-like hapū” won’t stand in the way of seabed mining: Shane Jones
14 Dec 2023
Shane Jones, the new minister of oceans and fisheries, resources, and regional development told Parliament yesterday that “pixie-like hapū wouldn’t be allowed to mangle “tikanga Māori” to prevent seabed mining 37 kilometres off the coast of Taranaki.
Environmental Defence Society calls on climate minister to revisit ETS review
12 Dec 2023
The Environmental Defence Society is calling on the government to revisit its decision to stop the Emissions Trading Scheme review.
New govt cans ETS review, climate and environment ministers outside cabinet
27 Nov 2023
By Liz Kivi | The new National-led coalition government has dumped the current review of the Emissions Trading Scheme, and appointed climate and environment ministers outside cabinet.
Energy and resources portfolio split
27 Nov 2023
The former energy and resources portfolio has been split into two by the new government.
Biodiversity finance? Definitely. Biodiversity credits? Maybe
24 Nov 2023
By Jeremy Rose | The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment and some of the country’s major environmental groups have questioned the government’s one-eyed focus on biodiversity credits.
Climate Change Commission in the dock
22 Nov 2023
The Climate Change Commission is back in court defending its advice, with a case brought by Lawyers for Climate Action (LCANZI) starting in the Court of Appeal yesterday.
Call for incoming government to allow micro-cars on our roads
20 Nov 2023
By Jeremy Rose | Long-time micro-car advocate Toa Greening is calling on the incoming government to change road regulations to allow microcars - increasingly popular in Asia and Europe - on New Zealand roads.
COP28: Loss-and-damage fund set to disappoint poor countries
17 Nov 2023
A year on from the breakthrough on climate-change funding, poor countries eye disappointment at the Dubai summit.
Incoming govt climate policy "troubling" - Environmental Defence Society
13 Nov 2023
The Environmental Defence Society says the prognosis for the incoming government to tackle major environmental issues is troubling.
Climate change a threat to human rights, Court of Appeal told
13 Nov 2023
The Human Rights Commission has argued that climate change impacts raise serious issues of human rights law and te Tiriti o Waitangi, in a case before the Court of Appeal.
Council threatened with legal action for halting climate work
6 Nov 2023
Climate activist lawyers have put Kaipara District Council on notice that they could face legal challenges for canning key climate work.
Badly designed biodiversity credit system could impact national grid
2 Nov 2023
Transpower - the state-owned operator of the national grid - has warned that a badly designed biodiversity credit system could pose risks for the country’s power lines.
Greater Wellington’s emissions down by 5%
1 Nov 2023
Greater Wellington regional council has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 5% but failed to meet some of its climate change targets in part due to severe weather events caused by global warming.
Battle lines drawn over future of fossil fuel exploration
20 Oct 2023
On one side, the oil and gas industry maintains - counter-intuitively - that to continue to electrify transport we need new gas and oil wells. On the other, Greenpeace and the wider environmental movement say that starting oil and gas exploration in a climate crisis is a crime against life on Earth.
MBIE proposes energy and emissions reporting scheme
18 Oct 2023
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is proposing that stationary energy users with annual emissions of 2000 tonnes of CO2 or more be required to report on their energy use.
What will new government mean for climate policy?
16 Oct 2023
The National Party has won the election, with a coalition with the ACT Party giving it just enough seats for a slim majority, which it may look to New Zealand First to increase.
Former IPCC lead author calls for a “Go Slow” campaign
13 Oct 2023
By Jeremy Rose | Former IPCC lead author and internationally recognised transport emissions expert, emeritus professor Ralph Sims, is calling on Waka Kotahi to start a “Go Slow” campaign.
NZ still has a long way to go to meet emission reduction targets: "This ship can sink"
10 Oct 2023
By Robert McLachlan | COMMENT: The 2016 Paris Agreement contains a built-in feedback mechanism to help ensure that its goals are met: the Global Stocktake. Every five years all pledges and progress are assessed and compared to the targets on warming, adaptation, and financing.
Recloaking Papatūānuku: proposal for massive planting of native forests
9 Oct 2023
By Jeremy Rose | By one measure New Zealand has emitted more CO2 per capita since the beginning of the industrial revolution than any other country.
New marine reserves good first step: environmentalists
6 Oct 2023
The government’s announcement yesterday of six new marine reserves in the south-east of the South Island has been universally welcomed. But environmentalists say more needs to be done and to meet the country’s obligations around marine protection, and Māori are calling for a law change.
Little appetite for European-style climate interventions
5 Oct 2023
By Jeremy Rose | Outdoor heaters are banned in France and many German cities where critics argue that using fossil fuels to literally heat the planet is unacceptable.
The bumpy road to transport carbon neutrality
3 Oct 2023
By Jeremy Rose | The road to climate hell is a brand spanking new, asphalt paved motorway.
Guides to the ‘climate election’
2 Oct 2023
This might not be the ‘climate election’ many were calling for, but plenty of advocates are trying to steer voters towards thinking about the climate when they decide which boxes to tick on polling day.
Kaipara District Council cancels climate policy
2 Oct 2023
Kaipara District Council has canned key climate work, with the decision to stop development of a climate change policy and cancel its emissions accounting contract.
Differing visions for Climate Change Commission
27 Sep 2023
By Jeremy Rose | The Act Party wants it abolished, NZ First is calling for its head’s head, and Labour, the Greens and TOP want it given more powers.
Climate trumped by other election concerns in latest poll
21 Sep 2023
Multiple organisations have called for October’s general election to be a 'climate election', however climate is no longer one of the top five concerns for New Zealanders.
Shining a light on the parties’ solar policies
20 Sep 2023
By Jeremy Rose | Labour and the Greens are both promising subsidies for rooftop solar, despite experts - including the Climate Change Commission chair - saying regulatory barriers and grid limitations are the main reasons households and businesses aren't taking advantage of the renewable energy going to waste on their roofs.
ETS cap likely to flatline under ACT policy
14 Sep 2023
By Jeremy Rose | If Act’s policy of linking New Zealand’s carbon emission’s cap to the reductions of our five largest trading partners is adopted by the incoming government it would in theory see next year’s cap going up not down.
2023 Budget spending counter to climate goals - report
11 Sep 2023
The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research says NZ’s 2023 Budget spend is sabotaging climate goals, with unfavourable climate effects for 80% of new government spending.
NZ must improve how it puts together plans for emissions reductions: Environment Commissioner
8 Sep 2023
Make it coherent and have the Prime Minister take the lead: Those are two pieces of advice the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment wants the incoming government to take to heart when formulating plans to cut emissions.
Placing climate change denial on the Parliamentary record
8 Sep 2023
Surprise, surprise: climate change minister James Shaw doesn’t agree with Nobel laureate John Clauser that the climate crisis isn’t real.
'Back-to-basics' approach for councils ignores climate risk
Today 10:45am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | While ACT is standing local government candidates to oppose councils' attempts to manage emissions and ministers are calling for local authorities to 'get back to basics' - or even suggesting scrapping regional councils altogether - one expert says this narrative is putting communities at risk in the face of climate change.
Extreme heatwaves may cause global decline in dairy production, scientists warn
Tue 8 Jul 2025
Israel-based study finds that by 2050 average daily milk production could be reduced by 4% as a result of worsening heat stress.
NZ Post drops science-based climate target
Tue 8 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | NZ Post has dropped its science-based emissions reduction target of 42% by 2030 with no plans to replace it.
Nations agree to tax premium flyers, private jets
2 Jul 2025
A group of countries, including France, Kenya, Spain and Barbados, pledged on June 30 to tax premium-class flying and private jets in a bid to raise funds for climate action and sustainable development.
Tipping points: Window to avoid irreversible climate impacts is ‘rapidly closing’
Today 10:45am
In the midst of a record-breaking heatwave in Europe, the UK city of Exeter recently played host to the second international conference on “tipping points”.
Sustainability claims questioned as renewable diesel surges
14 May 2025
Critics are sceptical about industry claims of renewable diesel life-cycle greenhouse gas emission cuts and warn renewable diesel carbon releases will surge if sourcing is scaled up, triggering tropical deforestation as producers convert forests to energy crops, such as oil palm and soy.
Emissions Trading Scheme needs deep reform - commissioner
Today 10:45am
The government’s attempt to limit forestry conversions on rural land is unlikely to lead to meaningful change, according to the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
How Mamdani connects climate policy to his affordability agenda as he runs for New York mayor
Today 10:45am
Many of the democratic socialist’s policies aim to slash carbon emissions and boost environmental justice.
Bearish sentiment lingers for carbon market
Today 10:45am
By Liz Kivi | The compliance carbon market could be set for a gradual upward trajectory, however unsold volume from the quarterly Emissions Trading Scheme auctions continues to act as ‘a price ceiling,’ according to an expert.
Climate backtracking could impact trade relationships: Labour
Wed 9 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | Labour Party Energy spokesperson Megan Woods says the government needs to be upfront about how its energy policies will impact trade relationships, following revelations New Zealand was warned by other governments that backtracking on climate policies jeopardised its membership of an international alliance.
A credible UN carbon market needs rules that count – we’ve just set them
11 Jun 2025
COMMENT: The broad standards for a more ambitious market are now in place. But without a steady flow of investment, this progress will remain largely on paper.
Common low-grade clay strengthens low-carbon concrete
5 Jun 2025
Media release | Engineers at RMIT University have converted low-grade clay into a high-performance cement supplement, opening a potential new market in sustainable construction materials.
Cuts to climate finance put exports in jeopardy: Lawyers
23 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has halved international climate finance, a move aid organisations describe as “devastating,” and which lawyers say could put our Paris Agreement commitments and export market access at risk.
Carbon price grinds higher - where to from now?
30 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | The carbon price has continued to grind slowly higher since this month’s failed auction, with prices at their highest since March, although still languishing well below this year’s auction floor price.
UN Human Rights Council fails to call out fossil fuels after decision cuts mention
Today 10:45am
A proposal by the Marshall Islands and Colombia calling for a transition away from fossil fuels at the UN Human Rights Council failed to make it into the council’s declaration on climate change and human rights issued on Tuesday.
Key orange roughy population on verge of collapse, govt considers closure
Wed 9 Jul 2025
Media release - Deep Sea Conservation Coalition | New data reveals that New Zealand’s main orange roughy fishery, accounting for half of the country’s total catch, is on the brink of collapse, with one model showing it may have reached that point already, and the government’s considering closing it.
Urbanization is intensifying India’s summer heat and rain
Today 10:45am
When 28-year-old Sonelal Prasad left home on the morning of June 16 for his job at a construction site in Mumbai—the financial capital of India—he didn’t know he’d be digging his own grave.
Latest trawl bycatch numbers 'a grim wake-up call'
24 Jun 2025
Media release – Greenpeace | The latest fisheries bycatch data paints a grim picture, with trawlers hauling up thousands of kilograms of coral and killing hundreds of fur seals and seabirds over a 12 month period.
EU countries seek more cuts to deforestation rules
Wed 9 Jul 2025
From December, the world-first deforestation law will require operators placing goods including soy, beef and palm oil, onto the EU market to provide proof their products did not cause deforestation.
NZ quits Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance
25 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | The New Zealand government has quietly withdrawn from an ambitious coalition to phase out fossil fuels, with a $200 million publicly-funded subsidy for new gas fields the latest policy in conflict with that goal.
Watts talks big on energy reform, but barriers persist
29 May 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Energy and Climate Change minister Simon Watts says the government is doubling down on efforts to boost renewable energy generation, streamline regulation, and drive private sector investment as New Zealand faces mounting energy security and affordability challenges.
Net-zero much cheaper than thought for UK – and unchecked global warming far more costly
Wed 9 Jul 2025
Reaching net-zero will be much cheaper for the UK government than previously expected – and the economic damages of unmitigated climate change far more severe.
The struggle for control of the Arctic is accelerating - and it's riskier than ever
Today 10:45am
As the battle for one of the world’s coldest places heats up, an increasingly fragile security balance may be breaking down, leading to an escalating arms race.
Can you trust climate information? How and why powerful players are misleading the public
Today 10:45am
The climate crisis is more urgent than ever, so why is there a disconnect between stated policies and actual practices?
Methanex closure comes early this year
14 May 2025
The almost-now-annual closure of Methanex has come earlier this year, giving more confidence that the electricity system will get through the winter without a fuel shortfall.
Electric firebricks: decarbonising high-temperature industrial heat
13 Jun 2025
By Ian Mason | A new technology could offer a more cost-effective solution than hydrogen to decarbonise one ‘hard-to-abate’ sector of New Zealand’s economy, as well as having ample potential for demand response as the electricity grid becomes more renewable.
‘Significant gaps’ in proposed approach to climate adaptation
Thu 10 Jul 2025
A new report into climate adaptation doesn’t suggest how development in high-risk areas should be avoided - an issue that needs urgent action with thousands of homes still being built in hazardous areas, according to the Environmental Defence Society.
Will NZ walk away from the Paris Agreement?
20 Dec 2024
By Geoff Bertram | COMMENT: Unless the government can find very cheap offshore mitigation, the temptation to walk away from its Paris Agreement obligations may well be too strong to resist for a coalition government focused on fiscal austerity.
In Latin America, the energy transition stirs a rise in human rights lawsuits
Tue 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.
Clear-sighted view to trade-offs crucial to reimagining our relationship with the land
Mon 7 Jul 2025
By Nick Swallow | COMMENT: New Zealand could see a 70% drop in the value of dairy land if we pursue our emissions targets for agriculture, according to a new report.
Unlocking economic growth on conservation land
Wed 9 Jul 2025
Media release - New Zealand Government | A targeted effort to reduce the backlog of applications for use of conservation land is accelerating economic growth without compromising conservation values, says Conservation Minister Tama Potaka.
Carbon credits stockpile down: latest figures
Mon 7 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The number of NZUs held in private accounts, often called "the stockpile", dropped 11 million tonnes in the past year, according to the latest figures.
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.
Change in Southern Ocean structure could have climate implications
Mon 7 Jul 2025
Media release – Instituto de Ciencias del Mar (ICM-CSIC) | Satellite data processing algorithms developed by ICM-CSIC have played a crucial role in detecting this significant shift in the Southern Hemisphere, which could accelerate the effects of climate change.
Nelson adopts ambitious target to slash emissions
Tue 8 Jul 2025
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | After some of the most passionate debate seen in the chamber this triennium, Nelson City Council has adopted the more ambitious of two community greenhouse gas targets.
Markets aren't going to save us – Carr
Wed 9 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Consumerism is reaching its ecological and economic limits, and only systemic change - not market tweaks - can steer us away from climate catastrophe, according to former Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr.
Microplastics found in sand on dozens of NZ beaches
4 Jun 2025
Scientists have extracted microplastics from the sand of 22 beaches from the Far North to Banks Peninsula.
UK: Thousands lobby MPs to demand climate action
Thu 10 Jul 2025
More than 5,000 people from across the UK arrived in Westminster on Wednesday to meet their MPs and demand urgent climate action to protect their communities.
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.
North Canterbury locals get say over huge solar farm
Thu 10 Jul 2025
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter | North Canterbury residents are being encouraged to have their say on a proposed 180 hectare solar farm on a property near their village.
MethaneSAT loss ‘a tragedy’
3 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The disappearance of a methane-tracking satellite, which was backed by $29 million of government funding, is a tragic loss according to one astrophysicist, who is calling for a review to understand how New Zealand blew past multiple red flags about its operation.
Green budget 'ludicrous la-la land' – govt
15 May 2025
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the budget was "clown show economics" and an "absolute circus".
Kiwi ‘smart panel’ startup aiming to reduce energy bills and emissions
4 Jul 2025
NZ start-up Basis this week launched an ‘intelligent’ panel to replace traditional electrical switchboards in homes, which it says can save the average home $1,200 NZD annually on bills and lead to lower emissions.
United Nations carbon market rules agreed but concerns remain
25 Nov 2024
New carbon market rules agreed at the fractious UN climate summit will be a relief to New Zealand and Singapore, who were leading the negotiations, but concerns about greenwashing and disadvantaging nature-based solutions remain.
Fast, sustained phase-out of fossil fuels: best-performing countries in coal and transport sectors
Thu 10 Jul 2025
By Robert McLachlan | It’s true that climate change is getting worse – it will continue to get worse until emissions fall to near zero. But is action on phasing out fossil fuels really stalling?
Waste Levy risks becoming ‘slush fund’ under proposed changes – Commissioner
5 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Proposed changes to New Zealand's waste legislation risk undermining public trust in the waste levy scheme, according to Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton.
NZ urgently needs to change approach to flood management - experts
2 Jul 2025
Experts say climate change is squarely to blame for flooding in Nelson - but isn’t getting the media attention it deserves - and the country urgently needs to change its approach to flood management in the face of climate change.
UN University report warns against carbon credits from REDD, tree planting, and improved forest management
13 Jun 2025
But the report stops short of recommending banning the trade in carbon temporarily stored in trees.
For the first time, China invests more in wind and solar than coal overseas
29 May 2025
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, long derided for its heavy carbon footprint, was dominated by wind and solar power projects for the first time from 2022 to 2023, according to a new analysis. But coal plants financed in earlier years are still coming online.
