Topics tagged with 'Politics'
UK climate activist George Monbiot speaking at NZ EDS conference
14 Feb 2023
The Environmental Defence Society’s upcoming conference will feature the UK’s bestselling climate change author and environmental activist George Monbiot, as well as speakers from across New Zealand’s political spectrum.
Climate targets 'may mean higher taxes': Lord Stern
14 Feb 2023
The UK has made good progress towards achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 but getting there may need higher taxes.
EC proposes additionality rules for renewable hydrogen
14 Feb 2023
The European Commission (EC) proposed on Monday detailed rules to define what constitutes renewable (green) hydrogen in the EU, underlining the necessity of connecting electrolysers to newly-added renewable power generation only.
The curious case of the DOC mining bill report
13 Feb 2023
Reports that the Government was to introduce a bill banning new mines on conservation land came as a surprise to many.
Climate action should not be left to our children: Vanuatu PM
13 Feb 2023
An historic vote at the United Nations General Assembly in New York calling for decisive action on global warming is expected to take place next month.
Climate cuts rife in Auckland budget proposal: Forest & Bird
10 Feb 2023
News release - The mayoral proposal for Auckland’s 2023/2024 annual budget is not fit-for-purpose in a climate emergency and biodiversity crisis, says Forest & Bird.
New $20k fund for tāngata whenua environmental monitoring
10 Feb 2023
News release - Tāngata whenua are being invited to apply for a share of a new $20,000 fund designed to support them in undertaking their own environmental monitoring within Te Taitokerau.
US climate legislation could create 9 million jobs
10 Feb 2023
In Tuesday’s State of the Union address, President Joe Biden touted the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as “ the most significant investment ever in climate change. Ever. Lowering utility bills, creating American jobs, leading the world to a clean energy future.”
Environmental groups say govt decision to drop biofuels mandate "enormous relief"
9 Feb 2023
Environmental groups, motoring and fossil fuel lobbyists, and opposition parties have all welcomed the government's decision to drop the biofuels mandate.
Greens not on board with fossil fuel subsidy
2 Feb 2023
Media release - The Green Party is calling on the Government to provide direct support to low-income households and to stop subsidising fossil fuels during a climate crisis.
Parliamentary Commissioner for Environment gives govt a hurry up
1 Feb 2023
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton, has told the government it needs to speed up plans for a whole-of-system energy strategy.
Report proposes tax on the ultra-rich to finance a global climate fund
1 Feb 2023
Climate change is also a story of inequality. Inequality between the culprits and the victims of a crisis that not only causes global heating but also triggers extreme weather events that further impoverish those who are already living in poverty.
US lawmakers press to remove oil boss from leading COP28 climate talks
30 Jan 2023
A group of U.S. lawmakers wants the Biden administration to ask the United Arab Emirates to remove the oil company chief the country chose to lead the next U.N. climate talks — or at a minimum "seek assurances" that the UAE will promote an ambitious COP28 summit.
Climate activists block main road into The Hague
30 Jan 2023
Hundreds of climate activists blocked one of the main roads into The Hague on Saturday, defying attempts to prevent their protest that have sparked concerns about restrictions on the right to demonstrate in the Netherlands.
Best by the rest...
27 Jan 2023
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in local media: Dame Anne Salmond on New Zealand’s “fatally flawed” climate strategy; a fact check of claims that Kiwi farms are the greenest; and why the country needs an e-bike rebate.
Todd Muller's second coming as National's climate spokesperson
26 Jan 2023
By Liz Kivi | Having previously announced his retirement after resigning as National party leader, Todd Muller’s political career has been resurrected with a promotion and appointment to the climate change and agriculture portfolios.
Hipkins gives little away on attitude to climate change
25 Jan 2023
By Jeremy Rose | Compared to Jacinda Ardern’s much quoted declaration that climate change was “our generation’s nuclear-free moment”, new prime minister Chris Hipkins’ comments on the subject to date have been decidedly anodyne.
Bloomberg: Ardern's mixed record on climate change
25 Jan 2023
The outgoing prime minister set up a long-term framework for New Zealand to address global warming, but emissions haven’t been trending downward.
NGO sues German government for failing climate targets in transport and buildings sectors
25 Jan 2023
Environmental lobby group Friends of the Earth Germany is suing the German government for missing its emission reduction targets in the buildings and transport sectors.
Carbon capture only way to stay below 1.5 degrees: James Shaw
23 Dec 2022
Carbon capture is going to have to play role if the world is to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees, climate change minister James Shaw says.
Govt gives $2.8 million for boiler conversion to multinational committed to phasing out coal by 2025
23 Dec 2022
By Jeremy Rose | The government has given $2.8 million to a multinational company to convert its coal boiler to woodchips, despite the company already committing to phase out coal use internationally by 2025.
Thousands demand right to repair
23 Dec 2022
Last July, Repair Café Aotearoa presented environment minister David Parker with a petition signed by 12,901 people calling on the government to introduce right to repair legislation.
Private members bill could see environment recognised as a company stakeholder
23 Dec 2022
By Jeremy Rose | In 1916 John and Horace Dodge took Henry Ford to court to stop him from, in his words, “employ(ing) still more men, to spread the benefits of this industrial system to the greatest possible number, to help them build up their lives and their homes.”
Federated Farmers oppose updated methane emissions plan
22 Dec 2022
Federated Farmers continues to oppose the government’s plan for methane emissions, despite changes promising the emissions levy will be set “at the lowest price possible”.
Climate wins in new govt funding for Christchurch
21 Dec 2022
Climate action is set to get a boost in Christchurch, with more than $10 million going towards climate-related Christchurch City Council projects.
Price of carbon plummets in response to Cabinet rejection of Climate Change Commission recommendations
16 Dec 2022
By Jeremy Rose | Cabinet has ignored a Climate Change Commission recommendation to significantly increase the trigger price of the cost containment reserve and failed to reduce the number of credits available at auction by as much as the commission proposed.
Decision on future petroleum block bumped till after the election
16 Dec 2022
The government is putting off any decision on future petroleum block offers until the next Parliamentary term.
Government seeks feedback on offshore renewables
16 Dec 2022
The Government is seeking public feedback on the development of offshore renewable energy infrastructure like wind farms.
XRB publishes climate-related disclosure standards
16 Dec 2022
The External Reporting Board (XRB) has published the Climate-related Disclosures standards.
Government to end half-price public transport fares despite strong public support
15 Dec 2022
The government has announced half price public transport fares will end on April 1, despite a poll showing 79% of people support making them permanent.
G7 sets out terms for global ‘climate club’
14 Dec 2022
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz presented the long-awaited terms for his ‘climate club’, a platform for countries wishing to protect the climate. However, it may be overshadowed by similar initiatives recently announced.
Former British high commissioner to NZ slams UK government’s environmental “vandalism”
12 Dec 2022
Former British high commissioner to New Zealand Laura Clarke has condemned the UK government’s decision to approve a coal mine in Cumbria as “vandalism and self-harm.”
Forest & Bird and mining lobby both condemn wetland changes
9 Dec 2022
Forest & Bird and the mining lobby have both condemned changes to freshwater management announced by the government yesterday.
Swiss climate activists lament election of oil lobbyist
8 Dec 2022
Environmentalists in Switzerland criticized the election Wednesday of a top car and oil industry lobbyist to the country’s new government, calling it a “disaster for climate policy.”
Building Act changes target lower emissions and reducing waste
7 Dec 2022
The government’s announcement that mandatory energy performance ratings and waste reduction could be embedded in the Building Act is “a huge moment” for better, more sustainable buildings, according to New Zealand’s Green Building Council.
$350 million government funding to cut transport emissions
5 Dec 2022
Better public transport, new cycle networks and more walkable neighbourhoods are in the offing for 46 different councils as part of a $350 million government funding package.
Opposition parties welcome on-farm sequestration policy
2 Dec 2022
Opposition parties have welcomed the government’s plan to credit all on-farm carbon sequestration, rather than only riparian planting.
Bowen says Australia poised to beat 2030 climate target, as emissions plateau
2 Dec 2022
Australia expects to beat its national emissions of a 43% reduction by 2030, despite no decrease in emissions over the past year, according to climate and energy minister Chris Bowen
EU climate chief defends plans for 'carbon farming'
2 Dec 2022
The European Union's top climate official on Wednesday dismissed criticism from environmental groups over its proposal to incorporate carbon removal methods into its climate plans, insisting the plan won't undermine the bloc's efforts to tackle global warming.
Climate 'tragedy': Vanuatu to relocate 'dozens' of villages
2 Dec 2022
Vanuatu is drawing up plans to relocate "dozens" of villages within the next two years, as they come under threat from rising seas, the Pacific nation's climate chief told AFP Thursday.
Govt announces changes to on-farm sequestration strategy
1 Dec 2022
The government has announced it will work with the primary sector to develop an on-farm carbon sequestration strategy.
PMs confirm commitment to 1.5 degrees
1 Dec 2022
Prime ministers Sanna Marin, of Finland, and Aotearoa’s Jacinda Ardern yesterday issued a joint statement stressing the need for “rapid, deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions” and the importance of pursuing efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
Local government must now consider Emissions Reduction Plan when making decisions
1 Dec 2022
Local bodies are now required by law to consider the National Adaptation Plan and Emissions Reduction Plan when preparing or changing regional policy statements, regional plans, and district plans under the Resource Management Act.
Young Swedes take their country to court over climate inaction
1 Dec 2022
The Swedish capital is the birthplace of the international movement Fridays for Future, which has galvanized thousands of youngsters to skip school and march in the streets in protest against a lack of political action to stop global warming and recognize the climate crisis.
China, covid and climate
1 Dec 2022
The protests erupting across China deserve international solidarity. The future of the planet could be determined by their success - or failure.
Victoria votes to end coal and make radical shift to renewables
29 Nov 2022
We are used to hearing crowds chant for their country, and for their heroes: “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie”, “U-S-A, U-S-A,” or “Me-ssi, Me-ssi,” But when was the last time you heard a group of adults chant for a now disbanded public utility?
Climate change significant threat to our wellbeing: Treasury
28 Nov 2022
Treasury has identified climate change as “perhaps the most significant threat to the sustainability of our wellbeing,” in the first of its four-yearly wellbeing reports.
Parker stands up for Onslow
28 Nov 2022
There are few public defenders of the Government’s consideration of the Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme, but minister David Parker remains a strong advocate.
1.5 degrees not just aspirational: Shaw
25 Nov 2022
Climate change minister James Shaw says New Zealand’s commitment to 1.5 degrees is “absolutely essential.”
Lawyers call on government to amend law to commit it to 1.5 degrees pathway
24 Nov 2022
Lawyers for Climate Action New Zealand say that if the government is serious about its commitment to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees it has no choice but to amend the Climate Change Response Act.
Farm-level emissions cuts possible, but almost everything stands in the way
18 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Progress to slash farming emissions is being blocked by limited farmer confidence in mitigation tools, inconsistent engagement, misinformation and a lack of clear policy signals, according to a new report.
State-owned farmer drives profit growth with emissions reductions
19 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Government-owned Landcorp, trading as Pāmu, is one-third of the way to meeting its 2031 emissions reduction targets, with five years left to run to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30.3% against 2021 emissions.
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.
‘Cali Fund’ aiming to raise billions for nature receives first donation – of just $1,000
16 Dec 2025
A major biodiversity fund – which could, in theory, generate billions of dollars annually for conservation – received its first donation of just $1,000 in November.
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.
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.
Seven quiet wins for climate and nature in 2025
19 Dec 2025
This year's environmental backdrop is familiar: emissions are rising and nature is continuing to decline. But there have nevertheless been bright spots in 2025.
Govt unveils plans for carbon storage regulations – and ETS rewards
18 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government has released plans to regulate carbon capture and storage in natural geological formations, which include Emissions Trading Scheme incentives, with the aim of introducing related legislation in 2026.
Global coal demand hit record high this year but is set to decline by 2030
18 Dec 2025
Global coal demand reached a record high in 2025 but is expected to decline by 2030 as renewables, nuclear power and abundant natural gas squeeze its dominance in power generation.
Investors must support positive climate-tech
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.
RMA’s successors hinge on two untested bets
17 Dec 2025
Two ideas sit at the heart of the Government’s replacement for the Resource Management Act: regulatory relief and spatial planning.
India at COP30: A mismatch between grandstanding and climate action
11 Dec 2025
Despite India’s attempt to anoint itself as the leader of the developing world, at the COP30 summit, New Delhi’s track record remains contradictory.
Govt warned that scrapping ag emission pricing comes with risks
11 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s move to halt plans for agricultural emissions pricing without replacing it with any other action will leave New Zealand facing a bigger gap to meet its third emissions budget, Environment ministry officials have warned.
NZ hydrogen regulation to catch up with the world
18 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The government has announced a regulatory reset for New Zealand’s emerging clean tech hydrogen sector.
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.
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 dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transport pollution was the biggest contributor to an increase in New Zealand’s consumption-based emissions in 2023, with emissions from household travel up 12%, and consumption-based emissions totalling 58.3 million tonnes – up 1.6% from the previous year.
Hydrogen emissions are ‘supercharging’ the warming impact of methane
19 Dec 2025
The warming impact of hydrogen has been “overlooked” in projections of climate change, according to authors of the latest “global hydrogen budget”.
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.”
Westpac NZ announces partnership to form Blue Economy hub in Nelson
17 Dec 2025
Media release | Westpac NZ has announced a new three-year partnership with the Nelson Regional Development Agency and Kernohan Engineering to help accelerate the development of a sustainable marine economy – also known as the blue economy.
NZ ‘clearly’ breaching international law on climate – Vanuatu Climate Change Minister
12 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister, Ralph Regenvanu, says New Zealand restarting fossil fuel exploration and subsidies is an obvious breach of international law, exposing the country to international and domestic litigation.
Govt slammed for weakening methane target
15 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams The Government has pushed through legislation under urgency to almost halve New Zealand’s 2050 methane target – a move Opposition parties say disregards scientific advice, breaks the country’s hard-won political consensus on climate action, and shifts the burden of higher warming and higher future costs onto the next generation.
COP30 microcosm of difficult geopolitics, says Vanuatu's Climate Minister
15 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Despite ‘intransigent’ states blocking multilateralism and a disappointing official outcome, Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu says he left the COP30 climate summit feeling more positive than after previous UN climate conferences.
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.
Three Greenpeace activists removed by police from Fonterra
17 Dec 2025
Media release | Three Greenpeace activists were removed by police from Fonterra’s downtown Auckland offices, following a protest on Monday at the Shareholders’ Fund meeting over the corporation’s role in the contamination of rural communities’ drinking water.
Oil and gas majors would create $78bn more value by stopping exploration
11 Dec 2025
Media release | Ten of the world’s largest oil and gas companies would create significantly more shareholder value by ending exploration and sharply curtailing upstream development, according to new analysis released today by ACCR.
Wetlands and biodiversity at risk as mining rules loosen: Greenpeace
19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Greenpeace says Government changes to national direction instruments under the RMA paves the way for mining in wetlands and biodiversity hotspots and will expose some of Aotearoa’s most fragile ecosystems to irreversible damage.
NZ could become ‘dumping ground’ for dirty vehicles: Commissioner
16 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Simon Upton, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, has warned the Government that its changes to the clean car standard could turn the country into a dumping ground for high emitting cars, making future emissions budgets harder to achieve.
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.
Offshore windfarms enhance function of coastal waters and diversity of aquatic life
19 Dec 2025
Media release | A study conducted by researchers from Murdoch University in Australia and Dalian Ocean University in China has found that offshore windfarms can improve marine ecosystems and diversify aquatic food chains.
‘A shift no country can ignore’: where global emissions stand, 10 years after the Paris climate agreement
16 Dec 2025
The watershed summit in 2015 was far from perfect, but its impact so far has been significant and measurable.
Govt consulting on Pacific Resilience Facility
12 Dec 2025
The Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee is calling for submissions on its international treaty examination of the Agreement to Establish the Pacific Resilience Facility.
Govt green lights rural recycling scheme
4 Dec 2025
The Government has approved new regulations to bring rural waste schemes under one unified framework.
KiwiRail pauses coal trains amid rising climate protests
9 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate activists are ramping up actions this week, with a Christchurch protest leading to KiwiRail pausing some coal train operations on Saturday, and another protest against the Fast-Track Amendment Bill planned for parliament today.
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.
Could tidal energy one day power NZ?
18 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New research suggests Aotearoa holds some of the world’s strongest tidal-stream energy potential – enough to generate up to 93% of today’s electricity use – but one expert cautions that extracting energy at such a scale could have significant impacts and remains highly uncertain.
NZ could lose nearly all glaciers this century without stronger climate action
16 Dec 2025
New Zealand could see 97% of its glaciers vanish by 2100, with new international modelling projecting a rapid acceleration in glacier extinction from the 2030s onward – even under lower-warming scenarios.
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.
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.
The surprisingly convincing case against cars
19 Dec 2025
Life After Cars dares to imagine how different, and enriching, a car-free world could be.
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.
Heatwaves, downpours and droughts – Auckland on track for more extreme weather
1 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show Auckland will face more heatwaves, heavier downpours, worsening droughts and growing coastal threats as climate extremes intensify, according to a new report from Earth Sciences New Zealand.
NZ just had its hottest spring in at least 116 years
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | This year New Zealand had its hottest spring since records began, with widespread heat, rainfall extremes and destructive wind driven by sudden stratospheric warming.
Media round-up
12 Dec 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Another offshore wind firm exits New Zealand over a clash with seabed mining; Fonterra falls behind on its climate goals as farm emissions remain flat; and the businesses trapped by the gas 'death spiral'.
