Topics tagged with 'Politics'
Let's feed the people first, say ag leaders
2 Jul 2020
Agricultural industry leaders say they need to feed New Zealanders before the rest of the world.
Parker whips home third leg of climate trifecta
26 Jun 2020
The third leg of the Government’s climate change legislation trifecta came home this week.
Green recovery was the great hope of 2009
25 Jun 2020
When the Obama administration entered the White House in January 2009, the first hope was to put people back to work and also accelerate transition to a clean-energy economy.
Make climate-risk a must, urges Carr
24 Jun 2020
The Climate Change Commission has again told the Government that assessing the climate impact of projects should be mandatory under a new fast-track consenting process.
No carbon-zero without new forests
23 Jun 2020
Government suggestions that it will limit forestry conversions to 40,000 hectares a year could prevent the country being carbon-neutral by 2050, forest owners says.
Porritt slams 'staggering ignorance' of markets
22 Jun 2020
Capital markets have consistently devalued the natural world, displaying “staggering ignorance over decades” as they have profited from exploiting it, says the head of Air New Zealand’s sustainability board, Sir Jonathon Porritt.
Financial disclosure no stand-alone fix, says uni
18 Jun 2020
Financial disclosure of companies’ climate and carbon risk won’t drive change without other measures, new research warns.
Parliament does major job on ETS
17 Jun 2020
Parliament has passed major changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme, bringing agricultural emissions into the scheme and, for the first time, setting a cap on emissions.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
17 Jun 2020
Anyone wanting to have a say on the Government’s resource consent fast-tracking legislation has got until the end of the week to do it.
Nats should have done more, admits Muller
15 Jun 2020
New National Party leader Todd Muller has admitted his party should have done more about climate change when it was in power.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
15 Jun 2020
The overhaul of the Emissions Trading Scheme is due to have its third reading in Parliament this week.
Residents fght to keep compost getting trashed
15 Jun 2020
Just this past March, New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson proposed making composting mandatory for city residents to help combat climate change. Now, with the coronavirus taking an immense financial toll on New York, even food waste recycling programs that existed before that proposition have become casualties of covid-19.
POLITICS: Caution and confusion rules
5 Jun 2020
By ADELIA HALLETT | This week’s political action has seen carbon prices surging forward again.
Shaw sings songs of praise for trading scheme
3 Jun 2020
Climate minister James Shaw – who three years ago was calling for the Emissions Trading Scheme to be scrapped – was singing its praises in Parliament yesterday.
Govt opposed ClimCom in cash-or-credits case
3 Jun 2020
The Government went against the advice of its own Climate Change Commission in allowing companies to continue to pay money instead of surrendering carbon credits to atone for their greenhouse gas emissions.
Effective carbon price-cap will hit $35 this year
2 Jun 2020
The effective price cap on carbon prices in New Zealand will go to $35 this year.
Cities critical to climate, Wellington tells Govt
26 May 2020
One of the country's largest local authorities says the Government 's plans for urban development are at odds with its programme for combatting climate change.
Why a bullet train could increase greenhouse gas emissions
26 May 2020
Bullet trains are back on Australia's political agenda. As the major parties look for ways to stimulate the economy after the COVID-19 crisis, Labor is again spruiking its vision of linking Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane with high-speed trains similar to the Eurostar, France’s TGV or Japan’s Shinkansen.
Muller's got 'very strong views' on cutting carbon
25 May 2020
New National Party leader Todd Muller says the drive toward a low-emissions economy should continue despite the effects of the covid-19 pandemic on the economy.
Green New Deal turns South Korea from climate villain to model
25 May 2020
The country’s youngest MP is on a mission, inspired by Greta Thunberg, as climate moves up political agenda.
POLITICS: It looks like more of the same
22 May 2020
The outcome of National’s leadership stoush today is unlikely to affect the party’s approach to climate policy.
Everybody hold hands and get on with it, says SBC
18 May 2020
The Sustainable Business Council is calling for aa cross-party consensus over the spending of covid-19 pandemic recovery money on decarbonising the economy.
Wellington says govt urban plan fails on climate
14 May 2020
The Government's plans for urban development are at odds with its programme for dealing with climate change, says Greater Wellington Regional Council.
Nats don't like railway network plans
4 May 2020
National is resisting moves to run the country’s rail network on a less-than-purely-commercial footing.
Fast-track projects get nod from business and greenies
4 May 2020
Plans to fast-track some covid-19 recovery projects through the Resource Management Act are winning approval from business and environmentalists.
POLITICS: Bring on the electric express
24 Apr 2020
Politics this week has been about the prospect of the country’s covid-19 economic recovery doubling as a low-carbon transformation.
ClimCom to review our Paris emissions target
23 Apr 2020
New Zealand seems set to increase its Paris Agreement emissions reduction target.
POLITICS: Shaw tells business to speak up
17 Apr 2020
Climate minister James Shaw says businesses wanting the covid-19 pandemic economic recovery to be a low-carbon transformation need to lobby Cabinet ministers now.
Act before public gets angry, warns Z head
17 Apr 2020
The Government has two months to get emissions reductions into covid-19 economic recovery plans before the public starts getting angry and demanding a return to the way things were, says Z Energy chief executive Mike Bennetts.
Fewer emissions, but we need to be doing more
15 Apr 2020
New Zealand’s emissions fell slightly in 2018 – but not because the country has changed its behaviour.
POLITICS: Roll out the big guns
9 Apr 2020
The Government’s climate programme is under double-fire this week.
All companies should have to disclose, says NZX
8 Apr 2020
NZX says every business should have to disclose its climate-risk exposure.
POLITICS: We're on a climate knife-edge
3 Apr 2020
By ADELIA HALLETT | Is the covid-19 pandemic going to be a repeat of the Global Financial Crisis in terms of climate change? It could go either way.
Lift RMA emissions ban, says select committee
2 Apr 2020
A 2004 ban on considering greenhouse gas emissions in resource consents should be overturned, the Environment Select Committee has told Parliament.
Australian academics call for survival strategy
1 Apr 2020
A group of Australian scientists, business leaders, public servants and academics is calling for nations to work together to develop a strategy for humans to survive climate change, pandemics and other looming threats.
ETS reform still a top job, says minister
31 Mar 2020
Reforming the Emissions Trading Scheme remains a priority for the Government, despite disruption caused by the covid-19 pandemic, says climate minister James Shaw.
Emission trading changes will have to wait
26 Mar 2020
Changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme are in lockdown along with the rest of the country.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
25 Mar 2020
Parliament meets today to pass legislation putting the country into a state of emergency.
POLITICS: Sorry, we're a bit busy
20 Mar 2020
CLIMATE change received only the briefest of attention in Parliament this week.
POLITICS: The mood is all very GFC
13 Mar 2020
The coronavirus Covid-19 and the impact it could have on the economy dominated the attention of politicians this week, but they did manage to squeeze in a mention of climate change.
EDS pours cold water on RMA 'bonfire'
11 Mar 2020
National’s planned “bonfire” of regulations will be pyrotechnics if the Resource Management Act is thrown on the flames, the Environmental Defence Society says.
Ministry sprouts staff as green workload grows
10 Mar 2020
The Ministry for the Environment says its staff numbers have increased as the Government has ramped up its workload.
POLITICS: Nats declare war on RMA
9 Mar 2020
The Resource Management Act will be toast under a National Government.
EDITORIAL: Loss of a leader
6 Mar 2020
By ADELIA HALLETT | Jeanette Fitzsimons, the Green politician and activist who died last night, exemplified the environmentalists’ mantra of thinking globally and acting locally.
Past failures put pressure on emissions deadlines
5 Mar 2020
Global failure to address climate change a decade ago means emissions must now drop at 7 per cent a year to meet the Paris Agreement, prompting scientists to call for the world to switch into crisis mode.
Officials question farmer ETS obligation
3 Mar 2020
Making farmers instead of agricultural processing companies the point of obligation under the Emissions Trading Scheme could push administration costs up 4000 per cent, officials say.
Climate not big election issue, says National
2 Mar 2020
Climate change should be less of an election issue this year than it was last time round, thanks to cross-party agreement on the zero-carbon act, says National Party climate spokesperson Scott Simpson.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
26 Feb 2020
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s visit to Fiji continues today, where discussion on climate change is on the agenda.
Methane revelations might benefit our farmers
24 Feb 2020
Revelations that fossil fuels are responsible for a greater percentage of methane in the atmosphere than was thought could be good news for New Zealand farmers – but only if the rest of the world is prompted to cut fossil-fuel extraction more quickly.
FRIDAY POLITICS: Ready, willing, and Abel
21 Feb 2020
By ADELIA HALLETT | A largely unheralded candidate selection in Auckland this week could prove pivotal in New Zealand’s climate politics.
Governments must vote in favour of moratorium on deep sea mining
Tue 29 Jul 2025
Media release - Greenpeace | The 30th session of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) has ended with Greenpeace saying governments are continuing to fall short in protecting the deep sea.
Does NZ need a national incentive scheme for wetlands?
25 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | An expert is calling for a national incentive programme to restore New Zealand’s wetlands and wants to stop schemes to drain these vital carbon-sequestering ecosystems.
NZ Post drops science-based climate target
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.
Airlines risk legal challenges by advertising jet fuel as “sustainable”, NGO warns
18 Jul 2025
Amid suspected fraud in the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), a new report says the airline industry should stop calling all alternatives to kerosene “sustainable”.
Challenges persist in bid to mine the deep sea, even after boost from Trump
Tue 29 Jul 2025
After years of delay, the deep-sea mining plans of Canadian firm The Metals Company (TMC) now appear to be progressing as it pursues a controversial new path to securing a license to mine in international waters under U.S. jurisdiction.
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.
Carbon prices slide as market awaits ETS decision
Fri 1 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | Volatility has returned to the secondary carbon market, with prices sliding again after plateauing in recent weeks, as the market waits for government decisions on Emissions Trading Scheme settings.
The US is sitting out the most consequential climate summit in a decade. It may offer a victory to China
Fri 1 Aug 2025
The Trump administration fired the last of the US climate negotiators earlier this month, helping cement America’s withdrawal from international climate diplomacy. It may also have handed a huge victory to China.
Bearish sentiment lingers for carbon market
11 Jul 2025
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.
Coal use drove recent emissions increase
Fri 1 Aug 2025
Increased use of coal for electricity generation was a large driver for an increase in New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions in the last quarter.
Is extending Huntly power station to 2035 in consumers’ best interest?
22 Jul 2025
By Simon Orme | COMMENT: Genesis Energy is proposing a cartel to keep high-emitting Huntly Power Station in business to 2035. If extending Huntly has economic benefits, is a cartel necessary?
What does 'drier' really mean in 'green' homes?
Fri 1 Aug 2025
Media release - Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland | Researchers say green-rating systems could improve clarity and effectiveness by explicitly defining ‘drier’ and using two measures of humidity.
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.
NZ voluntary carbon market’s sad state
14 Jul 2025
By John O’Brien | OPINION: A combination of scandals, challenging economic times, and cheaper offshore carbon credits, mean that the domestic voluntary carbon market in New Zealand remains absolutely tiny.
Bill to restart oil and gas exploration clears final hurdle
Fri 1 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government’s Crown Minerals Amendment Bill is set to become law after passing its third reading in parliament last night, with critics calling it humiliating for the climate minister and an embarrassment to New Zealand's international reputation.
Key orange roughy population on verge of collapse, govt considers closure
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.
Warmer than usual weather ahead, wetter in north and east, as La Niña signals strengthen
Fri 1 Aug 2025
Media release – Earth Sciences New Zealand | Seasonal Outlook Climate August to October 2025 suggests warm, damp weather, with La Niña’s possible return.
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.
Wilding pines threaten Molesworth Station
Mon 28 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Without increased support, the unchecked spread of wilding pines will continue to creep across Marlborough’s high country – putting iconic landscapes and one of New Zealand’s top five biodiversity hotspots at serious risk, according to an expert.
Last minute change to oil and gas legislation over cleanup costs
Thu 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.
A modest geothermal strategy
Thu 31 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The Government has unveiled a far more modest geothermal energy strategy than its primary backer, Resources Minister Shane Jones, had sought.
European Central Bank to consider 'climate factor' when lending to banks
Thu 31 Jul 2025
The European Central Bank will add climate change considerations to its lending operations from late 2026, raising pressure on banks to channel financing towards greener sectors as the euro zone seeks to reduce its carbon footprint.
NZ part of hidden global deep-sea network beneath the waves
25 Jul 2025
Media release - Earth Sciences New Zealand | A world-first study of marine life, including sea creatures found in New Zealand's dark, cold, pressurised ocean depths, has revealed that deep-sea life is surprisingly more connected than previously thought.
‘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.
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.
Hiringa eyes green methanol plant near Whanganui
Tue 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.
Climate catastrophes are creating a ‘new market reality’ for insurance carriers
23 Jul 2025
Raging wildfires and severe storms contributed to record-high global insurance losses — totalling an estimated US$84 billion — for the first six months of the year.
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.
Multi-day protest continues at coal mine
Wed 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.
Fund for low emissions transport winds up
Thu 31 Jul 2025
New Zealand’s Low Emission Transport Fund has officially wrapped up, ending a nine-year programme that put hundreds of millions of dollars towards accelerating the country’s shift to cleaner transport.
Urgent action needed to get on track for climate goals - commission
25 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand is making progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but more work is needed – urgently – to set up for future reductions, according to the latest report from the Climate Change Commission.
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.
Toxic algae are turning South Australia’s coral reefs into underwater graveyards
Tue 29 Jul 2025
Since March, a harmful algal bloom, fueled by a marine heat wave, has been choking South Australia’s coastline.
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.
Tipping points: Window to avoid irreversible climate impacts is ‘rapidly closing’
11 Jul 2025
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”.
‘Total infiltration’: How plastics industry swamped vital global treaty talks
Mon 28 Jul 2025
Petrostates and well-funded lobbyists at UN-hosted talks are derailing a deal to cut plastic production and protect people and the planet.
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.
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.
Tilting at windmills? Trump’s claims about turbines fact-checked
Thu 31 Jul 2025
The US president has taken a swipe at wind power as the blades visible from his Turnberry golf course turn.
Ocean heatwaves may signal climate tipping point
25 Jul 2025
A recent study that tapped into satellite data has revealed that 2023 marked an unprecedented year for marine heatwaves, with record-breaking levels of duration, reach and intensity across the world's oceans.
Climate groups want UK wealth tax to make super-rich fund sustainable economy
17 Jul 2025
Growing number of campaigners urge government to ensure green investment is not done ‘on backs of the poor’.
Can robot taxis solve NZ's transport woes?
23 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Ministry of Transport has tested the idea of driverless taxis as a futuristic fix. But while new modelling explores how "robotaxis" could ease congestion and reduce car ownership, critics say it misses a crucial point – the country’s worsening transport 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.
EV sales fall, but it’s complicated
Tue 29 Jul 2025
Imports of fully electric vehicles fell over 50% in value during the 12 months to June 2025, compared with the year ended June 2024, according to Stats NZ.
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.
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.
The struggle for control of the Arctic is accelerating - and it's riskier than ever
11 Jul 2025
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.
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.
