Topics tagged with 'Politics'
Higher carbon prices vital, says ETS expert
9 Oct 2019
Rising carbon prices are critical to getting New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emission down, business leaders have been told.
National wants in on the ETS act
9 Oct 2019
If the Government wants cross-party consensus on climate legislation it should put up legislation the Opposition can support, National’s climate spokesperson says.
Banking academic to head climate commission
8 Oct 2019
Former Reserve Bank chair Dr Rod Carr will head the Climate Change Commission.
It's time to 'pull finger', EDS tells politicians
7 Oct 2019
The organisers of a high-powered business and climate change conference in Auckland this week say it is way past time for politicians to come together.
Shippers rig vessels with 'cheat machines'
2 Oct 2019
Global shipping companies have spent billions rigging vessels with “cheat devices” that circumvent new environmental legislation by dumping pollution into the sea, a UK newspaper says.
At last, we're getting a look at climate risks
19 Sep 2019
Progress is being made at last on assessing the risk climate change poses to New Zealand.
Let new commission be the arbiter, says Upton
12 Sep 2019
ANYTHING in the zero-carbon bill that MPs can’t agree on should be referred to the new climate commission, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton has told MPs.
OPINION: New Zealand is one of a kind
9 Sep 2019
New Zealand climate scientist Professor Jim Salinger and United States meteorologist Professor Jose D Fuentes explain why they’ve told the Government to be much harder on methane emissions than it is planning to be.
You don't have the guts, campaigner tells MPs
2 Sep 2019
A young woman who has dedicated her life so far to the zero-carbon bill says she has so little faith in the country’s leaders to act on climate change that she is afraid to have children.
Get tougher on methane, say Penn State profs
29 Aug 2019
A trio of top international climate scientists wants the New Zealand Government to be tougher on methane than it plans to be.
Big Business wants equality for carbon credits
20 Aug 2019
A think-tank representing some of the biggest companies operating in New Zealand wants international carbon credits to be treated the same as domestic emissions reductions.
Fracking pushes up methane count, says research
15 Aug 2019
Fracking is probably the reason atmospheric methane is rising, with the United States shale gas industry behind a third of the increase in global greenhouses gas emissions over the past decade, new research warns.
Changing climate now farmers' biggest worry
12 Aug 2019
Climate change is now the single greatest issue on farmers’ minds, according to the latest Farm Confidence Survey.
SCOTT SIMPSON: We want a seat at the table
7 Aug 2019
National's new climate spokesperson says the party has moved a long way on climate change - and he's had a hand in it.
It must be carrot and stick, says business lobbyist
2 Aug 2019
Christchurch Airport chief executive Malcolm Johns has a neat response for anyone suggesting he doesn’t understand the implications of the zero-carbon bill on the agricultural sector.
Shaw poised to announce more ETS changes
31 Jul 2019
The Government is about to unveil more changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Scott Simpson National's new climate voice
31 Jul 2019
Coromandel MP Scott Simpson is the National Party’s new climate spokesperson.
Paris means we must halve many emissions
30 Jul 2019
New Zealand needs to more than halve emissions of most gases over the coming decade if it is to meet its Paris pledge, the Government says.
Food growers fear loss of land to dairying
26 Jul 2019
The Government’s drive to cut greenhouse gas emissions could see horticultural land taken over by a dairy industry being squeezed by expanding forestry, MPs have been told.
Farmers back 2030 methane cuts - but not 2050
25 Jul 2019
Dairy farmers are backing the Government’s plan to cut methane emissions by 10 per cent by 2030, telling MPs it is achievable.
Big Business wants cross-party support for ZCB
24 Jul 2019
Companies responsible for nearly two-thirds of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions are calling for cross-party support of zero-carbon legislation.
RMA overhaul could see planning role for gases
24 Jul 2019
The Government is opening the door to greenhouse gas being considering in planning applications.
Climate Change Commission deadline looms
24 Jul 2019
Nominations for members of the proposed Climate Change Commission close on Sunday.
Easy on methane means hard on other gases
22 Jul 2019
New Zealand is facing a 41 per cent cut in emissions of most greenhouse gases by 2030 to meet its international promises.
Zero-carbon submitters back 1.5deg target
16 Jul 2019
Submitters on the zero-carbon bill support a target of limiting warming to 1.5deg being enshrined in legislation.
Labour Party pushes public to back carbon bill
15 Jul 2019
The Labour Party is building a campaign base to push through the zero-carbon legislation.
Local governments want climate rules in RMA
8 Jul 2019
Local authorities want to be able to take climate impacts into account when they are considering applications under the Resource Managements Act.
Farmers table offer for cutting methane
4 Jul 2019
Farmers say they are prepared to cut methane emissions by 10 per cent by 2050 – well short of the target the Government intends imposing.
SHAW: We're not stuck on 2030 methane target
24 Jun 2019
The Government’s target of cutting methane emissions by 10 per cent by 2030 is not set in stone, the climate minister says.
UK likes our way with international credits
13 Jun 2019
Britain is following New Zealand's lead in saying it will probably use international carbon markets in its drive to carbon neutrality - despite the advice of its own experts.
Why scarred millennials want to punish business
29 May 2019
Years of economic uncertainty, growing inequality and fear of an inhospitable planet have created two generations prepared to punish companies whose motives they suspect, a new survey shows.
Climate-wise Smith warns of blind commitment
22 May 2019
New Zealand’s political elder statesman on climate change is warning of a potential gilets jeune-style backlash against the costs of climate action.
National MPs chew over zero carbon bill
21 May 2019
National Party MPs are meeting this morning to decide whether they will support the Government’s zero carbon bill.
OPINION: With methane, no time like the present
13 May 2019
Organic farmer and former Green Party co-leader JEANETTE FITZSIMONS says farmers can cut methane now while increasing farm profits.
Climate effort gets thumbs-up from UN chief
13 May 2019
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is praising New Zealand’s efforts on climate change.
Carbon bill offers softer touch to farm emissions
8 May 2019
New Zealand’s agricultural emissions will be cut – but not as much as other gases.
You'll like the ZCB, Peters tells party faithful
2 May 2019
The long-awaited Zero Carbon Bill is close – and New Zealand First expects its supporters will like it.
HALFWAY HOUSE: PM changes our climate focus
24 Apr 2019
Jacinda Ardern’s nuclear-free-moment speech on the campaign trail during the 2017 general election struck a chord.
Zero Carbon Bill out soon, says Shaw
12 Apr 2019
The long-awaited Zero Carbon Bill will be unveiled soon, says climate minister James Shaw.
EDITORIAL: No news is bad news
12 Apr 2019
Why are we apparently so unconcerned that our greenhouse gas emissions are on the rise?
Don't rule out GE as a solution, say farmers
8 Apr 2019
Genetic modification should not be ruled out by the Government as a solution for climate change and other environmental issues, Federated Farmers says.
We won't use GE to cut farm emissions, says Shaw
5 Apr 2019
Climate minister James Shaw says New Zealand doesn’t need genetic engineering to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from farms.
EDITORIAL: Oh, Canada
3 Apr 2019
Let’s talk about Canada. It’s easier than talking about our own country.
Q and A: The commissioner explains
27 Mar 2019
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton answers questions on yesterday’s report recommending big changes to the way New Zealand deals with greenhouse gas emissions.
Treasury sees use for international credits
22 Mar 2019
Treasury wants to retain the ability to use international carbon credits to meet New Zealand’s 2050 emissions reduction target, confidential papers show.
Shaw now first stop for farm emissions action
15 Mar 2019
The Interim Climate Change Committee will now report directly to climate minister James Shaw on whether the agricultural sector should be liable for emissions under the Emissions Trading Scheme.
OPINION: Wise words for the schoolkids
13 Mar 2019
This Friday’s strike by school students calling for action on climate change has the support of some of our wisest citizens. Wise Response Society secretary DUGALD MACTAVISH explains why.
Shaw about to reveal climate policy timetable
12 Mar 2019
The Government will release details of its climate change policy timetable on Friday.
Environmental groups call for ETS reform
Fri 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.
Media round-up
Fri 20 Feb 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: 'Every tonne matters': The climate scientist who wants to give you hope; Minister says managed retreat is an option; and climate change is here – is New Zealand ready?
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.
Singapore sets first ever sustainable aviation fuel levy, as Southeast Asia’s fuel industry grows
Tue 17 Feb 2026
Flying in and out of Singapore, home to Southeast Asia’s busiest airport, will get slightly more expensive this year as the city state begins imposing a levy of between 75 cents to $32 per ticket to fund sustainable aviation fuel.
Greens slam move to disband Environment Ministry
Fri 20 Feb 2026
The Green Party has joined climate and health advocates in condemning the Government's decision to disestablish the Ministry for the Environment as part of a multi-ministry merger.
Govt’s own modelling shows LNG leads to higher electricity prices than other solutions
Thu 19 Feb 2026
By Christina Hood | COMMENT: According to modelling conducted by Concept Consulting for MBIE, either developing the Tariki gas storage facility or managing electricity demand would deliver lower wholesale electricity prices than the Government’s preferred solution of an LNG import terminal.
New study looks to nature markets to accelerate climate response
Wed 18 Feb 2026
The Nature Conservancy is teaming up with local groups to study the most affordable and effective ways of restoring native habitats at the top of the South Island, including ways to fund the work using international voluntary carbon markets and biodiversity credits.
US succeeds in erasing climate from global energy body’s priorities
Today 11:45am
Trump’s energy chief had threatened to leave the International Energy Agency if it continued to focus on climate.
Carbon price drops as volatility continues
Tue 17 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market is still displaying extreme volatility, with prices dropping back to below $40 yesterday, after trading as high as $46.25 last week.
Government invests $200m towards Genesis Energy's $400m capital raise
Today 11:45am
The Government has confirmed it will buy up to $200 million of new Genesis Energy shares as part of a capital raise announced by the company this morning.
LNG: a rational choice compared to unpalatable alternatives
10 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: By deciding to underwrite the private construction of a liquefied natural gas import facility in Taranaki, the Government has made a rational choice in favour of energy security and affordability.
Sustainable retail-office project breaks ground under new Green Star framework
Thu 19 Feb 2026
Construction is set to begin on a new retail-office development in central Auckland, which is targeting a 40% reduction in embodied carbon and 25% lower energy.
Opposition attacks Govt over fossil fuel phaseout backdown
2 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Revelations that Resources Minister Shane Jones ruled out New Zealand signing up to a 'road map' away from fossil fuels at last year’s global climate summit show the National Party’s minor coalition partners’ undue influence over the Government, according to Labour leader Chris Hipkins.
Carbon market rallies but auction floor still out of reach
13 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market has rallied, with secondary market prices up more than 25% in the past two weeks, although current prices in the mid-$40s are still far below this year’s $71 auction floor, with the first auction of 2026 less than three weeks away.
Mining permits surge as Jones touts revival – gold prices loom large
Today 11:45am
Resources Minister Shane Jones is claiming early signs of success in his bid to boost the mining sector, citing new NZ Petroleum & Minerals data showing a rise in mineral permit applications and decisions in 2025. Though how much is driven by policy change and how much by very high prices for gold and other minerals is difficult to decipher.
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.
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.
Slash for cash turns storm debris into jobs and climate resilience
Thu 19 Feb 2026
A community-led initiative in Tairāwhiti is transforming storm-damaged forestry slash into jobs, soil regeneration and long-term climate resilience.
Calls for action to reduce emissions as extreme weather bites
Tue 17 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Renewable energy advocates and environmental groups are calling for more action to reduce emissions and increase resilience as severe weather wreaks havoc across the country.
RMA to speed up fossil fuel consents
18 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | An energy lobby group has welcomed a last-minute amendment to the RMA that puts fossil fuels on the same footing as renewables, however a sustainable energy expert says the move “beggars belief.”
European Central Bank's green supervision grows teeth, but will banks avoid being bitten?
13 Feb 2026
After several years of issuing guidance and repeatedly calling on banks to take climate and environmental risk management seriously, the European Central Bank is moving from guidance and expectations to enforcement.
Green Member’s Bill aims to give whales legal ‘personhood’
9 Feb 2026
The Green Party wants to give whales legal rights, including the right to sue.
Claims that AI can help fix climate dismissed as greenwashing
Wed 18 Feb 2026
Tech companies are conflating traditional artificial intelligence with generative AI when claiming the energy-hungry technology could help avert climate breakdown, according to a report.
Govt missing opportunity to slash electricity prices, says expert
11 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s fixation on eliminating the "dry-year risk margin" as a lever to reduce costs misses a much bigger opportunity to lower electricity prices, according to Christina Hood, head of Compass Climate.
Media round-up
13 Feb 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Senior UK ministers have asked their New Zealand counterparts to explain new climate policies, National’s LNG blunders are a warning ahead of election campaign, and what are the lessons New Zealand should take from another summer of weather disasters?
Wales council to buy and demolish homes prone to flooding
4 Feb 2026
A row of homes in a village in south Wales is to be bought by a local authority and demolished as they can no longer be protected from flooding caused by the climate crisis.
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.
Australian gas producer Santos wins court fight over net zero claims
Wed 18 Feb 2026
An Australian court on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit against gas producer Santos that alleged the company misled the public on its plans to achieve net zero carbon emissions.
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.
Australia-US minerals deal underpinned decision to allow mining company to clear threatened indigenous forest
Today 11:45am
The Australian government’s decision to allow the US mining giant Alcoa to continue clearing swathes of Western Australian jarrah forest despite past illegal clearing practices was made in part due to a critical minerals deal reached between Australia and the Trump administration last year, a new document shows.
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.
Partnership to advance Pacific science and environmental leadership
Thu 19 Feb 2026
Media release | Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration in Pacific-led science, research and capacity-building, with a strong focus on environmental sustainability and ocean stewardship.
Lawyers seek answers on climate impacts of LNG import facility
13 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action has written to Climate Change and Energy Minister Simon Watts warning that the Government's plan for an LNG import terminal could be in conflict with New Zealand’s climate obligations and emissions reduction targets.
Kiwi startup takes on global plastic pollution
12 Feb 2026
A New Zealand startup is launching what it says is the world’s first plastic-free effervescent drink tablet, with the ambitious aim of eliminating bottled beverages to reduce global plastic pollution.
78% of NZers want bottom trawling banned as Govt pushes to catch more coral in South Pacific
Tue 17 Feb 2026
Media release | New polling shows overwhelming support from New Zealanders for a ban on bottom trawling in the South Pacific high seas, says Greenpeace.
Critical minerals talks with US questioned in Waitangi Tribunal climate inquiry
9 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand and the United States' negotiations over critical minerals have raised questions for the Waitangi Tribunal’s long-running inquiry into climate change.
Antarctic sediment core reveals past ice sheet retreat during warmer climates
Wed 18 Feb 2026
A record-breaking sediment core drilled from beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is giving scientists new insight into how the ice sheet responded to warmer climates in the past — and what that could mean for future sea-level rise.
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.
NZ-UAE partnership boosts advanced tech
9 Feb 2026
Media release | A new Antarctic science partnership with a leading UAE university will grow New Zealand’s advanced engineering and modelling capability, supporting high-value jobs, encouraging economic growth, and enabling smarter climate risk management, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti says.
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.
NZ’s EV uptake decelerates
Today 11:45am
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand’s EV uptake is lagging behind other countries, with a huge drop in EV sales since 2023 bucking international trends, at the same time the Government contemplates abolishing its standard for clean cars entirely.
Climate ambassador moves on
13 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government is on the hunt for a new top climate diplomat, with previous climate ambassador Stu Horne moving on to a posting in Honolulu as New Zealand’s Consul General to Hawai’i.
Infrastructure plan calls for ‘predictable approach’ to electrifying economy
Wed 18 Feb 2026
Aotearoa’s first National Infrastructure Plan, introduced to Parliament yesterday, calls for "a predictable approach to electrifying the economy" as one of ten priorities for the next decade.
New research on climate adaptation as severe weather hits
16 Feb 2026
As extreme weather batters the country yet again, researchers have published the first ever empirical study of climate adaptation justice in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Study finds warming world increases days when weather is prone to fires around the globe
Fri 20 Feb 2026
The number of days when the weather gets hot, dry and windy — ideal to spark extreme wildfires — has nearly tripled in the past 45 years across the globe, with the trend increasing even higher in the Americas, a new study shows.
India and UK launch offshore wind taskforce
Today 11:45am
Constituted under Vision 2035 and the Fourth India-UK Energy Dialogue, the Taskforce is designed to provide strategic leadership and coordination for India’s nascent offshore wind ecosystem.
