Topics tagged with 'Politics'
What the power industry players think
28 Jun 2013
United States power industry interest groups were quick to give their assessment this week on President Obama’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power generation.
UN climate chief applauds Obama
28 Jun 2013
President Barack Obama’s climate action plan can be a critical move forward on the path toward a new, global climate agreement, the United Nations climate chief believes.
Big news from the US, Australia
28 Jun 2013
There have been significant policy developments over the past week in the global emissions arena, Westpac reports.
Yes, we can make steel without coal
21 Jun 2013
Our ancestors made steel without coal, so why don't we? Former Green Party co-leader JEANETTE FITZSIMONS examines the feasibility of coal-less steel:
People come first, say UN leaders
21 Jun 2013
Governments should that land and mineral wealth are managed wisely, transparently and yield benefits for the people, senior United Nations officials said this week
Dunne decider on thermal power future
14 Jun 2013
Beleaguered MP Peter Dunne could be called on to cast the deciding vote over whether new thermal electricity generation is banned or not.
Industry sees bioenergy as key to jobs
14 Jun 2013
Legislation supporting bioenergy production of electricity will provide employment and economic growth in rural areas, says the Bioenergy Association.
China set to roll out trading scheme
14 Jun 2013
China next week will launch an emissions trading scheme in the southern city of Shenzhen, marking its first attempt to cut emissions using market mechanisms.
Experts rule fracking too risky
14 Jun 2013
German environmental experts doubt that developing shale gas is economically profitable and worthwhile for the country's energy transition.
Profit-taking comes as no surprise
14 Jun 2013
European carbon corrected overnight, with EUAs for December 2013 delivery closing down 9 cents to €4.41, OMFinancial reports.
Farmers slam fracking opposition
7 Jun 2013
Environmental and health concerns over the practice of spreading fracking fluids on pasture are being described as scare-mongering by Federated Farmers.
WWF seeks $40b to back renewable energy
7 Jun 2013
Governments and financial institutions worldwide have been urged to increase investment in renewable energy by at least $US40 billion over the next 12 months.
Minister defends Denniston decisions
31 May 2013
Conservation Minister Nick Smith says he deliberately approved Bathurst Resources’ mining application for the Denniston Plateau just one day before the new Crown Minerals Act came into effect.
China holds key to cleaner skies
17 May 2013
It’s time for China to adopt tighter laws and more regional efforts to fight air pollution through market mechanisms such as the carbon trading system, says an American expert.
Leaders to talk climate change
10 May 2013
Business and political leaders from across the spectrum will come together next month to see whether they can find common ground on climate change policies.
Why coal looks like a bad investment
3 May 2013
Coal investors could suffer heavy losses in the future as carbon assets are frozen by regulators to achieve global warming targets, a new research report has found.
Backloading might go to second vote
26 Apr 2013
A European Union plan to “backload” or withhold 900 million carbon allowances to see-saw their falling price, rejected by the European Parliament in a plenary session last week, could return for a second-round vote in June.
New law protects EEZ, says minister
19 Apr 2013
A law which the Government says will enable the comprehensive environmental management of activities in New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone will come into force in June.
US gives pass mark to climate change ... but UK says no
12 Apr 2013
The American school system is incorporating climate change into its science curriculum.
EDS claims RMA information is flawed
5 Apr 2013
The Government’s discussion document on proposed changes to the Resource Management Act relies on out-of-date and incorrect information, the Environmental Defence Society says
Stern: It could be worse than we thought
5 Apr 2013
The world could be headed toward warming even more catastrophic than expected, says the author of an influential 2006 study on climate change.
Pioneer activist quits job … to get busy
5 Apr 2013
One of the United States’ most prominent voices on climate change, NASA scientist James Hansen, is retiring so he can get busier with activism.
Combet becomes minister of everything
28 Mar 2013
It’s one of the great political job titles … Minister of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education.
Kyoto call kills off tar sands project
22 Mar 2013
Canada’s withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol has led to one of the world’s most prestigious research institute pulling out of a $25 million tar sands project.
Biodiesel NZ good buy, says new owner
15 Mar 2013
Christchurch shipping executive Andrew Stark does not agree with political claims that Biodiesel NZ is a bad investment.
Climate the enemy, says top Navy man
15 Mar 2013
Climate change is the biggest long-term security threat in the Pacific, says the US Navy’s top man in the area.
Price steady after overnight spike
15 Mar 2013
After a lack of support throughout the week, the December 2013 EUA - touching lows of €3.45 overnight - spiked up to €4.23 before settling at €3.70.
Climate challenges in the spotlight
8 Mar 2013
International attempts to curb climate change will be put under the microscope by one of New Zealand's leading climate scientists.
Europe eyes ambitious restructure
8 Mar 2013
Five weeks after voting down the ‘backloading’ (or withholding) of allowances to raise carbon prices, the European Parliament’s industry committee is proposing two far-more ambitious structural measures.
Nations make stand on illegal timber
8 Mar 2013
European rules to combat the trade of illegal timber have come into force, but critics doubt the readiness of EU countries to carry out the legislation.
Meet the ETS winners ... and losers
1 Mar 2013
Depressed, depressed, and depressed sounds like a state of mind, and for some it could well be, but indications are that the erosion of the Emission Trading Scheme as a cost effective mechanism for reducing and abating greenhouse gas emissions is real and spreading across the planet.
Water huge issue for food producers, says Nestle chief
1 Mar 2013
The food industry has been warned by one of its biggest players that water scarcity is among the greatest threats it faces.
Question for PM: UN is serious, are you?
22 Feb 2013
Green Party MP Kennedy Graham told Parliament this week that the United Nations Security Council is starting to consider climate change a serious risk.
Obama vows to take tough line
15 Feb 2013
United States President Barack Obama wants a carbon market.
US stand puts Abbot on the spot
15 Feb 2013
The Australian Labor Party is using US President Barack Obama’s tough new line on climate change to launch an offensive against Opposition Leader Tony Abbot.
Ban slams leaders who ignore climate change
15 Feb 2013
Too many world leaders seem content to keep climate change at arm’s length and in its policy silo, says UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
River experts to test the waters
8 Feb 2013
Massey University’s Innovative River Solutions group is holding a workshop next week to share academic research on fresh water quality and management of New Zealand’s rivers.
Dirty vans might be running out of road
8 Feb 2013
A coalition of three small business associations has issued a call for tougher fuel economy standards to be imposed on Europe’s fume-chugging light commercial vehicles.
FORUM: Why is it so hard to change?
1 Feb 2013
How do we get people to make the changes necessary to prevent the full impact of climate change, asks writer ANDREW MARTIN.
Market reels as European carbon plummets
25 Jan 2013
International traders are dismayed at a spectacular price crash today that left the world’s biggest carbon market in disarray.
At last, it's climate-change time for Obama
25 Jan 2013
By PETER GRIFFIN in Washington. Emboldened by a decisive defeat of his rival in November’s US election, President Barack Obama has outlined a progressive agenda for his second and final term, including rekindling efforts to combat climate change.
Market plunge gets the tongues wagging
25 Jan 2013
The major talking points this week are the massive market plunge in an already-volatile market which has been stirred up by rumour and political uncertainty, says John Davis of CF Partners in London.
China could lead world in carbon trading
18 Jan 2013
Pilot schemes to be launched in China this year could be the start of a world-class system - if the country can solve its data-gathering problems.
NZ carbon stand wrong, says Kyoto expert
14 Dec 2012
New Zealand’s political determination to maintain access to carbon at international prices is a mistake, says our most seasoned Kyoto negotiator.
What's our market worth?
14 Dec 2012
Carbon Match founder Lizzie Chambers reflects on the fallout from the COP18 meeting
Enter the new wave of extinctions
14 Dec 2012
A new report by the Auditor General says that New Zealand is losing the battle against biodiversity loss. And it’s not alone. In the latest issue of Quarterly Essay, Australia’s chief climate commissioner, Professor Tim Flannery, examines Australia’s Second Wave of Extinction.
Poor countries the big climate winners
14 Dec 2012
Poor countries have won historic recognition of the plight they face from the ravages of climate change, wringing a pledge from rich nations that they will receive funds to repair the "loss and damage" incurred.
De Boer wants carbon price of 150 euros
7 Dec 2012
Urgent action is needed to boost carbon prices to €150 a tonne - 2250 per cent higher than current levels - if the EU is to meet its decarbonisation goals by 2050, says a former United Nations climate chief.
China eyes nationwide emission trading
7 Dec 2012
China hopes to extend its pilot carbon emission trading system to across the nation in its new five- year plan starting 2016, a member of the Chinese delegation to the Doha climate talks said yesterday.
Energy savings only way left, says economist
7 Dec 2012
Energy savings are one of the “few valuable options” left for humankind to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, says the chief economist of the International Energy Agency.
‘The effects are already here’: Northland communities face the realities of a changed climate
Fri 5 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Te Taitokerau Northland is facing more intense storms, rising temperatures and shifting seasons – pressures that are reshaping communities, ecosystems, infrastructure and livelihoods across the region, according to a new case study from the Climate Change Commission.
Media round-up
Fri 5 Dec 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Labour’s chronic evasiveness as the Government reneges on climate change; newly released documents reveal the country's new methane target is associated with 'perilous' 2.7C of warming; and New Zealand's 'pitiful' decision on emissions targets comes with costs.
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.
NSW government, energy company under fire after native bird habitat cleared for renewables project
Fri 5 Dec 2025
A New South Wales government-backed renewable energy project has been accused of environmental vandalism after dozens of threatened birds were found in native trees it had cleared.
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.
Govt ‘scaremongering’ over co-operation – former climate ambassador
Fri 5 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand’s former top climate diplomat, Kay Harrison, says the Government’s recent comments ruling out buying climate mitigation offshore amount to scaremongering, and the country is missing a chance to give our businesses a boost.
Rare win for renewable energy: Trump administration funds geothermal network expansion
Fri 5 Dec 2025
A first-in-the-nation heating and cooling network in Massachusetts is set to double in size.
Carbon auction tipped to be a non-event
Tue 2 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Tomorrow’s Emissions Trading Scheme auction is all but certain to fail, with participants blaming the government for destroying confidence as NZUs continue to change hands on the secondary market at a 40% discount on the $68 auction floor.
Hello, foreign oligarchs and corporations! Please come and sue the UK for billions
Wed 3 Dec 2025
COMMENT: The case of a planned Cumbrian coalmine shows how governments around the world are being threatened by litigation in shadowy offshore courts.
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.
$235 billion worth of NZ buildings exposed to flooding
30 Oct 2025
More than 750,000 New Zealanders live in locations exposed to one-in-100-year floods, according to a nationwide study which shows escalating flood risk.
Analysis: Why COP30’s ‘tripling adaptation finance’ target is less ambitious than it seems
Fri 5 Dec 2025
One of the headline outcomes to emerge from COP30 was a new target to “at least triple” finance for climate adaptation in developing countries by 2035.
Climate comments ‘outrageous’ – former top climate negotiator
Wed 3 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand’s former climate ambassador, Kay Harrison, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ recent statements that the Government had ruled out buying offshore climate mitigation are “outrageous”.
Market rewards firming over renewables in gentailer split
Wed 3 Dec 2025
A clearer valuation divide is emerging across the gentailer sector, with the market increasingly rewarding companies positioned for flexibility and firming rather than renewable build-out.
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.
Uncertainty eroding confidence in forestry sector
Fri 5 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Warnings are mounting that tree planting is set to plunge to “very close to zero”, as new Ministry for Primary Industries data shows ETS registration applications falling sharply as confidence in forestry declines.
NZ marine heatwaves could double in intensity under high-emissions pathway
16 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show marine heatwaves will grow more intense around the North Island and more frequent around the South Island as the climate warms – raising risks for fisheries, aquaculture, coastal ecosystems and tourism.
Tairāwhiti unveils $359m plan to cut storm damage and stabilise erosion-prone land
Thu 4 Dec 2025
Gisborne District Council has released a 30-year transition plan to protect Tairāwhiti from escalating climate-driven erosion and storm damage, outlining a $359 million proposal for Crown co-investment to stabilise 100,000 hectares of vulnerable land and slash the region’s long-term clean-up costs.
Open letter urges govt to abandon plans to subsidise LNG terminal
Thu 4 Dec 2025
Climate and renewable energy advocates have joined forces calling on the Government to ditch its plan to subsidise an LNG import terminal.
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 rolls out interest-free finance for climate-proofing homes as weather risks rise
Wed 3 Dec 2025
Westpac NZ has unveiled a new interest-free lending package aimed at helping households strengthen their properties against flooding and extreme weather, as climate risks intensify across the country.
Govt’s rejection of CCC’s advice on climate targets undermines independent watchdog’s role, says opposition
21 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s latest dismissal of Climate Change Commission advice shows they have their heads in the sand about the reality of meeting climate targets, according to the Labour Party, while the Greens say Government decisions were an embarrassment on the world stage at COP30 this week.
TotalEnergies loses in Paris court, marking a turning point for fossil fuel truth-in-advertising
5 Nov 2025
TotalEnergies was found to have misled consumers about its role in the energy transition.
Tribunal warns govt geothermal strategy risks Treaty breach
Tue 2 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government's geothermal development strategy risks breaching the Treaty of Waitangi, according to a report from the Waitangi Tribunal released last week.
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.
Amy Westervelt: It’s time we stopped treating corporations as people
Thu 4 Dec 2025
COMMENT: Treating corporations as people and granting them First Amendment rights has warped US politics and harmed the climate. We need to overturn Citizens United.
NZ fails to back ‘roadmap’ to phase out fossil fuels at COP
24 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Eighty-six countries including Australia, the UK, Germany, and Ireland backed a proposal at COP30 for national plans on how to quit oil, gas and coal – but New Zealand wasn’t one of them.
Media round-up
28 Nov 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: How the oil and gas industry helped rewrite New Zealand’s drilling rules, confusion reigns as the climate minister appears unaware of his own announcement, and the fierce battle over mining on Denniston Plateau.
Govt's emissions ‘buffer’ an illusion with all NZ's carbon budgets off track
28 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Dr Christina Hood, head of consultancy Compass Climate, says the Government’s claim that New Zealand has a comfortable emissions “buffer” to absorb higher agricultural pollution is misleading, with projections showing emissions budgets are actually set to be missed in real terms.
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.
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.
Govt rejects advice on international aviation and shipping emissions
Thu 4 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government has rejected all the Climate Change Commission’s recommendations to strengthen emissions targets.
Carbon Finance Program upscales efforts to close climate investment gap in climate vulnerable nations
22 Oct 2025
Media release | The Climate Vulnerable Forum and its V20 Finance Ministers (CVF-V20) will work with the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) to upscale the Carbon Finance Program in reach and impact, supporting more climate-vulnerable countries to host high-integrity carbon projects that yield tangible climate, nature, and sustainable development benefits.
Govt green lights rural recycling scheme
Thu 4 Dec 2025
The Government has approved new regulations to bring rural waste schemes under one unified framework.
NZ's ‘missed opportunity’ on aviation and shipping emissions
Fri 5 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s refusal to include international aviation and shipping in New Zealand’s 2050 climate target has been met with disappointment from climate experts, who say the decision undermines accountability for a transport-reliant nation, and misses a critical opportunity to strengthen New Zealand’s climate leadership.
Shipping movements disrupted as climate change protesters block coal ships
Tue 2 Dec 2025
NSW police have arrested 141 people who attempted to block the shipping channel in Newcastle Harbour during Rising Tide protests, which began on Thursday.
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.
NZ and US deepen Antarctic science partnership
Thu 4 Dec 2025
Media release: New Zealand Government | New joint research initiatives focused on climate and ecosystem change expand on the long-standing collaboration between New Zealand and the United States on Antarctic science and logistics, says Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti.
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.
Pollution from coal plants was dropping. Then came Trump and AI.
1 Dec 2025
Data centres’ hunger for electricity is prompting some states to keep their coal-burning power plants from closing – while DC relaxes air pollution limits.
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.
Spain announces $1.5 billion package to boost electric vehicle market
Fri 5 Dec 2025
Spain's plan includes 400 million euros in direct subsidies in 2026 for consumers to buy EVs.
Treasury to offer first stab at climate liabilities pre-election
Thu 4 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The Treasury will make a first attempt at accounting for Crown liabilities arising from New Zealand’s international climate change commitments in next year’s pre-election economic and fiscal update.
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.
Study provides a step-change in understanding NZ’s groundwater
28 Nov 2025
Media release | Earth Sciences New Zealand has developed a world-first National Groundwater Age Map and a powerful suite of tools to support the sustainable management of our hidden groundwater resources, from national through to local scales.
Amid the ashes
26 Nov 2025
This year the LA wildfire came for my hometown. What happened next is a warning for us all.
NZ’s energy system at a crossroads – report
21 Nov 2025
A new report says New Zealand’s rapid shift toward a 95% renewable electricity system is at a critical turning point, urging faster consenting, stronger firming solutions and better grid planning.
