Topics tagged with 'Politics'
Carney government noncommittal about Canada meeting 2030 climate goals
9 Sep 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney would not say Monday whether Canada will meet its climate goals under the Paris agreement by 2030, as his government faces criticism over his emission-reduction plans.
Ex-actor Zack Polanski's unusual path to become UK Green Party's new leader
9 Sep 2025
Zack Polanski has stormed to victory in the Green Party leadership election on a platform promising bold communication and "eco-populism".
Politicians now talk of climate ‘pragmatism’ to delay action – new study
8 Sep 2025
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has described her plan to “maximise extraction” of the UK’s oil and gas from the North Sea as a “common sense” energy policy.
Growth, energy and climate in focus at Trans-Tasman bilateral talks
5 Sep 2025
Trans-Tasman climate cooperation was one of the themes at the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum, with senior government officials and business leaders from both sides of the ditch meeting in Canberra this week.
New report calls for Cabinet overhaul
5 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A new report from The New Zealand Initiative argues that New Zealand’s “sprawling” Cabinet structure fragments climate responsibility and slows solutions, and proposes consolidating climate, environment and conservation portfolios.
Media round-up
5 Sep 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: The great methane debate; law change scuppers legal challenge to irrigation scheme consent; and what are the energy and climate implications of the $7.5 billion Amazon Web Services data centre deal?
Scores of climate experts condemn Trump climate report as ‘junk science'
5 Sep 2025
A 435-page review found the authors used standard climate denier tropes to produce a report riddled with errors.
How oil has brought Russia, China and India closer
4 Sep 2025
Monday's meeting between Russia's Vladimir Putin, China's Xi Jinping and India's Narendra Modi marked a rare display of solidarity - and an opportunity for Putin to engage directly with his country's top oil buyers.
India-Japan joint credit mechanism clears way for Paris goals amid North-South climate gridlocks
4 Sep 2025
It offers strong bilateral model to scale climate finance, localise low-carbon technologies.
'Atrocious' and 'bizarre': experts slam Act Party's climate policy
3 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Act Party is promising to challenge New Zealand’s Paris Agreement climate target, while the coalition Government’s other minor partner, NZ First, also says it wants to reevaluate the country’s commitment to the international treaty.
Significant environmental law reform risks NZ going from leader to laggard
3 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New legislation must strengthen environmental safeguards and policy-makers must approach reform with extreme caution, according to Environmental Defence Society reform director Dr Greg Severinsen in a new report.
The merchants of doubt are back
3 Sep 2025
OPINION: If you don’t follow climate policy closely, you might not know that the Trump administration is launching an effort to overturn one of the most fundamental pillars of American climate policy.
UK Conservatives pledge to get all oil and gas out of North Sea
2 Sep 2025
Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch has said her party will remove all net zero requirements on oil and gas companies drilling in the North Sea if elected.
Mine will impact conservation values: Forest & Bird
1 Sep 2025
New Zealand’s largest environmental organisation says new mines shouldn’t be allowed on conservation land and the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment is urging caution, as OceanaGold's Waihi North mine advances through the controversial fast-track approvals process.
Residents call for huge solar farm consent to be notified
1 Sep 2025
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter | North Canterbury residents have called on their regional council to allow feedback on a proposed solar farm in their community.
Govt resilience plan 'dangerous fantasy' - thinktank
29 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | An independent thinktank, whose members include former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer and multiple academics, is warning that the government’s long-term resilience strategy ignores physical and energy realities and exposes Kiwi households and businesses to systemic failure.
Media round-up
29 Aug 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Changes to road user charges will increase New Zealand's emissions; Climate Change Minister Simon Watts promises better access to hazard data for homeowners; and Kiwis borrow over $1 billion in ‘green loans’ for heat pumps and electric cars.
Scientists give harsh grades to Trump administration work aimed at undoing a key climate finding
29 Aug 2025
Two key documents from the Trump administration aimed at revoking the long-standing finding that climate change is dangerous were filled with errors, bias and distortions, according to dozens of scientists surveyed by The Associated Press.
Carbon market still weak despite govt confirming tighter auction supply
28 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government’s commitment to keeping Emissions Trading Scheme auction volumes tight to 2030 has done little to buoy carbon prices, with an underwhelming response from the market following last week’s announcement.
Ørsted shares at all-time low after Trump halts work on US windfarm
27 Aug 2025
Shares drop by 17% after stop-work order on $1.5bn project off Rhode Island, which was 80% complete.
No room for the timid: setting Australia’s 2035 emissions target is a daring tightrope act
26 Aug 2025
Any week now, Australia will set its 2035 emissions target. It must signal the nation’s strong ambition on climate action, to drive policy and investment. And it must avoid being seen as either unrealistic or too costly.
California is backsliding on climate progress. It’s (mostly) Gavin Newsom’s fault
26 Aug 2025
The California Supreme Court just gave state officials a golden opportunity to revitalize the rooftop solar industry, helping millions of homes and businesses lower their electric bills and fight the climate crisis.
Banking competition report steers clear of ‘woke’ farm lending
25 Aug 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | A report into banking competition has largely rejected arguments from some farming lobbyists that climate change considerations should play no part in bank lending decisions.
‘Problems looming’ for Govt's key climate tool
22 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | There are serious unresolved issues for the Emissions Trading Scheme which mean it could become unstable and ineffective at driving emissions reductions, according to the Climate Change Commission.
Media round-up
22 Aug 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: The climate advice the government didn't want you to see; New Zealand's groundbreaking climate law has become ‘a shell’; and could the Electricity Authority be about to inadvertently increase power prices?
Strong NZ representation in upcoming global climate report
21 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams and Liz Kivi | Eighteen New Zealanders are among more than 600 experts appointed by the IPCC for its next painstaking scientific deep dive into the drivers of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and how adaptation and mitigation can reduce those risks.
'Not giving up' – Right to repair bill in doubt
21 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A bill that would make it easier for New Zealanders to access spare parts and the information to repair a product themselves while also cutting carbon emissions is looking unlikely to make it into law.
'Sam the Trap Man' on why he's running for council
21 Aug 2025
By Zita Campbell, Local Democracy Reporter | From the bush to Gisborne’s council chambers is what “Sam the Trap Man” hopes to achieve this October.
Certainty crucial to emissions cuts – Watts
20 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says that policy certainty is the Government’s primary lever for unlocking private capital and meeting climate targets, telling a carbon forestry conference that ETS settings are 'locked' through 2030.
Govt opts for status quo for ETS auctions
19 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has chosen not to increase auction volumes in the Emissions Trading Scheme, a decision applauded by carbon market insiders and climate campaigners alike, despite it contradicting the Climate Change Commission’s advice.
NZ must strengthen energy system
19 Aug 2025
New Zealand must keep strengthening its energy system if it is to remain competitive on the world stage while moving towards net-zero emissions, according to a new benchmarking report from the BusinessNZ Energy Council.
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.”
Shane Jones on climate change – it’s real, but…
15 Aug 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand First deputy leader Shane Jones believes climate change is real, but is uninterested in what is causing it and primarily focused on adapting to it.
Forestry the source of all ETS risk, says top economist
15 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Forestry is the source of all of the risk in New Zealand's Emissions Trading Scheme and it's inevitable that the scheme has to be reformed, according to Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment chief economist Geoff Simmons.
Media round-up
15 Aug 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Australia could be about to leapfrog New Zealand on climate targets; 'strangled' rivers are fighting back; and 10 rangatahi will join Aotearoa New Zealand’s delegation at the United Nations' major climate conference in Brazil.
Trump’s climate report includes more than 100 false or misleading claims
15 Aug 2025
A “critical assessment” report commissioned by the Trump administration to justify a rollback of US climate regulations contains at least 100 false or misleading statements, according to a Carbon Brief factcheck involving dozens of leading climate scientists.
Global oil markets face record supply glut next year, IEA says
15 Aug 2025
Global oil markets are on track for a record surplus next year as demand growth slows and supplies swell, the International Energy Agency said.
Forestry sector could take legal action over ETS changes
14 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | The forestry sector is threatening legal action against the Government over changes to legislation intended to limit whole farm-to-forest conversions in the Emissions Trading Scheme.
US to retaliate against IMO members that back net zero emissions plan
14 Aug 2025
The U.S. rejected the "Net-Zero Framework" proposal by the International Maritime Organization, which is aimed at reducing global greenhouse gas emissions from the international shipping sector, and threatened measures against countries that support it.
Four laws that could stymie the Trump EPA’s plan to rescind the endangerment finding, central to US climate policies
14 Aug 2025
The Trump administration’s plan to unravel many of the nation’s climate policies hinges on rescinding what’s known as the endangerment finding. But its strategy for doing that appears to run afoul of several federal laws.
Carbon price underperforming: Environment secretary
13 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has been focussed on reducing the Emissions Trading Scheme ‘stockpile’ and carbon prices should rise soon, according to the Secretary for the Environment.
International scientists slam NZ govt's proposed approach to methane
13 Aug 2025
New Zealand's proposed approach to methane emissions has again been attacked by international climate scientists, with a new study saying the attempt to redefine climate target-setting by livestock-exporting countries undermines the transition to a sustainable and equitable food system
New resource management bill an 'unprecedented power grab' by ministers
13 Aug 2025
Media release – Environmental Defence Society | The changes proposed in the Amendment Paper represent an "egregious aggregation of power" by Minister Bishop, aimed at disempowering councils who protect the environment.
Govt moves to strip protections for water quality
13 Aug 2025
Media release | The Environmental Law Initiative says last-minute Government amendments would gut core protections for New Zealand’s rivers, lakes, and streams.
Govt's hazards briefing hypocritical – Greenpeace
11 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government’s new briefing document on building resilience to hazards – including climate change – is “deeply ironic” and “deplorable”, according to Greenpeace.
NZ signs up to UK initiative to boost renewable energy in the Pacific
8 Aug 2025
New Zealand has joined the United Kingdom's TIDES initiative, which aims to support renewable energy developments in the Pacific Islands.
Media round-up
8 Aug 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Former minister of forestry Stuart Nash condemns "lock and leave" carbon farming; Fonterra's convenient omission about its switch from coal; and KiwiRail’s bold electrification plans.
Labour vows to reinstate oil and gas ban
6 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Labour Party is promising to reinstate a ban on new oil and gas exploration permits, but won’t say if they will go even further and commit to revoking permits if elected.
Gentailers to stockpile coal under new deal
5 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | An agreement between New Zealand’s four major electricity generators to establish a 10-year fuel reserve is being labelled a 'climate change stockpile', and could undermine momentum for renewable energy investment.
Backlash over govt conservation changes
4 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government’s proposed changes to the Conservation Act are the most significant roll back in conservation protections in a generation, according to the Green Party.
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'.
