Topics tagged with 'Politics'
Government uncertainty over ETS must end, say Greens
9 Apr 2009
Business leaders and the public favour prompt Emissions Trading Scheme action to doing nothing by a margin of 2:1, according to a survey by the Business Council for Sustainable Development, says the Green Party.
NZ Steel seeks suspension of ETS
7 Apr 2009
The stakes are high for NZ Steel as it contemplates the impact that its presentation to the ETS review committee last week might have had.
NZ 'rearranges deckchairs' while ice shelf melts
7 Apr 2009
As the Wilkins ice Shelf draws closer to collapse in Antarctica, the New Zealand Government continues to contribute absolutely nothing towards progress on a climate deal in Bonn, says Greenpeace.
Dunne: With Labour, we'll reach ETS agreement
3 Apr 2009
The chairman of the emissions trading scheme review committee is predicting that Labour and National will reach agreement over a scheme which will have some degree of harmonisation with Australia.
Carbon emissions trading core of US clean energy bill
3 Apr 2009
Congressional Democrats this week released clean energy legislation that establishes a market-based cap-and-trade programme for reducing global warming pollution from electric utilities, oil companies, and factories that together are responsible for 85 per cent of US greenhouse gas emissions.
Europe’s carbon trading scheme is working … just
3 Apr 2009
Europe’s controversial trading system to cut carbon emissions is showing faint signs of working, according to analysis of preliminary figures released by the European Commission.
Ministerial review of electricity market
3 Apr 2009
The Energy and Resources Minister, Gerry Brownlee, says a Ministerial review of the electricity sector will start work immediately.
We’re glad to be back, US tells Bonn summit
31 Mar 2009
The United States won sustained applause at the opening of the Bonn summit when President Barack Obama's envoy pledged to "make up for lost time" in reaching a global agreement on climate change.
Obama invites big emitters to Washington forum
31 Mar 2009
The United States will host a meeting of major economies late next month to lay the diplomatic foundation for an international agreement on climate change and energy later in the year, the White House said.
G20 leaders plan special climate change talks
31 Mar 2009
Leaders attending the G20 meeting in London plan to gather again soon for a special summit on tackling climate change.
Energy leader backs cross-party action on ETS
27 Mar 2009
The prospect of cross-party support for an emissions trading scheme is being welcomed by energy infrastructure company Vector.
Obama might delay signing up to Copenhagen deal
27 Mar 2009
US President Barack Obama might be forced to delay signing up to a new international agreement on climate change in Copenhagen at the end of the year because of the scale of opposition in the Congress, the Guardian reported yesterday.
Experts seek ways to make tourism eco-friendly
27 Mar 2009
More than ever, global tourism must play its part in sustainable development and poverty alleviation, according to experts at an international symposium in Toronto.
Greenpeace increases call for emission cuts
27 Mar 2009
New Zealand must make deeper and faster cuts in its greenhouse gas emissions than previously thought, Greenpeace is warning ahead of the first of the year’s global climate talks which begin in Bonn over the weekend.
Energy leader calls for carbon tax solution
24 Mar 2009
New Zealand’s largest domestically owned and operated energy company is calling for the government to postpone the emissions trading scheme and reconsider a carbon tax.
Harmonising Tasman emissions schemes could mean massive losses
24 Mar 2009
Harmonising the Australian and New Zealand emissions trading schemes could cause massive losses for forestry firms here and bring fuels into the scheme six months early.
Obama invests $2b in plug-in hybrids
24 Mar 2009
To produce the next generation of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and the advanced battery components that will make these vehicles run, President Barack Obama has announced $2.4 billion in economic stimulus funding.
World Bank appeals for water investment
20 Mar 2009
The global economic crisis threatens to shrink investment in water infrastructure, an already underfunded sector vital to growth and public health, the World Bank says.
Farmers want agriculture, food out of ETS
17 Mar 2009
Federated Farmers wants agriculture and food production removed from the emissions trading scheme.
Opposition ups ETS pressure on Rudd government
17 Mar 2009
The Australian Government yesterday faced mounting pressure to make radical changes to its carbon trading plans to get the scheme passed by parliament.
Gore optimistic for climate deal in December
17 Mar 2009
Former US vice-president Al Gore is optimistic that a global deal to combat climate change would be agreed at a summit in December.
Threatened Maldives now aims to be carbon-neutral
17 Mar 2009
The Maldives islands in the Indian Ocean, under threat from rising sea levels, will shift entirely to renewable energy over the next decade.
Chauvel: Forget Australia and get on with our ETS
13 Mar 2009
Calls for alignment with Australia are really calls for New Zealand to delay the implementation of its emissions trading scheme, says Labour’s climate change spokesman Charles Chauvel.
Opposition terriers get teeth into Rudd’s ETS
13 Mar 2009
The Australian Government’s massive draft emissions trading legislation could be torn apart before it is put to the Parliamentary vote, throwing into doubt Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's 2010 timetable for the introduction of emissions trading.
What the Australian ETS proposes …
13 Mar 2009
After months of criticism and heated debated from all corners, the draft legislation for Australia’s Emissions Trading Scheme has been released.
US senators attack Obama’s cap-and-trade proposal
13 Mar 2009
The United States should not impose a cap-and-trade system to battle climate change this year because it amounts to a painful tax during a deep recession, senators argued this week.
Angry EU farmers oppose livestock-gas tax
13 Mar 2009
Proposals to tax the flatulence of cows and other livestock have been denounced by farming groups in the Irish Republic and Denmark.
Stern: Climate change deniers are 'flat-earthers'
13 Mar 2009
Climate change deniers are "ridiculous" and akin to "flat-earthers", according to Sir Nicholas Stern, who advised the British government about the economic threat posed by global warming.
Foresters: We've had enough of uncertainty
10 Mar 2009
The forestry industry says the Government should ignore calls to abandon the emissions trading scheme in favour of alternatives such as Business NZ’s proposed low-level all-gases tax or levy on every unit of emissions.
Good week for the Roundtable
10 Mar 2009
COMMENT: The Business Roundtable will be pleased with the influence it is achieving through Nick Smith’s office.
Low-carbon economy only way out, says Brown
10 Mar 2009
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called for a national effort to create a low-carbon economy, stressing that green a recovery is the very option for the economy to beat the current recession.
Carbon trade wrong, says former BP chief
10 Mar 2009
Lord Browne, the former chief executive of BP and one of the earliest proponents of carbon trading to tackle climate change, has conceded his enthusiasm was misplaced.
Key Business NZ manager now minister's ETS kingpin
3 Mar 2009
Business New Zealand's energy, environment and infrastructure manager has a new job advising the government on climate change and emissions trading.
Consumers get paid in US ‘cap and dividend’ scheme
3 Mar 2009
US Congressman Chris van Hollen says he plans to introduce legislation soon that would cap carbon emissions, require all emission allowances to be sold at auction and distribute at least 90 per cent of the auction revenues to consumers in the form of monthly dividend checks.
Obama raises hopes for Copenhagen climate pact
3 Mar 2009
Until recently, the idea that the world’s most powerful nations might come together to tackle global warming seemed an environmentalist’s pipedream.
New packaging accord on the horizon
3 Mar 2009
Business leaders, community groups and local government met with Nick Smith Minister for the Environment at a public meeting last week to discuss the development of a new packaging product stewardship scheme to succeed the current Packaging Accord, due to end in June.
Business group to push for interim green tax
27 Feb 2009
The prospect of delaying the emissions trading scheme and introducing a green tax as an interim measure is being raised by a major business group.
Confused foresters lament lack of Government direction
27 Feb 2009
New Zealand forest owners will soon be able to claim AAUs for carbon sequestered last year, but a lack of clarity over Government policy means the country unlikely to see a flurry of carbon-market activity.
Roundtable lines up Lomborg for second tour
27 Feb 2009
The New Zealand Business Roundtable appears to be planning a reprise tour of New Zealand by influential climate change academic Bjorn Lomborg.
Obama's commitment to ETS a signal to NZ
27 Feb 2009
A renewed strong commitment to introduce emissions trading by US President Barrack Obama sends New Zealand a signal to get on with implementing its own ETS scheme and securing the country’s trade and tourism, says the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development.
Invasive jatropha might have dodged NZ security net
24 Feb 2009
The potentially invasive biofuel crop Jatropha curcas may have slipped through New Zealand’s biosecurity defences.
Costs slow action on fixing Cook Strait cables
24 Feb 2009
Increased borrowing is being blamed for political reticence for what many believe is the nation’s top infrastructure priority – replacing the Cook Strait power cables.
Aussies in dark on emissions effort, survey shows
24 Feb 2009
Most Australians have no idea how Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's emissions trading scheme will work, and do not realise individual efforts will make no difference to stopping climate change.
Green ideology gets blame for tragic bushfires
20 Feb 2009
The Australian Unity Party is circulating in New Zealand an article by Sydney Morning Herald conservative columnist Miranda Devine headed "Green Ideas Must Take Blame for Deaths".
Rudd ditches inquiry and sticks with emissions plans
20 Feb 2009
Mounting criticism of Australia’s proposed carbon trading policy forced Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to end the confusion late yesterday by abandoning plans for a new inquiry and declaring the scheme would start as planned in mid-2010.
Biofuels might speed up global warming, says study
17 Feb 2009
The use of crop-based biofuels could speed up rather than slow down global warming by fueling the destruction of rainforests, scientists warn in a just-released report.
ETS review beginning of the end, says Turnbull
13 Feb 2009
The Rudd Government’s decision to order a review of its emissions trading scheme is the first step to abandoning the plan, Australian Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull says.
ASX to launch trading in thermal coal futures
13 Feb 2009
Australia's ASX , Asia-Pacific's second-largest listed stock exchange, plans to launch thermal coal futures contracts from April.
BP accused of watering down EU green agenda
3 Feb 2009
Oil industry lobbying at the heart of the European Union has undermined efforts to tackle climate change, environmental groups are claiming.
Ngawha power station officially opens
3 Feb 2009
Top Energy's Ngawha power station was opened on Saturday by Northland MP John Carter.
Media round-up
Fri 14 Nov 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Simon Watts acknowledges he may face ‘challenging’ conversations with Pacific nations at COP30, New Zealand's climbdown on its methane emissions target is "embarrassing", and corporates are the real winners of the gutting of the Zero Carbon Act this week.
South Korean growers sue state power utility, blaming climate change for crop damage
Mon 17 Nov 2025
Five South Korean farmers recently sued the state utility Korea Electric Power Corporation and its power-generating subsidiaries, alleging that their reliance on coal and other fossil fuels has accelerated climate change and damaged their crops.
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.
NZ’s shameful new role as ‘international climate pariah’
Thu 13 Nov 2025
OPINION: New Zealand has ratcheted up its climate backsliding in the past month – losing any shred of climate credibility we once had and showing the world we’re giving up on a net zero future, writes Kayla Kingdon-Bebb.
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.
Ministry won’t investigate pre-announcement price drop
Mon 17 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Ministry for the Environment won’t be investigating a drop in the price of NZUs on the secondary market just days before the government announced a policy change causing carbon prices to plummet.
Fossil fuel lobbyists outnumber all COP30 delegations except Brazil, report says
Mon 17 Nov 2025
One in every 25 participants at 2025 UN climate summit is a fossil fuel lobbyist, according to Kick Big Polluters Out.
ETS price spike fears drove NDC decoupling
Thu 13 Nov 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Fears about the economic and fiscal costs of failure to buy enough offshore carbon credits to meet New Zealand’s Nationally Determined Contribution drove last week’s key climate change policy decision.
Act-NZ First split over future of the energy sector
Fri 14 Nov 2025
Act leader David Seymour has set out an energy policy platform that diverges sharply from coalition partner NZ First, arguing New Zealand must accept coal-fired backup generation, consider nuclear power, remove political interference from the electricity sector and sell down the government’s majority stakes in the gentailers.
'Little to be hopeful about' – NZ scientists caution ahead of COP30
31 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Record heat, worsening climate impacts and global backsliding on emission reduction commitments have left some New Zealand climate experts with little optimism as COP30 approaches.
$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.
A fossil fuel fight brews at COP30 as delegates draft road map
Mon 17 Nov 2025
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva surprised many at the opening ceremony of the COP30 leaders summit in Belém last week when he called for world leaders to prepare a road map to “overcome dependence on fossil fuels.”
NZ backs international government push for high-integrity carbon markets
Thu 13 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand has joined a coalition of governments aiming to strengthen corporate demand for voluntary carbon credits.
Clean energy could become a huge political winner
Wed 12 Nov 2025
Rising power bills quietly shaped this year’s races – and gave Democrats a new attack line on climate.
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.
Rural Wairarapa communities on climate change frontline
Mon 17 Nov 2025
By Sue Teodoro, Local Democracy Reporter | Droughts, long hot days, more pests and invasive plants and increasingly severe weather are all risks faced by the Wairarapa rural community, leaders heard this week.
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.
Foresters warn ETS reforms could fell innovation
Mon 17 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Elizabeth Heeg, chief executive officer for the Forest Owners Association, says forestry must not be stripped from the Emissions Trading Scheme, arguing that carbon income underpins forest management and rural resilience.
Govt gas expansion 'climate vandalism' – Greens
7 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Green Party has labelled the Government’s move to broaden the scope of its $200 million fossil gas investment fund as vandalism, accusing Prime Minister Christopher Luxon of breaking trust with New Zealanders.
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.”
Oxfam urges NZ to renew climate funding as Pacific projects face closure
Wed 12 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Oxfam Aotearoa is calling on the Government to urgently renew New Zealand’s climate finance commitments, warning that vital projects supporting Pacific communities’ resilience are running out of funding.
Building resilient cities in a time of climate change
Thu 13 Nov 2025
Media release: Otago University | Local and international experts are meeting in Wellington this month to share their knowledge on creating healthier, more resilient cities in the face of the challenges posed by climate change.
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.
Lake Onslow battery project set for revival?
29 Oct 2025
A newly formed private consortium has emerged with plans to finance and build the massive Lake Onslow pumped-hydro project, despite the coalition government’s decision to abandon the scheme.
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.
Media round-up
31 Oct 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: A controversial seabed mining project could lead to sediment flows knocking over rigs and damaging wind turbines; weather-related insurance claims climb; and is the government playing Russian Roulette with our future over methane targets?
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.
Z Energy settles greenwashing case over ‘quitting petrol’ claims
4 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Z Energy has settled a landmark greenwashing case over claims it misled the public about moving away from petrol – a result Lawyers for Climate Action NZ says delivers long-overdue accountability.
Nelson commuters urged to ditch car once a week
22 Oct 2025
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | Nelson has a bold carbon emission reduction target and residents are being encouraged to leave the car at home one day a week to help meet it.
Supermarket fast-track a ‘cynical ploy’, risks climate and environmental protections
5 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s “express lane for supermarkets” announcement has been met with fierce backlash, with critics calling the Fast-track Approvals Amendment Bill a Trojan horse that strips environmental protections, sidelines communities, and hands sweeping powers to ministers at the expense of democracy.
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.
A crucial system of ocean currents may be on course to collapse. This country just declared it a national security threat
Mon 17 Nov 2025
As evidence mounts these currents could be on course for collapse, Iceland’s government has made the unusual move of designating the risk a national security threat.
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.
Lobby group launches ‘blueprint’ for ocean management reform
18 Sep 2025
The Environmental Defence Society yesterday released its plan to tackle widespread ecological decline in our oceans.
Coastal roads in the climate spotlight
Fri 14 Nov 2025
By Sue Teodoro, Local Democracy Reporter | Vulnerable coastal roads across New Zealand, including in Masterton district, are coming under the spotlight as the Government works on a plan to address the cost of climate-related damage.
Protesters and UN security clash at climate summit in Brazil
Thu 13 Nov 2025
Activist groups and United Nations security clashed in chaotic scenes late Tuesday after protesters appeared to force their way into the COP30 climate conference venue, in the most serious act of unrest seen in years inside one of the annual gatherings.
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.
Scotland's first wind farm 'supercharged' after upgrade
11 Nov 2025
Scotland's first commercial wind farm will be able to deliver five times more clean power than before after being upgraded.
New national dataset to unlock blue carbon potential in NZ’s coastal wetlands
Wed 12 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Ministry for the Environment and the Nature Conservancy have collaborated on a dataset to inform a framework to potentially include coastal wetlands into compliance and voluntary carbon credit schemes.
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.
AgriZero backs first nitrous oxide solution with $1.2m investment
6 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A Kiwi ag-tech start-up developing a device for cows to wear to drastically cut nitrous oxide emissions has secured $1.2 million in government-industry funding.
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.
EV and hybrid sales soar in Australia as internal combustion cars fall below 70% market share for first time
Thu 13 Nov 2025
Data from peak motoring body shows battery-electric vehicles accounted for 9.7% of new cars sold in September quarter, the highest proportion on record.
EU’s new climate target lines up multibillion dollar boost for carbon markets
10 Nov 2025
Analysts estimate the EU will buy at least 50 billion euros worth of carbon credits in the 2030s to help meet its emissions-cutting goals.
Kaicycle celebrates ten years of collective climate action in Pōneke
Fri 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.
Climate impacts hit NZ with increasing wild weather
23 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand is facing a triple whammy of climate impacts today, with severe winds and rainfall predicted for much of the country while some areas are still dealing with wildfires ignited earlier in the week.
Adaptation plan at odds with public sentiment: survey
21 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s position on climate adaptation buyouts shows a disconnect with public opinion, according to survey findings from insurer Suncorp NZ.
We have more renewable energy than ever before. Why are we switching it off?
11 Nov 2025
Experts say until more storage is installed to soak up the waves of renewable energy flooding the grid, much of that power will occasionally have to be curtailed.
