Topics tagged with 'Politics'
Obama looks at carbon trading shortcut
19 Mar 2010
The Obama administration is considering a carbon-trading system under existing law if the US Congress doesn't pass cap-and-trade legislation that allows companies to buy and sell the right to pollute, a US Environmental Protection Agency official said.
Arrogance undid Copenhagen summit, says Stern
19 Mar 2010
The "disappointing" outcome of December's climate summit was largely down to "arrogance" on the part of rich countries, according to Lord Stern.
IPCC review scientists won't revisit landmark report
12 Mar 2010
An outside review of the work of the United Nations’ climate change panel will not re-check the body’s controversial latest report but will instead focus on improving procedures for the future.
China and India sign, but keep climate stand
12 Mar 2010
China said it will not deviate from its stand on climate change even after it gave qualified approval to the Copenhagen climate accord this week.
Government (slowly) gets green-tech message
5 Mar 2010
The idea of a public/private taskforce to develop a New Zealand clean-tech strategy seems set to go before Cabinet.
Clean-tech: One day we won't give it a thought
5 Mar 2010
Clean technology will become so commonplace that we will no longer talk about it, says the head of an economic thinktank.
Big Oil asks Senate for carbon fee on industry
5 Mar 2010
Key United States senators are weighing a request from Big Oil to levy a carbon fee on the industry rather than wrap it into a sweeping cap-and-trade system that covers most of the nation’s economy.
Britain plans soft loans for home efficiency
5 Mar 2010
British households will be able to take out soft loans to improve the efficiency of their homes, under a new proposed law to fight climate change and cut fuel poverty.
Houses with low energy efficiency will lose value
5 Mar 2010
British homes with low energy efficiency will lose value under government plans to intervene in the property market to help to cut greenhouse gas emissions from homes by a third by 2020.
Uncertainty dries up Aussie carbon market
5 Mar 2010
The carbon market in Australia has come to a complete halt since the Labor Government announced last May that it would delay the introduction of emissions trading.
Others dither, but NZ certain about ETS
26 Feb 2010
The Government says it is committed to pressing ahead with the emissions trading scheme, despite uncertainty over whether two of our major trading partners will adopt cap-and-trade schemes.
US no wiser as Obama chats up business leaders
26 Feb 2010
US climate experts and the energy industry were no wiser about how Barack Obama will manage the country’s greenhouse gas emissions after the president spoke to top CEOs yesterday.
Aussie trading scheme bogs down again
26 Feb 2010
The Australian government's emissions trading scheme is again bogged down in parliament and now might not go to a vote in the Senate until May.
Obama backs new nuclear plant with $8 billion
19 Feb 2010
President Barack Obama has announced $8 billion in government-loan guarantees for a new nuclear-power plant in Georgia, the first to be built in the US for almost 30 years.
Big companies quit US climate change coalition
19 Feb 2010
Three influential companies have resigned from the US Climate Action Partnership, a coalition of business and environmental groups spearheading the movement in Washington.
Australia under fire for $60b China coal deal
19 Feb 2010
Environmental activists are attacking a $60 billion deal that will keep Chinese power stations supplied with Australian coal for at least the next two decades.
UN climate chief stepping down to go private
19 Feb 2010
United Nations climate change chief Yvo de Boer said today that he has made the “difficult decision” to step down from his position.
Korea floats carbon tax plan ... among others
19 Feb 2010
The Korean government is studying ways to introduce a carbon tax and other strong measures to reduce carbon emissions.
US looks at other ways to limit gas emissions
12 Feb 2010
With climate change legislation all but dead for the year, the United States is looking at scaled down ways to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
Rudd’s ETS heads for the Senate … again
12 Feb 2010
The Australian Government’s embattled emissions trading scheme is on its way back to the Senate for a third time.
Pachauri toughs it out as pressure grows
12 Feb 2010
A couple of years ago, Rajendra Pachauri seemed destined for a scientist’s version of sainthood.
New Zealand scientist helps develop new climate scenarios
12 Feb 2010
A proposal for the next generation of climate scenarios for projecting future change features in this week's Nature magazine.
Obama retreats from goal of cap-and-trade bill
5 Feb 2010
President Barack Obama said this week for the first time legislation that would require industries to pay for emissions of greenhouse gases might need to be separated from a more popular "green jobs" bill in the Senate.
Rudd and Abbott trade blows over climate schemes
5 Feb 2010
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has seized on an admission by a top economist commissioned to cost Opposition leader Tony Abbott's rival climate change plan that the country needs an emissions trading scheme.
US cleantech stocks fall despite major market growth
5 Feb 2010
By Nick Hodge. - The disparity between cleantech news and stock performance couldn't be greater.
Aussie hotel wins carboNZero certification
5 Feb 2010
Australia's first conservation-based luxury resort, Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa, is the first hotel in the world to achieve carbon neutral certification from an internationally accredited greenhouse gas certification scheme.
American opinion cools on global warming
29 Jan 2010
Public concern in the United States about global warming has dropped sharply since the autumn of 2008, according to a national survey released yesterday by researchers at Yale and George Mason universities.
Will this senator kill renewables?
29 Jan 2010
By Jeff Siegel.- Sometimes, talking politics can incite a hostile response.
Harsh winter actually a sign of climate change, says report
29 Jan 2010
North America’s extreme winter weather is in fact a sign of how climate change disrupts long-standing patterns, says a new report by the National Wildlife Federation.
Aussie Greens want $20b carbon tax to break ETS impasse
22 Jan 2010
The Australian Government has been asked by the Greens to back a $20 billion interim carbon tax proposal to start cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Obama climate plans under fire from all sides
22 Jan 2010
The chances of the US passing climate change legislation this year appear highly unlikely now the Democrats have lost their filibuster-proof Senate majority and a rejuvenated Republican party has stepped up efforts to block carbon legislation.
Cool heads prevail over Copenhagen, says De Boer
22 Jan 2010
UN climate chief Yvo de Boer has admitted that last month’s conference in Copenhagen was not a success, but said that “cool heads” are seeing it as a way to reach an international agreement on climate change.
An alternative lesson from Copenhagen
22 Jan 2010
Otago water resources consultant Dugald McTavish presents his five-point plan for the future.
Countries suspicious of verification checks
18 Dec 2009
The verification of carbon reduction is emerging as a sticking point between the United States and China.
If diplomacy fails, there is always the fantastic Plan B
18 Dec 2009
Just five years ago, anyone who talked of easing Earth's climate crisis by fertilising the seas with iron, scattering particles in the stratosphere to reflect sunlight or building a sunshade in space courted ridicule.
Forest owners gear up to sell Kyoto credits
11 Dec 2009
Forest owners are making moves to start selling this year’s Kyoto credits as market interest picks up.
Forget US dollars, Stern tells China
11 Dec 2009
Top United States climate official Todd Stern dropped a bombshell in Copenhagen yesterday when he ruled out American financial help for China to meet any climate change commitments.
Republicans plan conference counter-attack
11 Dec 2009
A Republican counter-delegation is forming to undermine the Obama administration's work on an international climate change agreement in Copenhagen.
The editorial that gave world the message …
11 Dec 2009
An editorial calling for action from world leaders on climate change was published by 56 newspapers around the world in 20 languages on the day the Copenhagen conference opened.
We can do a deal by June, says UN climate chief
4 Dec 2009
A new climate treaty can be ready by June next year, says the UN's chief climate negotiator, Yvo de Boer.
Australian scientist quits over ETS 'censorship'
4 Dec 2009
A senior Australian environmental economist has resigned after saying his criticism of the emissions trading scheme was censored.
The truth about climate change making you rich
4 Dec 2009
By Jeff Siegel - Last week, Ed Begley Jr was invited to discuss global warming on Fox News with Stuart Varney.
Be warned: ETS is here and businesses must comply
27 Nov 2009
Chief financial officers and boards must come to terms with the emissions trading scheme now or risk exposing their businesses to significant risk, a senior adviser is warning.
It's game on as ETS interest starts to flow
27 Nov 2009
New Zealand businesses are waking up to the reality of the emissions trading scheme.
Senate shambles as Aussie ETS vote due today
27 Nov 2009
The Australian government is confident the Senate will vote late today on its emissions trading scheme following a day of political turmoil yesterday.
Ban says Obama vital to Copenhagen success
27 Nov 2009
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday welcomed the announcement that US President Barack Obama will attend the Copenhagen climate conference next month.
US and India pledge common action on climate change
27 Nov 2009
The United States and India have pledged common action to fight climate change and to build a new global clean energy economy.
California takes step to limit emissions
27 Nov 2009
California has taken a major step toward creating a broad-based trading system to limit emissions of pollutants blamed for harmful climate change.
Cleantech bigger money-maker than the internet
27 Nov 2009
By Nick Hodge - The billionaire venture capitalist John Doerr says cleantech is the largest economic opportunity of the 21st century.
ETS: Society wants forestry answers
27 Nov 2009
The Environmental Defence Society has called on the government to clarify exactly what forestry will be permitted on Department of Conservation land as a result of the agreement with the Maori Party on the emissions trading scheme.
Media round-up
Thu 9 Jul 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: The Government re-wrote fast-track law after mining companies pushed for change; costs from inland flooding are expected to rise by up to 53% by 2075; and is there such a thing as a sustainable tourist?
Hurunui to notify climate solution plan change
Thu 9 Jul 2026
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter | A North Canterbury council is looking to progress "a uniquely Hurunui solution’’ to sea level rise.
$30m airline fund risks ‘burning public money’ without lasting benefit – expert
20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A $30 million government package to support regional air routes risks delivering poor value for money while increasing emissions, according to transport strategist Tim Adriaansen.
‘They want to destroy Corsia’: Brussels takes aim again at airline emissions
2 Jul 2026
The European Commission is planning to shoot down the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) largely voluntary decarbonisation scheme, CORSIA, when it presents plans to overhaul the EU’s carbon pricing system, sources suggest.
Biodiversity credit markets need stronger safeguards – report
Wed 8 Jul 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Emerging biodiversity credit markets need stronger government safeguards and public investment if they are to deliver lasting conservation benefits, according to a new report.
Inaction on shipping decarbonisation could cost NZ up to $94b by 2050, report says
30 Jun 2026
By Oli Lewis | Failing to support and enable the decarbonisation of the shipping industry could result in losses of $17.5 billion to $94.4b to the New Zealand economy by 2050, according to a report from the Aotearoa Circle.
Emissions Trading Scheme ‘stockpile’ shrinking
Thu 9 Jul 2026
By Liz Kivi | The “stockpile” of NZUs in private accounts continues to shrink, with the latest Environmental Protection Authority figures showing the number has dropped by 9.5 million since this time last year.
Low-cost loans for solar panels could save households hundreds on bills – thinktanks
Thu 9 Jul 2026
Millions of UK households could save hundreds of pounds a year on their energy bills if the government were to approve low-cost loans for solar panel installation, research has found.
Carbon markets and biochar: a golden opportunity for NZ?
1 Jul 2026
By John O’Brien | COMMENT: New Zealand’s abundant and increasing forestry waste could become a multi-billion dollar opportunity for biochar carbon sequestration – as long as the right policies, programmes, and incentives are in place.
China's coal power on the rise again in 2026, reversing first-in-a-decade decline
25 Jun 2026
China's coal-fired power generation is set to rebound this year from its first fall in a decade, analysts said, due to the impact of El Nino and the Iran war and as renewable sources of energy have failed to keep pace with demand.
Politicians need to lead on climate: Carr
30 Jun 2026
As the election campaign heats up, former Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr has a list of actions he's hoping to see from our aspiring leaders, which includes confronting climate denial as well as refusing funds or policy advice from vested interests.
Green building council calls for clean energy policies
18 May 2026
The New Zealand Green Building Council has released its 2026 election manifesto calling for policies to reduce energy waste in buildings, lower household and business energy costs, and improve New Zealand’s energy security.
What Magyar’s defeat of Orbán in Hungary means for climate and energy
21 Apr 2026
Hungary has played a disproportionate role in EU climate and energy policy in recent years, by repeatedly vetoing climate action and by delaying the phaseout of Russian fossil-fuel imports.
'Get on with it': Greens push for pre-election solar law
Thu 9 Jul 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Green Party is calling on Parliament to pass legislation enabling low-cost household solar finance before the election, arguing there is now cross-party support following Labour's SolarSaver announcement and National's earlier Home Energy Fund pledge.
Environmental groups call for ETS reform
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.
Europe may face 'more deadly weeks' as new heatwave builds, WHO warns
Thu 9 Jul 2026
The World Health Organization warned Europe could face “more deadly weeks” ahead, with another intense heatwave forming over the Atlantic.
Tarakihi on verge of extinction: Stock collapse exposes major fisheries management failings
3 Jul 2026
Media release: Environmental Defence Society | Fisheries NZ is consulting on new sustainability measures for the country’s two tarakihi stocks.
Seymour ‘imploring’ council to go easy on foresters is abuse of authority: EDS
Tue 7 Jul 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Environmental Defence Society says that Regulation Minister David Seymour’s attempt to influence Gisborne District Council to ‘go easy’ on forestry companies in enforcing environmental laws is a clear abuse of ministerial authority.
Fifth new petroleum application targets Taranaki
Wed 8 Jul 2026
Media release: New Zealand Government | An application targeting frontier deepwater in the Taranaki Basin marks the fifth permit application to prospect or explore for petroleum since the removal of the exploration ban, Resources Minister Shane Jones says.
'Electric election': Labour promises $160m SolarSaver scheme funded by gas investment cuts
Wed 8 Jul 2026
By Oli Lewis | Labour is promising to reprioritise $160 million from the Gas Security Fund to pay for its new SolarSaver policy, designed to accelerate the roll-out of household solar.
Contact: Protected geothermal fields must be opened to meet 2040 goal
Mon 6 Jul 2026
By Oli Lewis | A goal to double geothermal energy generation by 2040 using existing technologies is unachievable unless some protected fields are reclassified for development, Contact Energy says.
How will the World Bank’s abandoned finance goal affect climate action?
Tue 7 Jul 2026
The World Bank has abandoned a target for 45% of the funding it gives developing countries to be “climate finance”, following months of pressure from the Trump administration in the US.
Conservation bill risks climate goals, lawyers say
1 Jul 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action NZ says the Government's plan to change the law to encourage economic development on conservation land could undermine New Zealand's climate goals by weakening the land's ability to store carbon, as well as allowing new sources of emissions such as mining.
Govt climate claims don't match reality, lawyers say
17 Jun 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action has accused the Government of presenting an overly positive picture of New Zealand's climate progress at the United Nations climate summit in Bonn, arguing key claims on emissions reductions and support for the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C goal are not reflected in domestic policy.
Lake Onslow pumped hydro consortium secures funding for consent push
26 Jun 2026
By Oli Lewis | The consortium behind Lake Onslow pumped hydro has secured funding to finalise its resource consent application, aiming to lodge it under the fast-track process before 2027.
Ballance secures gas for 2026 as it progresses energy transition plan
16 Jun 2026
By Oli Lewis | One of the largest industrial gas users in New Zealand is working on an energy transition plan to futureproof domestic fertiliser manufacturing, while continuing to secure ongoing gas supply contracts.
Confidence in tackling climate risks remains low
3 Jul 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealanders have little faith in the country's ability to tackle climate risks, with a new poll finding fewer than one in three are confident the country can reduce the impacts of climate change, while many are calling for stronger Government leadership on climate hazards.
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.
Ugandan farmers launch UK court case against East African oil pipeline
Thu 9 Jul 2026
Four Ugandan farmers filed a case with London’s High Court aiming to stop the East African Crude Oil Pipeline from starting to operate by asking the court to apply Uganda’s laws against the project’s UK-registered company.
Commissioner ‘unconvinced’ LNG is the best dry-year solution
26 Jun 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has told the Energy Minister he is “unconvinced” the government’s proposed LNG import terminal is the best ‘dry year’ solution for the country, and criticised the Government’s “extremely limited” options analysis.
Govt backs hydrogen with national industry summit
Thu 9 Jul 2026
By Oli Lewis | The Government is convening a major hydrogen conference to promote awareness and uptake of the alternative fuel.
Climate risks could reshape business finances, new guidance warns
15 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New guidance warns climate change is set to fundamentally reshape financial outcomes for businesses, including difficult-to-model climate “tipping points” – irreversible changes such as ice sheet collapse or ocean circulation shifts – which threaten severe and sudden financial impacts.
UN chief says fossil fuel industry must cut methane for warming “relief”
25 Jun 2026
UN chief António Guterres called for stronger action to cut emissions of planet-heating methane, taking aim at the fossil fuel industry’s practices and profits, and pointing to coal, oil and gas as the root of today’s climate and energy crises.
Swarbrick slams $50m critical minerals funding as 'Trump's war machine' subsidy
Tue 7 Jul 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Green Party has criticised the Government's investment into two West Coast critical minerals projects, claiming the funding could ultimately support the United States defence industry rather than New Zealand's clean energy transition, while Shane Jones dismissed opponents as "flat earth idiots".
'Extreme' marine heatwave expected for parts of UK
Thu 9 Jul 2026
A marine heatwave could reach "extreme" levels around parts of the UK later this week, according to the Met Office, raising concerns for marine life.
Carbon capture and the need for ‘net zero oil’
16 Jun 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The answer to making carbon capture and storage work is to make fossil fuel producers responsible for making it happen rather than consumers, says Oxford University climate change policy expert, Professor Myles Allen.
A real ‘intergenerational equity’ budget would address Australia’s unceasing environmental decline
15 May 2026
Labor has unveiled a budget designed to tackle intergenerational equity in Australia through bold tax reform.
UN plastics pact talks restart amid fears production curbs will be left out
2 Jul 2026
Diplomats reconvene a year after negotiations collapsed, but campaigners fear the agenda risks burying tricky discussions on key elements.
Northern Thai residents march for action on polluted rivers. ‘This is an emergency’
9 Jun 2026
More than 600 residents of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces embarked May 31 on a roughly 68-kilometer, six-day ‘peace walk’ to demand the Thai government take action on the river pollution crisis that has seen Thai rivers polluted with heavy metals.
US defence spending on critical minerals surges in the last decade
22 Jun 2026
Members of communities affected by some of these projects said that U.S. state backing has meant projects are being fast-tracked without the necessary social and environmental checks or meaningful consultation.
Fast-track panel backs proposed Haldon Solar Farm
Mon 6 Jul 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The proposed Haldon Solar Farm in the Mackenzie Basin has moved to the final stages of the Fast-track Approvals Act process after the Fast-track Panel proposed granting approval for the project.
Faster consenting, harder trade-offs
Tue 7 Jul 2026
Faster consenting is starting to produce results, but this week's decisions show speed has not removed the harder trade-offs around electricity security, conservation, ecology and climate liability.
Upton warns of 'expensive mess' if catchments carved up
1 Jul 2026
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has warned the Government risks creating an "expensive mess" if it abolishes regional councils without first deciding which environmental functions must still be managed at catchment or regional scale.
Experts sound alarm over escalating climate impacts
Wed 8 Jul 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Scientists are warning climate impacts are accelerating across our region after a World Meteorological Organization report found last year was the South-West Pacific's second-warmest on record, with impacts including rising seas, marine heatwaves and extreme weather.
Carbon trading schemes cut more emissions than carbon taxes, according to global study
20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Carbon trading schemes are more effective than carbon taxes at reducing emissions, cutting fossil fuel use, and accelerating the shift to renewable energy, a global study has found.
Lack of finance stalling sustainable innovation – report
12 Jun 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A lack of access to suitable finance is threatening growth in New Zealand's sustainable innovation sector, despite strong confidence and ambitious expansion plans among purpose-driven businesses, according to a new report.
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.
Weakening Clean Car Standard would hurt EV uptake, industry warns
Tue 7 Jul 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Electric vehicle advocates say weakening the Clean Car Standard would reduce access to new EV models, undermining New Zealand's place in global supply chains and slowing the country's transition to lower-emissions transport.
‘Those blocking climate science are not our friends': Pacific leaders warn at Bonn talks
23 Jun 2026
Pacific nations and civil society groups have united at UN climate talks, pushing back against efforts to weaken agreed language on global temperature limits as negotiations continue behind closed doors.
Next Govt must restart action on plastic pollution
1 Jul 2026
Media release - Zero Waste Aotearoa | Plastic Free July begins with an urgent call to put plastic pollution back on the political agenda. Plastic Free July is a worldwide campaign to reduce plastic waste and eliminate single use plastics.
Greens announce water policy, including nitrogen fertiliser phase-out
Tue 7 Jul 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Green Party announced its water policy yesterday, promising to phase out synthetic nitrogen fertiliser, as well as destructive fishing methods, if the party is elected in November.
Tourist spots across Europe hit by wildfires as Greece warns of toxic smoke
Wed 8 Jul 2026
Wildfires are raging across holiday spots across Europe, with hundreds of firefighters battling blazes in Portugal, Greece, and Spain. International reinforcements have been sent to Portugal, where a massive fire has been burning for over three days.
Taranaki offshore wind developer eyes mid-2030s commissioning after law change
3 Jul 2026
By Oli Lewis | The first offshore wind farm in New Zealand could be commissioned by the mid-2030s, with its developer saying a new permitting framework has bolstered investor confidence.
