Topics tagged with 'Politics'
Obama’s new green guru under fire for climate U-turn
26 May 2009
US Energy Secretary Steven Chu will fly to Europe this week to begin talks that will be crucial in the global battle against climate change.
Business could push governments over the line on climate change
26 May 2009
Global business leaders meeting in Copenhagen could make a significant contribution toward a fair and safe deal to tackle climate change, says Oxfam.
New book, new challenge to climate change
22 May 2009
A book to be launched in Wellington at the end of the month is expected to challenge conventional wisdom about the applied politics of climate change.
UPDATE: US cap and trade bill clears House committee
22 May 2009
Historic environmental law including a cap and trade scheme has advanced in the US.
House panel set to clear US climate change bill
22 May 2009
The nearly week-long US House of Representatives debate on historic legislation to cap and reduce greenhouse gas emissions has moved into the final stages, with the panel expected to pass the measure today.
Banks who kept the faith look for carbon payday
22 May 2009
For the handful of investments banks that resiliently kept their carbon-trading desks during the financial crisis, a potential payday may come a step closer this week as the US debates its emissions future.
European investors call for carbon trading revamp
22 May 2009
As fresh details emerge confirming that US legislators plan to water down proposed cap-and-trade legislation, a group of European investors have called on world leaders to move in the opposite direction and undertake urgent reforms designed to tighten up emerging carbon markets.
US lawmakers formally unveil climate change bill
19 May 2009
Democrats in the US House of Representatives have formally unveiled sweeping legislation to fight climate change and said the 932-page bill enjoyed broad national support.
Big business lobbyists queue up on Capitol Hill
19 May 2009
President Barack Obama’s push for a climate-change law this year has set off a lobbying boom on Capitol Hill, where companies are registering to weigh in at a rate of about one every business day.
UN chief urges action on risk of natural disasters
19 May 2009
United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has called for decisive action to reduce the growing impact of climate change as he launched a global assessment of ways to minimise the risks from natural disasters.
GREENS 1: New Deal creates 42,000 jobs
15 May 2009
At least 42,000 jobs could be created under a Green New Deal proposal just released by the Greens.
ETS reviewers eye June date for report
15 May 2009
The emissions trading scheme review committee could report back to Parliament by the end of next month.
US climate bill targets 15% renewables by 2020
15 May 2009
House of Representatives Democrats crafting legislation to fight climate change will seek to get 15 per cent of United States energy from renewable sources by 2020.
Coal’s idea for tiny tax and trees given solid debunking
12 May 2009
Business leaders have debunked Solid Energy’s proposal for a small new carbon tax.
Australian carbon market does a disappearing act
12 May 2009
The delay in the Australian Government's proposed emissions trading scheme had an immediate, but virtually unreported, effect on financial markets, says the Australian.
Ethanol test for Obama backing science over politics
12 May 2009
President Barack Obama's commitment to take on climate change and put science over politics is about to be tested as his administration faces a politically sensitive question about the widespread use of ethanol: Does it help or hurt the fight against global warming?
US climate bill unlikely to pass this year, say experts
12 May 2009
United States climate change legislation is unlikely to pass this year due to concerns about the recession and contention over the implementation of the programme, according to energy and carbon market experts.
Chauvel: We'll help National fix the mess
12 May 2009
National needs to fix the mess that it has made of climate change policy and Labour is willing to help, Labour Climate Change spokesperson Charles Chauvel says.
Aussie officials to visit amid calls to end NZ policy 'chaos'
8 May 2009
Australian officials will brief New Zealand MPs about their new emissions trading plans next week.
UN must send strong signal, says climate minister
8 May 2009
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon must ensure that a high-level summit slated for September sends a “very clear and strong signal” to negotiators aiming to reach a new climate change deal in Copenhagen this December, a top Danish official said yesterday.
Carbon rules make it hard, says airline industry
8 May 2009
Carbon trading and increased regulation could hinder efforts to reduce aircraft greenhouse gas emissions through innovation and increased use of biofuels, airline industry leaders said this week.
Farming groups split on need for ETS
5 May 2009
Federated Farmers continued its call for the emissions trading scheme to be scrapped when it appeared before the emission trading scheme review committee yesterday - but not everyone in the agriculture sector agrees.
Solid Energy on trail of carbon accounting
5 May 2009
State-owned coal miner Solid Energy says it is well on the way to tracking carbon in its operations, but can’t say yet how the emissions trading scheme will affect the price of coal next year.
US climate deniers push views of Kiwi academic
5 May 2009
Auckland University climate figure Chris de Freitas put New Zealand into the top slot over the weekend in what is emerging as the United States’ leading denier forum.
Rudd delays emissions trading till 2011
5 May 2009
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd yesterday announced that his government would delay by one year the introduction of its emissions trading scheme.
ETS should be suspended, says coalition
5 May 2009
Greenhouse Policy Coalition executive director Catherine Beard, representing the energy-intensive sector on climate change issues, is calling on the select committee reviewing the emissions trading scheme to suspend the introduction of the industrial sector into the scheme until such time as the "flawed legislation has been properly reviewed and fixed".
NZ can lead world in renewable energy, says expert
5 May 2009
An internationally renowned energy expert believes New Zealand could generate all its electricity from renewable sources within 20 years.
ETS certainty vital, says wind energy chief
1 May 2009
Certainty over the emissions trading scheme is vital to encouraging investment in new wind-energy projects, says the Wind Energy Associaton.
Australian powerco in landmark carbon deal
1 May 2009
The owner of a coal power station yesterday began to deal with the major costs it will face under an emissions trading scheme by signing the first firm carbon trading deal between two Australian parties.
Traders call for land-use offsets in climate deal
1 May 2009
Reducing emissions from land use should play a key role in the post-Kyoto climate agreement, the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) says.
Forest focus wrong, institute tells ETS hearing
28 Apr 2009
New Zealand should focus on the role that forests play in mitigation of climate change - and not just on forestry emissions, says the Institute of Forestry.
ETS will close mills, warn wood processors
28 Apr 2009
The emissions trading scheme will force mill closures and have a catastrophic impact on rural communities, says the Wood Processors' Association.
Miliband calls for populist push in climate battle
28 Apr 2009
British Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband says he is "fearful" that the world may miss the opportunity to halt global warming and is calling for a Make Poverty History-style popular movement to push for a breakthrough at this year's Copenhagen summit.
Deforestation must stop, says power company
24 Apr 2009
One of New Zealand's largest power companies is urging the Government not to do anything to encourage further deforestation.
Obama launches push for green revolution
24 Apr 2009
United States President Barack Obama has launched his push for a green energy revolution and to pass historic climate change legislation, making his pitch from a wind energy factory on Earth Day.
US Catholics organise against climate change
24 Apr 2009
American Catholics should “live our faith confronting the impact of climate change,” especially its impact on the world’s poor, US Bishop William S. Skylstad said this week.
Climate deal fraught with problems, says EU envoy
21 Apr 2009
An address by David Daly, the new head of the European Union delegation to Australia, to the recent Greenhouse 2009 conference in Western Australia is being carefully scrutinised by his counterparts throughout Oceania - especially in New Zealand.
Task force forms to create new green economy
21 Apr 2009
United Nations officials will begin work with a task force charged with developing a set of practical projects and policy proposals to stimulate a new low-carbon global economy.
Australia off target, say rebel scientists
17 Apr 2009
Australia is clearing native vegetation at a rate that amounts to a $2.4 billion annual loss of stored carbon, a Senate climate change inquiry has heard.
UN chief urges world to look on the bright side
17 Apr 2009
The twin financial and climate catastrophes have been cause for nervousness worldwide, but Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has stressed that the challenges also open the door for new economic opportunities.
Foresters get carbon credits ... but what now?
14 Apr 2009
Forest owners have received their first batch of carbon credits but are unsure about insuring and on-selling them.
State governor calls for carbon tax to fight warming
14 Apr 2009
The Governor of the Australian state of Victoria, David de Kretser, has called for consideration of a carbon tax, to increase the price of goods produced using energy from high-pollution power stations.
Cross-party pact vital for ETS, says Vector
9 Apr 2009
A strong cross-party agreement on durable climate change policy is the single most important thing that the emissions trading scheme review committee must deliver, the committee is being told this morning.
Climate change could cost California billions
9 Apr 2009
Climate change may cost California tens of billions of dollars annually in coming years as sea levels rise and hot days cause people to turn up the air conditioning, a draft report from the state said.
NZ shamed at Bonn talks, says Greenpeace
9 Apr 2009
New Zealand should be ashamed of itself in front of its Pacific Island neighbours, Greenpeace said today, as UN climate talks wrap up in Bonn, Germany.
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.
FMA urges sharper focus on climate risk disclosures
Today 11:30am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand companies are making steady progress in climate-related financial disclosures, but the Financial Markets Authority says many organisations still need to provide clearer and more robust reporting on physical climate risks and their potential business impacts.
Climate Leaders Coalition on PM meetings: 'it wasn’t us'
Mon 25 May 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The 81-member Climate Leaders Coalition is distancing itself from the actions of members who lobbied the Prime Minister’s Office to intervene and stop a landmark climate change court case.
$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.
Europe has 'maybe six weeks of jet fuel left', energy boss warns
20 Apr 2026
Stocks would reach a tipping point in June if Europe was unable to replace at least half of its imports from the Middle East, the organisation said in a report this week.
Govt ramps up war on wilding pines with $79m boost
Mon 25 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government is ramping up efforts to contain the spread of wilding pines with a $79 million funding boost aimed at protecting farmland, biodiversity hotspots, tourism landscapes and water catchments across New Zealand.
Thumbs up for Govt help for businesses transitioning from gas
Today 11:30am
By Liz Kivi | Businesses and climate advocates alike have welcomed the Government’s pre-budget announcement that it will help secure cheap lending for businesses transitioning from gas, as New Zealand’s domestic supply dwindles.
Govt unveils long-awaited voluntary carbon market guidance
15 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government has released long-awaited guidance for New Zealand’s voluntary carbon and nature markets, as questions continue for the sector despite ministers signalling support for its growth.
Trump officials, billionaires and the quiet reshaping of America’s public lands
Today 11:30am
A controversial land swap orchestrated by the megarich could be “a harbinger of what’s to come” for public lands under Trump.
Carbon News updates forward curve
13 May 2026
Carbon News has updated its ten-year NZU forward curve, following a recent rise in spot market prices, with NZUs rallying from about $34 in January to nearly $54 in early May.
New coal plants hit ‘10-year’ global high in 2025 – but power output still fell
Fri 22 May 2026
The number of new coal-fired power plants built around the world hit a “10-year high” in 2025, even as the global coal fleet generated less electricity, amid a “widening disconnect” in the sector.
Mike Smith’s asymmetric victory
Mon 25 May 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: The New Zealand Government’s recent move, undercutting citizens’ rights and the rule of law to cancel the country’s most important climate case is a massive win for Mike Smith, the climate change activist who brought it.
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.
Conservation land open for voluntary carbon market schemes
12 May 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The government is to open up the Crown-owned conservation estate to private investment in voluntary carbon market projects.
Marae solar project boosts sustainability and mana motuhake
Mon 25 May 2026
By Moana Ellis, Local Democracy Reporter | Five marae from Whanganui to Taumarunui are running on solar power and many more could join a major green energy initiative aimed at cutting electricity costs and strengthening community resilience.
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.
How do hurricanes and typhoons form and is climate change making them stronger?
Mon 25 May 2026
Rising temperatures mean that hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones have the potential to bring stronger winds and heavier rain – and scientists warn it only takes one strong storm to bring major impacts.
EDS urges MPs to scrap the Fisheries Amendment Bill
5 May 2026
Media release | The Environmental Defence Society today lodged a substantive submission on the Fisheries Amendment Bill.
Biomass sector asks: where did the love go?
18 May 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand has sufficient biomass in its plantation forests to replace natural gas for industrial process heat at lower costs than electrification, but is failing to get the attention it deserves, sector leaders say.
Govt’s LNG plan puts trade deals at risk, lawyers warn
Today 11:30am
By Liz Kivi | Lawyers for Climate Action are warning that the government’s plans for an LNG import terminal and to subsidise gas fields are in breach of New Zealand’s free trade agreements with the UK and the EU.
Hipkins pans LNG plan as ‘massive step backwards’
19 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | Labour leader Chris Hipkins has told a Queenstown audience that a Government he leads would not proceed with a planned LNG import terminal, if elected at November’s election.
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.”
New funding for low methane farming uptake
29 Apr 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The government will co-fund projects under an Early Adoption Accelerator scheme announced today to accelerate the uptake of low emissions farming technologies emerging from the AgriZero public-private partnership.
NZ Govt’s move to halt climate litigation under international scrutiny
19 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | Local and international NGOs have signed an open letter calling on the Government to reconsider its decision to shield major emitters from legal liability for climate-related harm.
Why ‘greenhushing’ signals deeper issues with NZ’s climate risk reporting regime
15 May 2026
By Hang Pham, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington | Most of us are familiar with the concept of greenwashing: organisations exaggerating or overstating their environmental credentials. But in New Zealand, there are signs the country’s climate disclosure regime may inadvertently be driving a very different trend: not saying much at all.
‘Formidable’ El Niño expected this winter
29 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Meteorologists are anticipating a significant El Niño influence on weather patterns across the country from winter onwards, with predicted lower rainfall for some areas and heavier rain for others likely to impact multiple sectors of the economy as well as the carbon market.
Victorian Hydrogen announces Southland urea fertiliser project using coal
22 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Australian-based Victorian Hydrogen has announced it is developing a new 1.5 million-tonne-a-year urea fertiliser operation in Southland, which it will apply for under fast-track legislation.
Media round-up
24 Apr 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: What is the real cost of storm-hit infrastructure? Urgency is needed over climate adaptation funding; and a community conservation group has won a legal victory against multinational mining company OceanaGold.
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.
Climate resolution conundrum for NZ
Today 11:30am
By Vernon Rive | COMMENT: While the United Nations resolution endorsing a landmark climate ruling is significant – politically, diplomatically and legally – its impact on international climate negotiations and domestic action is likely to be indirect and incremental.
GIDI-style help cheaper than LNG: MBIE
11 May 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Officials advised ministers last July that the lowest-cost way to free up gas for use during dry winters was to assist industrial gas users to switch to electricity.
Govt missing tricks to save fuel in crisis
30 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government is being urged to shift its response to the fuel crisis away from short-term relief and towards measures that reduce demand, with public health experts warning it is missing an opportunity to boost energy security and lower household costs.
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.
Move to block lawsuits could strengthen climate case against Govt
14 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s plan to block climate lawsuits – while potentially fatal for one groundbreaking climate case – could actually bolster claims in another live climate case underway against the Government.
Colombia’s climate crossroads: Trumpism casts shadow over presidential battle
Today 11:30am
Colombia is a global leader in climate activism. Could US influence drag country to a future of mining and fracking?
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.
Six NZ climate solutions up for 2026 Earthshot prize
Thu 21 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Six New Zealand climate and sustainability initiatives have been nominated for the 2026 Earthshot Prize, with the shortlist showcasing Kiwi-led solutions tackling emissions, plastic waste and ocean restoration.
Environmental groups sue Trump administration over approval of new ultra deep-water drilling project
23 Apr 2026
Environmental groups sued the Trump administration on Monday over its approval last month of oil company BP’s ultra deep-water drilling project in the Gulf of Mexico.
Govt had ‘little choice’ in signing key UN climate resolution – expert
Fri 22 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate policy expert Bronwyn Hayward said it was “shameful’ New Zealand didn’t throw more active support behind a pivotal climate resolution ratified by the United Nations this week.
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.
ESG funds include petrochemical companies, report finds
5 May 2026
Global banks have invested US$133bn into US petrochemical expansion, even as the industry is linked to climate change.
Media round-up
Fri 22 May 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Shane Jone is urging mining bosses to apply for fast-track before the election, climate risk is changing where investors put their money, and Hiringa gets more hydrogen-fuelled trucks on the road.
Green Party calls for national electrification plan
20 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Green Party is calling for a national plan to electrify homes, transport and industry using renewable energy, to reduce fossil fuel dependence in response to the Middle East crisis.
NZ at risk of falling behind on EV transition
Fri 22 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | An EV lobby group is warning that New Zealand is at a crossroads on transport electrification, with inconsistent policy settings and lagging charging infrastructure slowing uptake, while global adoption accelerates and fuel price shocks renew interest in electric vehicles.
‘Landmark’ conservation reform bill – boost or bust for nature?
8 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government has announced an overhaul of the country’s conservation system, which environmental organisation Forest & Bird says will undo the work of many generations of Kiwis to protect public conservation land.
Climate scientists accuse livestock industry of fuzzy math to downplay climate warming emissions
Fri 22 May 2026
A group of the world’s leading climate scientists are warning governments and the livestock industry against adopting an “accounting trick” that will imperil the all-out global effort required to control heat-trapping emissions.
Global wind and solar power outpace gas for first time in April, report shows
Fri 22 May 2026
Wind and solar combined generated more electricity than gas globally in April for the first month ever, data analysed by UK-based think tank Ember showed on Thursday.
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.
Why both trees and technology are important in the race to mitigate carbon emissions
4 May 2026
Different carbon‑removal approaches solve different problems, and pitting these technologies against each other could slow progress.
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.
Rotorua extends diesel bus contract after NZTA declines extra funding
Mon 25 May 2026
By Mathew Nash, Local Democracy Reporter | Rotorua is stuck with its diesel-powered public buses after a funding snag played a part in setting back plans for zero-emission buses by years.
NZ votes in favour of key UN climate resolution
Thu 21 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | A pivotal United Nations resolution to recognise a landmark International Court of Justice climate ruling has passed with nations voting overwhelmingly in its favour, with New Zealand voting on the same side as Pacific allies who spearheaded the vote.
NZ First moves to revive container return scheme
4 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | NZ First is aiming to launch a national container return scheme, which could recycle over a billion wasted containers each year, reviving a policy shelved by the previous Labour-led Government in 2023.
Commission urges Govt action on climate risks
7 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | Climate change currently poses major risks to our water infrastructure with “significant gaps” in readiness to manage risks and increasing hazards, according to the Climate Change Commission.
Why is Northern Ireland facing a growing threat from wildfires?
7 May 2026
Figures show that spring drought events are happening more often while there has been a sharp rise in "fire weather" - a mix of warmth, dryness, and wind that allows fires to ignite and spread rapidly. Experts warn this combination, along with climate change, is creating a longer and more volatile wildfire season.
Human health appears unaffected by living near wind turbines
Thu 21 May 2026
Media release: PNAS | High-resolution data collected across the United States show negligible evidence of adverse health outcomes tied to wind turbine exposure, a study finds.
