Topics tagged with 'Politics'
Garrett: Don't tinker with your new ETS law
12 Sep 2008
Australian Environment Minister Peter Garrett has warned New Zealand not to “go tinkering” with its new emissions trading law.
Greenhouse gas emissions: What others are doing
12 Sep 2008
Companies and governments, including New Zealand, are turning to emissions trading as a weapon to fight climate change, in a carbon market worth $64 billion last year.
REACTION: Greenhouse Policy Coalition - Emissions trading scheme is flawed
12 Sep 2008
The passage of the most ambitious emissions trading scheme in the world will come at a high cost to the New Zealand economy, according to the Greenhouse Policy Coalition, representing the energy-intensive sector.
REACTION: Greens: ETS a first step, time for some big strides now
12 Sep 2008
The passing of the Emissions Trading Scheme is the first small step towards getting New Zealand’s carbon emissions under control – there is still much work to be done, the Green Party says.
LETTER: Bad news for Ngai Tahu
12 Sep 2008
In Carbon News (5 Sept 2008) Willie Te Aho was quoted as saying that the deforestation liability for Ngai Tahu would be around $15,000 per hectare for changing the use of its 80,000 hectare pre-1990 forest estate.
Businesses, wake up and smell the carbon
11 Sep 2008
New Zealand business woke up to a new reality today – it’s time to start counting carbon.
GOVERNMENT STATEMENT: Historic climate change legislation passes
11 Sep 2008
A cornerstone economic tool will now proceed to help New Zealand reduce greenhouse gas emissions and tackle climate change, Climate Change Minister David Parker says.
REACTION: Good work on ETS, now get on with it, says business council
11 Sep 2008
Business leaders are welcoming the passage of emissions trading law as an essential step for New Zealand to preserve its exporting and tourism future.
REACTION: Thank god that's over, now back to the climate, says Greenpeace
11 Sep 2008
Greenpeace is calling on political parties to outline their future plans for tackling climate change, now the emissions trading scheme has been passed into law.
National promises ETS by 2010 - but fails to answer question on cap
9 Sep 2008
National is promising to have an emissions trading scheme in force by 2010.
Govt all talk and no action, says vehicle emissions group
9 Sep 2008
The Government needs to put its money where its mouth is when it comes to lowering vehicle emissions, says a high-powered lobby group.
NZ scientists unrecognised for work behind the scenes
9 Sep 2008
Political parties are so anxious to play down some energy issues that valuable work by the government’s own energy and scientific agencies is receiving little recognition
Ecology group wants NZ ban on Brazilian biofuel
9 Sep 2008
The Pacific Institute of Resource Management - the New Zealand watchdog sponsored by Ecologist founder Teddy Goldsmith - is challenging the EECA’s claim that biofuels from Brazil are even remotely sustainable.
More details needed in National’s Environment Policy
9 Sep 2008
The National Party needs to give more details on what it proposes to do on climate change, the emission trading regime, the Resource Management Act and the Department of Conservation, the Environment and Conservation Organisations says.
Iwi leaders doubt ETS forest land dispute will spread
5 Sep 2008
The Iwi Leadership Group is playing down concerns that the Government’s emissions trading scheme will lead to a raft of other iwi revisting their treaty settlements.
Govt: ETS forestry compo benefits large number of iwi
5 Sep 2008
The Government claims a large number of iwi believe the compensation package under the emissions trading scheme gives them a net benefit rather than a net cost.
Tribal group challenges Parker's ETS support claim
5 Sep 2008
A major iwi is challenging Climate Change Minister David Parker’s claim that most tribes support the emissions trading bill.
National’s ETS changes: devilish cost in the detail
5 Sep 2008
ANALYSIS - The further glimpses of National Party emissions trading policy “detail” in the past few days show it might take some risks with the taxpayers’ purse.
Rare glimpse of National's post-election ETS policy detail
5 Sep 2008
National may have pointed to its possible course on emissions trading law if it forms the government after this year’s election.
Cynical politics around emissions trading scheme
5 Sep 2008
Politics has triumphed over sensible policy development around emissions trading, says Business NZ.
Fishing industry questions new ETS free-units allocation
2 Sep 2008
The fishing sector is relieved that amendments to the Government’s climate change legislation include a major concession to the industry.
Ban hails UN climate panel on 20th anniversary
2 Sep 2008
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday paid tribute to the accomplishments of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), co-recipient of last year's Nobel Peace Prize, as he marked its 20th anniversary.
Maori Party against ETS bill: concern over subsidies, impacts on Maori land owners
2 Sep 2008
The Maori Party says in EST bill debate that it is "opposed to the concept of paying the polluters; of rewarding the corporate lobbyists with huge exemptions; and the very nature of trading rather than reducing emissions."
Urban development discussion document published
2 Sep 2008
A discussion document Building sustainable urban communities –Designing a place-based approach to sustainable urban development in New Zealand, has been published today.
Emissions scheme passes second reading
29 Aug 2008
The ETS bill has passed its second reading and will go into committee stages on Tuesday.
New report lists advantages of scrapping fossil fuel subsidies
29 Aug 2008
A newly published UN report says scrapping fossil fuel subsidies could play an important role in cutting greenhouse gases while giving a small but not insignificant boost to the global economy.
REACTION: Greenpeace welcomes Greens' decision
26 Aug 2008
Greenpeace has welcomed the Green's support for the emissions trading scheme (ETS), saying the party has secured some positive measures.
REACTION: Emissions trading will hurt, says coalition
26 Aug 2008
Catherine Beard, executive director of the Greenhouse Policy Coalition says the emissions trading legislation before Parliament, due to its comprehensive coverage and lack of price safety valves, will be the highest cost scheme in the world.
Queenstown man heads for court to try to block ETS
26 Aug 2008
A Queenstown businessman is taking the Government to the High Court in a bid to prevent the passing of the Emissions Trading Scheme.
NEW ROADS: Do we really need them, asks energy activist
26 Aug 2008
Forget road tolls - the real questions is whether we need new roads at all.
New UN reports warns of costs of inaction on climate change
26 Aug 2008
Government leaders must take urgent action to ensure that weather-related hazards, which are becoming more intense and frequent due to climate change, do not lead to a corresponding rise in disasters, a new UN-backed report says.
Kyoto Forest owners say they need ETS passed
26 Aug 2008
The thousands of New Zealanders who invested their own savings to plant trees in the 1990s need the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) legislation to be passed in order to secure the estimated $1.6 billion of carbon credits promised to them by all parties in Parliament, the Kyoto Forestry Association (KFA) has told the Green Party.
Biodiversity critical in emissions trading scheme
26 Aug 2008
Forest & Bird urges Labour, New Zealand First and the Green Party to agree to a biodiversity standard in the Government's emissions trading scheme.
Pass the ETS, greens, unions and business tell politicians
22 Aug 2008
Environmentalists, unions and business are urging politicians to pass the emissions trading scheme.
India accuses UN of bias as climate change talks resume
22 Aug 2008
Sparks could fly at the next round of international climate change negotiations which start today in Accra, Ghana, with India out to stub any attempts by Japan, the EU and the US to firm up an agenda against it and China.
EMA: Greens right to ask for public guidance on emissions trading law
22 Aug 2008
The Employers & Manufacturers Association (Northern) says the other political parties should join the Greens and ask the public which way they should vote on the Emissions Trading Bill.
Labour's political agenda no reason to ram flawed ETS through
22 Aug 2008
National Party Finance spokesman Bill English says the Emissions Trading Scheme is a major piece of economic and environmental legislation that will impact on the lives of every Kiwi for years, so is too important to be rushed through Parliament just prior to an election.
Landslide response to Greens' call for ETS input
22 Aug 2008
The Green Party is facing a busy weekend at the computer as views from the public on their ETS decision flood in.
ETS must pass despite weaknesses, says Greenpeace
22 Aug 2008
Despite shortcomings, it is imperative that New Zealand's emissions trading scheme (ETS) is passed into law this parliamentary term, says Greenpeace
Global leaders? We’re not even close, says carbon-footprint pioneer
19 Aug 2008
New Zealand is being left behind when it comes to quantifying its carbon footprint, says enterprise-level carbon-footprint accounting software provider Revolution ID.
Public happier with Personal Carbon Trading, study shows
19 Aug 2008
New research by Britain’s Institute for Public Policy Research reveals that the public favours Personal Carbon Trading (PCT) over other emission reduction policy options for individuals and households.
Key’s energy message: We’ll give you all the electricity you need
15 Aug 2008
Those who want to grow need to know they have the power supply necessary to do so – that’s the key message at the heart of the National Party’s energy policy released yesterday by leader John Key and energy spokesman Gerry Brownlee.
ANALYSIS: Nats' policy shop - an open back door?
15 Aug 2008
The National Party’s energy policy hits some fairly predictable expected notes – reform the Resource Management Act (RMA), make it easier for new power stations to be built, promote oil and gas exploration, get rid of unnecessary bureaucracy ... but it’s some of the finer detail (and in many cases lack of it) that makes the policy interesting.
UN chief urges young people to take active role in climate change fight
15 Aug 2008
Young people, who are adept at spreading new habits and technologies, are well placed to contribute to the fight against climate change, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said as he marked International Youth Day.
AUGUST 19: Managing carbon for business
15 Aug 2008
The Institute of Chartered Accountants is helping businesses to get behind the hype and politics of carbon management with a special seminar in Auckland next week.
Wind-turbine pioneer sceptical about National policy
12 Aug 2008
New Zealand’s major wind turbine-manufacturing company says it doubts a National government would support the wind-energy sector.
Nats to reveal energy policy this week
12 Aug 2008
The National Party will release its energy policy on Thursday, spokesman Gerry Brownlee confirmed to Carbon News yesterday.
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'.
