Topics tagged with 'Tax'
Climate groups want UK wealth tax to make super-rich fund sustainable economy
17 Jul 2025
Growing number of campaigners urge government to ensure green investment is not done ‘on backs of the poor’.
Green budget 'ludicrous la-la land' – govt
15 May 2025
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the budget was "clown show economics" and an "absolute circus".
Greens promise to rapidly reduce emissions in new Green Budget
14 May 2025
By Shannon Williams | The Green Party has unveiled its alternative Green Budget, promising bold investments to tackle the climate crisis and deliver cleaner air, water, and soil.
Who is Mark Carney, the former central bank governor turned Canada's next leader?
11 Mar 2025
Canada's new leader is a relative political newcomer. While the former UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance has previously advocated for net-zero investment, he has promised to scrap the country's carbon tax, saying he wants to shift the cost from consumers to big corporations.
Secondary market remains flat as carbon auction approaches
14 Feb 2025
With the first carbon auction of the year just over a month away, one broker is predicting trading will continue at prices below this year's $68 auction floor price.
Green Party releases alternative climate plan
9 Dec 2024
The Green Party wants to take forestry out of the Emissions Trading Scheme and instead create biodiversity credits for afforestation.
Green’s EV fringe-benefit tax bill voted down
28 Nov 2024
Green MP Julie-Anne Genter had hoped National might consider backing her EV fringe-benefit tax bill because it was once a policy in the party’s 2020 manifesto, but those hopes were dashed.
Billionaires, frequent flyers, oil and gas: Who could fund COP29’s $1tn finance target?
21 Nov 2024
“It makes common sense to tax mega polluters and the mega-rich to ensure that we have the money needed for climate action at home and globally” according to one campaigner.
Canada’s carbon tax faces the axe
9 Oct 2024
The carbon tax is popular, innovative and helps save the planet, but as prime minister Justin Trudeau trails in the polls, the opposition is trying to persuade voters that environmental policy is a burden.
IRD consulting on tax and forestry ETS
19 Sep 2024
The Inland Revenue Department is consulting on an interpretation statement on tax and the forestry emissions trading scheme.
Initial carbon trading boost following stockpile reduction
9 Jul 2024
There was an initial “flurry” of carbon units trading hands on the secondary market last week, following a government update revealing a 25 million decrease in the stockpile of units in private accounts.
Denmark will be the first country to impose a carbon tax on farms
26 Jun 2024
Denmark, a major pork and dairy exporter, will introduce a tax on livestock carbon dioxide emissions from 2030, making it the first country to do so and hoping to inspire others to follow.
Wealthy Kiwis driving up transport emissions
13 Jun 2024
Cashed-up Kiwis are pumping out more than their fair share of transport emissions, driving more frequently and over longer distances, according to new research.
Expert slams govt delay in pricing agricultural emissions
12 Jun 2024
The coalition government has reaffirmed greenhouse gases from agriculture won’t be covered in the Emissions Trading Scheme and Cabinet is disestablishing primary sector climate action partnership He Waka Eke Noa.
Basic income can double global GDP while reducing carbon emissions
11 Jun 2024
Media release | Giving a regular cash payment to the entire world population has the potential to increase global gross domestic product (GDP) by 130%.
Budget prioritises adaptation over emissions reductions
31 May 2024
The government is prioritising stop banks and floodwalls over initiatives to reduce emissions, with the $1.2bn Regional Infrastructure Fund to focus on climate resilience efforts, while hundreds of millions of dollars of funding for conservation efforts has been cut.
City should include cruise ship emissions in targets - campaigners
22 Mar 2024
Climate activists are urging Christchurch City Council to include cruise ship emissions in the city’s emissions reduction plan.
NZU price has greater impact on cost of electricity than petrol
21 Mar 2024
By Jeremy Rose | Counter-intuitively an increase in the price of carbon adds more to a household’s electricity bill in percentage terms than its petrol one.
First ETS auction of the year partially clears
20 Mar 2024
Today’s Emissions Trading Scheme auction has partially cleared.
Tepid market response to Commission’s advice - auction less than a week away
14 Mar 2024
By Liz Kivi | The Climate Change Commission’s call to drastically reduce Emissions Trading Scheme auction volumes has barely caused a blip on the secondary market - suggesting participants don’t think the government will follow the advice.
Treasury increases estimated ETS auction revenue
22 Dec 2023
Treasury has increased its forecast ETS auction revenue from $2.7 billion to $3.5 billion.
Europe just launched the world’s first carbon tariff. Will the US follow suit?
4 Oct 2023
In the U.S., where climate policy has been highly politicized, the concept of a carbon tariff has recently emerged with rare bipartisan support.
UK industry risks falling foul of EU’s new carbon tax
4 Oct 2023
British businesses selling into the European Union are unprepared for the bloc’s new carbon tax and run the risk of penalties if they are not compliant, a leading advisory firm has warned.
Europe takes climate fight global as carbon border tax goes live
3 Oct 2023
The EU's effort to become climate neutral is kicking into high gear — as of Sunday the bloc's carbon border tax enters a trial period, which is likely to raise tensions with key trading partners.
Canberra could protect decarbonising industries from unfair competition
8 Sep 2023
The Australian government has engaged an eminent academic to study the need for a carbon tariff to protect local manufacturers from unfair competition from imports which are not subject to restrictions on emissions of CO2.
Petition calls to end free carbon credits for big emitters
1 Sep 2023
A group of NGOs and activists have launched a petition calling for an end to free carbon credits for industry and for the system to be replaced by a carbon border mechanism.
National’s climate “dividend” isn’t really a dividend - and could increase emissions
31 Aug 2023
By Liz Kivi | Yesterday the National Party announced a “climate dividend” amid much fanfare as part of its $14.6 billion package of tax cuts.
National announces climate dividend
30 Aug 2023
The National Party has announced a climate dividend that would use funding from the Emissions Trading Scheme as part of a package of tax cuts aimed to support New Zealand’s “squeezed middle.”
Govt cuts more than $200 million from climate funds to “tighten belts”
29 Aug 2023
The government is slashing funding to climate emissions reduction programmes as part of “belt tightening” measures, with more than $235 million in cuts to projects planned to reduce emissions.
A carbon tax on investment income could be more fair and make it less profitable to pollute
22 Aug 2023
About 10 years ago, a very thick book written by a French economist became a surprising bestseller.
Greens slam govt’s transport plan as prioritising roads over climate
18 Aug 2023
The Green Party has slammed the government’s $20 billion transport plan, announced yesterday, saying the decision to prioritise new roads shows the Labour Party is not serious about climate change.
Carbon tariffs - what are the implications for NZ?
11 Aug 2023
A senior public sector consultant has suggested that New Zealand might want to consider being a fast follower of the European Union’s moves to implement a carbon tariff.
Carbon pricing initiatives around the world
8 Aug 2023
Over the past two decades, governments around the world have responded to climate change through various initiatives and policies, with carbon pricing at the forefront.
What the EU’s new border tax could mean for carbon markets
16 Jun 2023
The European Union’s new Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism should incentivize more countries to put a price on carbon, but not the U.S.
Government changes Clean Car scheme
2 May 2023
The government is changing its Clean Car programme by adjusting the rebates for zero emissions imports, making the threshold stricter for eligible vehicles, and increasing fees for higher emitting vehicles.
Best by the rest...
21 Apr 2023
In our weekly round-up of the best climate reporting in local media: how the Environment Minister failed to stop a major polluter getting ahead of a climate law change; why the Climate Change Commission’s advice could increase costs for Kiwis; and crowdsourcing for Papatūānuku - Te Tairāwhiti style.
Greens not on board with fossil fuel subsidy
2 Feb 2023
Media release - The Green Party is calling on the Government to provide direct support to low-income households and to stop subsidising fossil fuels during a climate crisis.
Best by the rest...
16 Dec 2022
Carbon market reforms mean big emitters may be eligible for more free credits; should cruise ships be banned from Milford Sound? and the slow pace of targeting agricultural production to a lucrative overseas market which puts a high value on sustainability.
Japan delays carbon tax reform to curb living costs
9 Nov 2022
Japan is delaying plans to revise how it taxes carbon, the Nikkei newspaper reported, potentially slowing efforts to wean itself off fossil fuels.
Wind, solar investors threaten to leave Europe because of revenue cap
5 Oct 2022
European wind and solar power industries associations warned that investments could go elsewhere after EU energy ministers voted to introduce revenue caps for wind, solar, nuclear and coal power generation.
What if carbon border taxes applied to all carbon – fossil fuels, too?
23 Sep 2022
The European Union is embarking on an experiment that will expand its climate policies to imports for the first time.
EU governments carving out €20 bn in carbon market exemptions for shipping
22 Sep 2022
Government ministers are in the process of carving out €20 billion worth of exemptions for the shipping industry in the new maritime carbon market (ETS), according to a new analysis.
Taxes out, subsidies in: Australia and the US are passing major climate bills – without taxing carbon
7 Sep 2022
The United States recently passed its largest climate bill ever and Australia is set to usher a 43% emissions target into law this week - but neither bills mention taxing carbon dioxide to discourage emissions.
Canada’s carbon tax is hurting working people: opinion
11 Aug 2022
In 1912, the fact that excess carbon released into the atmosphere could warm up the earth was first made public knowledge. Here we are, one hundred ten years later, still wondering what to do about the problem.
Best by the rest...
5 Aug 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: Former Green Party leader Russel Norman on greenwashing and He Waka Eke Noa; political journalist Branko Marcetic on why the pundits are getting the Green Party leadership stoush all wrong; and land use expert Keith Woodford underlines the significance of recent government announcements for forestry rules and carbon pricing.
Britons would rather give up meat than pay more tax to tackle global warming, poll reveals
1 Aug 2022
More Britons would be willing to cut back on meat than pay extra in taxes to tackle climate change, a new poll has revealed.
ETS alone won’t see NZ achieve its climate targets: OECD
1 Feb 2022
The OECD is recommending New Zealand adopt targeted climate change mitigation measures to address market failures that it says won’t be corrected by carbon pricing alone.
How a carbon price could gut animal agriculture without taxing farmers
19 Nov 2021
Even a very modest carbon price would offer most farmers and ranchers more revenue than they make raising animals for slaughter, according to the scientist who founded Impossible Foods.
Standards needed to stop private equity cashing in on dirty assets: tax expert
19 Nov 2021
Tax expert professor Richard Murphy argues that without a comprehensive accounting standard for climate change private equity will have a field day exploiting dirty assets for short term gain.
NZ a laggard in climate change related patents
11 Oct 2021
Only two OECD countries – Latvia and Indonesia – rank behind New Zealand in terms of the percentage of patent applications related to climate change mitigation, according a just released “dashboard” comparing the organisation’s 38 member states on a range of climate change related metrics.
Governments must vote in favour of moratorium on deep sea mining
Tue 29 Jul 2025
Media release - Greenpeace | The 30th session of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) has ended with Greenpeace saying governments are continuing to fall short in protecting the deep sea.
Does NZ need a national incentive scheme for wetlands?
Fri 25 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | An expert is calling for a national incentive programme to restore New Zealand’s wetlands and wants to stop schemes to drain these vital carbon-sequestering ecosystems.
NZ Post drops science-based climate target
8 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | NZ Post has dropped its science-based emissions reduction target of 42% by 2030 with no plans to replace it.
Airlines risk legal challenges by advertising jet fuel as “sustainable”, NGO warns
18 Jul 2025
Amid suspected fraud in the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), a new report says the airline industry should stop calling all alternatives to kerosene “sustainable”.
Challenges persist in bid to mine the deep sea, even after boost from Trump
Tue 29 Jul 2025
After years of delay, the deep-sea mining plans of Canadian firm The Metals Company (TMC) now appear to be progressing as it pursues a controversial new path to securing a license to mine in international waters under U.S. jurisdiction.
Sustainability claims questioned as renewable diesel surges
14 May 2025
Critics are sceptical about industry claims of renewable diesel life-cycle greenhouse gas emission cuts and warn renewable diesel carbon releases will surge if sourcing is scaled up, triggering tropical deforestation as producers convert forests to energy crops, such as oil palm and soy.
Is extending Huntly power station to 2035 in consumers’ best interest?
22 Jul 2025
By Simon Orme | COMMENT: Genesis Energy is proposing a cartel to keep high-emitting Huntly Power Station in business to 2035. If extending Huntly has economic benefits, is a cartel necessary?
At least 30 killed and several missing as heavy rains and floods lash northern China
Wed 30 Jul 2025
Thousands of people were evacuated as the region, including the capital Beijing, braced for more rainfall overnight.
Bearish sentiment lingers for carbon market
11 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The compliance carbon market could be set for a gradual upward trajectory, however unsold volume from the quarterly Emissions Trading Scheme auctions continues to act as ‘a price ceiling,’ according to an expert.
Multi-day protest continues at coal mine
Wed 30 Jul 2025
Bathurst Resources has been forced to truck coal from its Stockton mine as climate activists occupy coal buckets at the mine for a third day.
Forestry can be a big plus for sheep and beef farmers – but there are caveats
22 Jul 2025
By Keith Woodford | OPINION: These are good times for sheep and beef farmers with record product prices for meat, which is precisely why now is the time for sheep and beef farmers to be looking again at farm forestry.
Common low-grade clay strengthens low-carbon concrete
5 Jun 2025
Media release | Engineers at RMIT University have converted low-grade clay into a high-performance cement supplement, opening a potential new market in sustainable construction materials.
Cuts to climate finance put exports in jeopardy: Lawyers
23 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has halved international climate finance, a move aid organisations describe as “devastating,” and which lawyers say could put our Paris Agreement commitments and export market access at risk.
NZ voluntary carbon market’s sad state
14 Jul 2025
By John O’Brien | OPINION: A combination of scandals, challenging economic times, and cheaper offshore carbon credits, mean that the domestic voluntary carbon market in New Zealand remains absolutely tiny.
Hiringa eyes green methanol plant near Whanganui
Tue 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.
Key orange roughy population on verge of collapse, govt considers closure
9 Jul 2025
Media release - Deep Sea Conservation Coalition | New data reveals that New Zealand’s main orange roughy fishery, accounting for half of the country’s total catch, is on the brink of collapse, with one model showing it may have reached that point already, and the government’s considering closing it.
A third of ‘slum residents’ in global south are exposed to disastrous flood risks
Wed 30 Jul 2025
One in three people in informal settlements in the global south live in floodplains and are at risk of a “disastrous flood”.
Latest trawl bycatch numbers 'a grim wake-up call'
24 Jun 2025
Media release – Greenpeace | The latest fisheries bycatch data paints a grim picture, with trawlers hauling up thousands of kilograms of coral and killing hundreds of fur seals and seabirds over a 12 month period.
Wilding pines threaten Molesworth Station
Mon 28 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Without increased support, the unchecked spread of wilding pines will continue to creep across Marlborough’s high country – putting iconic landscapes and one of New Zealand’s top five biodiversity hotspots at serious risk, according to an expert.
EV sales fall, but it’s complicated
Tue 29 Jul 2025
Imports of fully electric vehicles fell over 50% in value during the 12 months to June 2025, compared with the year ended June 2024, according to Stats NZ.
Watts talks big on energy reform, but barriers persist
29 May 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Energy and Climate Change minister Simon Watts says the government is doubling down on efforts to boost renewable energy generation, streamline regulation, and drive private sector investment as New Zealand faces mounting energy security and affordability challenges.
SBTi releases Net Zero Standard for banks, investors
24 Jul 2025
The Science Based Targets initiative announced the release of its finalised Financial Institutions Net-Zero Standard, aimed at enabling banks and investors to set net zero-aligned targets for their lending, investing, insurance and capital markets activities.
NZ part of hidden global deep-sea network beneath the waves
Fri 25 Jul 2025
Media release - Earth Sciences New Zealand | A world-first study of marine life, including sea creatures found in New Zealand's dark, cold, pressurised ocean depths, has revealed that deep-sea life is surprisingly more connected than previously thought.
‘Ideological sludge’: How NZ is quiet quitting climate action
17 Jul 2025
New Zealand once stood out as a world leader on climate change. In June it became the first country in the world to abandon a commitment to phase out oil, gas and coal.
Methanex closure comes early this year
14 May 2025
The almost-now-annual closure of Methanex has come earlier this year, giving more confidence that the electricity system will get through the winter without a fuel shortfall.
Taranaki mayors want hydrogen kick-start from Wellington
Mon 28 Jul 2025
By Craig Ashworth, Local Democracy Reporter Taranaki mayors want central government to partner up with their councils to kick-start a hydrogen industry. This despite ongoing questions about the gas’s effectiveness in reducing carbon emissions.
Climate catastrophes are creating a ‘new market reality’ for insurance carriers
23 Jul 2025
Raging wildfires and severe storms contributed to record-high global insurance losses — totalling an estimated US$84 billion — for the first six months of the year.
Will NZ walk away from the Paris Agreement?
20 Dec 2024
By Geoff Bertram | COMMENT: Unless the government can find very cheap offshore mitigation, the temptation to walk away from its Paris Agreement obligations may well be too strong to resist for a coalition government focused on fiscal austerity.
The ICJ’s ruling means Australia and other major polluters face a new era of climate reparations
Fri 25 Jul 2025
By Harj Narulla | OPINION: Australia has found itself on the wrong side of history.
All aboard for passenger rail in the golden triangle
Mon 28 Jul 2025
Media release – The Future Is Rail | New Zealand’s national passenger rail advocacy group, The Future is Rail, has announced its strong support for the Green Party’s proposal to establish a new passenger rail service connecting Auckland and Tauranga.
Urgent action needed to get on track for climate goals - commission
Fri 25 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand is making progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but more work is needed – urgently – to set up for future reductions, according to the latest report from the Climate Change Commission.
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.
Toxic algae are turning South Australia’s coral reefs into underwater graveyards
Tue 29 Jul 2025
Since March, a harmful algal bloom, fueled by a marine heat wave, has been choking South Australia’s coastline.
NZ govt’s fossil fuel plans could break international law
24 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government could be breaching international law with its plans to subsidise and expand fossil fuel extraction, following a ruling overnight from the world’s highest court.
Tipping points: Window to avoid irreversible climate impacts is ‘rapidly closing’
11 Jul 2025
In the midst of a record-breaking heatwave in Europe, the UK city of Exeter recently played host to the second international conference on “tipping points”.
‘Total infiltration’: How plastics industry swamped vital global treaty talks
Mon 28 Jul 2025
Petrostates and well-funded lobbyists at UN-hosted talks are derailing a deal to cut plastic production and protect people and the planet.
Media round-up
Fri 25 Jul 2025
In our round-up of the climate coverage in local media: Dairy conversions surge; Gore is hit with a drinking water crisis; meanwhile farming lobby groups Groundswell and Federated Farmers are up in arms about a plan to classify environmental impacts in the agriculture and forestry sector.
As US climate data-gathering is gutted, Australian forecasting is now at real risk
Wed 30 Jul 2025
As damage from climate change intensifies, political change overseas is threatening Australia’s ability to track what’s happening now, and predict what will happen next.
Activists sue US development bank over $4.6bn loan to massive Mozambique gas project
18 Jul 2025
Environmental groups claim loan is ‘unlawful’ in legal filing.
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.
China's carbon emissions may have peaked thanks to renewables push
Mon 28 Jul 2025
Climate experts say China's carbon emissions may have peaked, which could affect global climate targets, the fight against global warming – and the Australian coal industry.
Ocean heatwaves may signal climate tipping point
Fri 25 Jul 2025
A recent study that tapped into satellite data has revealed that 2023 marked an unprecedented year for marine heatwaves, with record-breaking levels of duration, reach and intensity across the world's oceans.
Can robot taxis solve NZ's transport woes?
23 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Ministry of Transport has tested the idea of driverless taxis as a futuristic fix. But while new modelling explores how "robotaxis" could ease congestion and reduce car ownership, critics say it misses a crucial point – the country’s worsening transport emissions.
United Nations carbon market rules agreed but concerns remain
25 Nov 2024
New carbon market rules agreed at the fractious UN climate summit will be a relief to New Zealand and Singapore, who were leading the negotiations, but concerns about greenwashing and disadvantaging nature-based solutions remain.
Waste Levy risks becoming ‘slush fund’ under proposed changes – Commissioner
5 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Proposed changes to New Zealand's waste legislation risk undermining public trust in the waste levy scheme, according to Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton.
The struggle for control of the Arctic is accelerating - and it's riskier than ever
11 Jul 2025
As the battle for one of the world’s coldest places heats up, an increasingly fragile security balance may be breaking down, leading to an escalating arms race.
UN University report warns against carbon credits from REDD, tree planting, and improved forest management
13 Jun 2025
But the report stops short of recommending banning the trade in carbon temporarily stored in trees.
For the first time, China invests more in wind and solar than coal overseas
29 May 2025
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, long derided for its heavy carbon footprint, was dominated by wind and solar power projects for the first time from 2022 to 2023, according to a new analysis. But coal plants financed in earlier years are still coming online.
