Topics tagged with 'Tax'
World won't buy ETS dream, top economist tells Aussies
15 Jul 2008
Australians are being told by one of the world’s leading economists that the world will never support an emissions trading regime.
Roundtable: NZIER survey confirms ETS proposals lack support
11 Jul 2008
“The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research survey confirms what the Business Roundtable has been saying: that the government has failed to make a robust case to the public that further action against climate change is in New Zealand’s interests, and that without public support any action is likely to be politically unsustainable”, Roger Kerr, executive director of the New Zealand Business Roundtable said.
Did the ETS really cause big business to leak?: the Dutch evidence
8 Jul 2008
Everywhere emissions trading is being considered, heavy emitters are saying they will relocate to countries without a price on carbon.
Japan summit to test G8 leaders on climate change, world economy and security
8 Jul 2008
The leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialised nations gather in Hokkaido, Japan, today for their annual summit and face the challenge of showing greater resolve to fight global warming, remedying the world economy and easing tensions in the world's hot spots.
Braver than Kiwis, British Columbians start paying carbon tax on fuel
8 Jul 2008
Canada’s British Columbian state government’s new carbon tax came into effect last week, indicating how the New Zealand may have missed a chance to introduce carbon prices here with limited public opposition.
Seoul aims for voluntary compliance with greenhouse gas protocols
8 Jul 2008
South Korea plans to seek flexible and voluntary compliance with the international effort to cut back on greenhouse gases, the country's climate change ambassador said yesterday.
Dissenters will support ETS if it's law, minutes show
4 Jul 2008
Heavy emitters have revealed privately they will "fall in behind" the emissions trading scheme if it is passed into law.
British Columbians pay more for petrol as carbon tax kicks in
4 Jul 2008
British Columbians are paying more at the gas pump as the provincial government's carbon tax on all fossil fuels takes effect.
Get on with it, unions tell business and politicians
1 Jul 2008
Unions are climbing into the emissions trading debate, using two of their heavy-weights to send a clear message to business and political leaders that it’s time to pass the bill.
OPINION: CTU economist Peter Conway on the ETS
1 Jul 2008
Some business lobby groups are in full scale attack mode on the Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill since the National Party withdrew its support for the Bill.
Report underestimates benefits of increased forestry planting, say forest owners
27 Jun 2008
A recent report from the NZ Business Council for Sustainable Development grossly underestimates the potential benefits generated by the forestry sector under the proposed emissions trading scheme, says the forest owners’ association (NZFOA), because the report does not factor in the ongoing and increasing ability of newly-planted forests to sequester carbon.
Airlines should pay tax on emissions, Branson says
27 Jun 2008
Aviation is a dirty business and airlines should be willing to pay for the damage they cause to the environment, Virgin Group chairman Richard Branson has told a forum on climate change in Geneva.
No local biofuel under proposed law - manufacturers
24 Jun 2008
Local production of biofuels will be halted by changes to the Biofuels Bill, which came back into Parliament yesterday, say manufacturers.
Poll shock: Most Britons doubt cause of climate change
24 Jun 2008
Climate change campaigners are shocked by the results of a poll which shows that the majority of the British public is still not convinced that climate change is caused by humans.
Lights out - Japan acts to cut hours of convenience stores
20 Jun 2008
Japan's 24-hour convenience stores, already struggling with lagging sales and growth, may soon face yet another threat -- moves to limit business hours and close the stores late at night.
Call to Suspend Motorway Projects
20 Jun 2008
Should oil prices reach $US150 a barrel, the Auckland based transport lobby group is recommending that all uncommitted motorway projects be placed on hold, and funds diverted to increasing the capacity of transport modes that aren't reliant on cheap oil.
Emissions Trading Scheme Proves to be Trojan Horse
20 Jun 2008
"With the raft of exceptions to the proposed scheme," Cross says, "Only the productive and the wealth creators of New Zealand will be hamstrung by this unnecessary cost."
Extreme low hydro inflows reduces TrustPower's profit outlook
18 Jun 2008
The New Zealand major hydro storage lakes have been as low as 49% and are currently 55% of average for this time of the year and the electricity industry has commenced a nationwide power savings campaign.
Heavy emitters: ETS bill changes not sufficient
18 Jun 2008
The Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill has not been changed sufficiently to allay concerns that industry will struggle to stay profitable in New Zealand, according to the Greenhouse Policy Coalition, which represents large industry across a range of sectors.
National's full minitory report on ETS bill
16 Jun 2008
National has released its miniority report on the ETS bill.
No carbon invoices, says Hyde
13 Jun 2008
Act Party leader Rodney Hyde is ruling out a policy of individual invoices for a carbon flat-tax.
Forestry owners: Ministers claim of liabilities warning not true
13 Jun 2008
Claims by forestry minister Jim Anderton on Radio New Zealand’s Morning Report yesterday that land owners were warned five years ago of potential deforestation liabilities are not correct, the New Zealand Forest Owners Association said yesterday.
ARC calls on Aucklanders to help save energy
13 Jun 2008
Auckland Regional Council chairman Michael Lee is calling on Aucklanders to do their bit for the national energy saving campaign.
ACT working on individual carbon tax?
12 Jun 2008
ACT will cover the ETS debate in Parliament with the concept of individual invoices for a carbon flat tax.
Push for wider use of geothermal energy, using "low heat" resources
12 Jun 2008
New Zealanders will have more opportunity to use heat energy drawn directly from the ground in the future as a result of research being led by GNS Science.
Japan embraces emissions trading - trial scheme to launch
11 Jun 2008
One of New Zealand's major trading partners, Japan, will trial a carbon trading regime later this year.
First personal carbon trading scheme launches
11 Jun 2008
The world's first real time personal carbin trading scheme has launched.
Clark "personally responsible" for shocking deforestation data - Kyoto Forestry Association
11 Jun 2008
US cap and trade bill dies in the Senate
9 Jun 2008
A bill which would have introduced a cap and trade scheme in the US, died in the Senate with a 48 to 36 vote against allowing amendments to be read.
McCain: cap and trade will change the dynamic of US economy
9 Jun 2008
BACKGROUNDER.- The Republican presidential candidate claims he wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60%. That is 20% less than Obama’s (or Clinton’s) 80% by 2050.
Heavy emitters must pray NZ doesn't follow Obama's ETS plan
6 Jun 2008
New Zealand's heavy emitters, waiting to see how the rest of the world approaches emissions trading, will not like the plan of likely US Democratpresidential candidate Barrack Obama.
Progress on new climate change deal "extremely disconcerting" says UN leader
5 Jun 2008
The director of the UN’s Environment Programme describes current progress in negotiating a new agreement to replace the Kyoto Treaty as “extremely disconcerting”.
PM: Significant risks to export industries without ETS and sustainability
5 Jun 2008
Prime Minister Helen Clark says she sees climate change as one of the biggest environmental and political challenges of our time and singificant risks to export industries if the country doesn't act to become more sustainable.
Anderton weighs into Greens again: Are they Arthur or Martha on dairy prices?
4 Jun 2008
Agriculture Minister Jim Anderton has made his scond strong attack in three days on the Greens.
Australian Minister talks on ETS and fuel prices
4 Jun 2008
Australia's Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Tony Burke, has talked with The Sunday agenda programme on fuel prices and the proposed emissions trading scheme.
Forum assures committee: parliamentary process is parliamentary process
3 Jun 2008
The Government-appointed multi-sector Leadership Forum on Climate Change is not working as an alternative to the select committee process – and has told the select committee considering the emissions trading scheme so.
Key reveals thoughts on "bastardised" ETS scheme to student blogger
3 Jun 2008
National leader John Key has referred to different credit phase out timelines for different sectors as “a bit of a bastardised way to develop an emissions trading scheme”.
NZ solar efforts look small compared with EU's strong sector growth
3 Jun 2008
CARBON NEWS SPECIAL FEATURE. - While little appears to be happening in New Zealand, the use of solar energy, one of the most accessible and affordable sources of renewable energy available is growing steadily in Europe.
Farmers: Green move to get agriculture into ETS early "not a runner"
29 May 2008
Farmers say a Green Party attempt to get them into the emissions trading scheme early as part of a deal for the party’s support for the climate change bill is not a political runner.
Brtish Gas wants NZ as green test bench
29 May 2008
Further evidence is emerging that Contact Energy is a prime target in the acquisition by British Gas of Australia’s Origin Energy, parent of Contact.
Dunne lines himself up for an anti-ETS bill vote, or a household protector victory
29 May 2008
Is United Future leader Peter Dunne lining himself up for a vote against the emsission trading scheme? Or accolades for delivering a policy concession from the Government?
EU Parliament committee votes overnight for tougher aviation ETS regime
28 May 2008
The European Parliament's Enevironment Committee early this morning (NZ time) voted for a tougher emissions regime for airlines.
ACT: climate change a "pup" but let's have a tax
28 May 2008
ACT has released a 20 point plan for the country, including managing climate change.
Forum heads to the select committee
26 May 2008
A high-powered group of business and community leaders who back an emissions trading scheme will appear before the finance and expenditure select committee today to answer questions from MPs.
Dunne does a dance on ETS costs to households
26 May 2008
UnitedFuture leader Peter Dunne says the party’s future support of both the Emissions Trading Scheme and the biofuels legislation currently before Parliament hinge on the issue of the impact on household budgets.
Continued tax incentives for renewables expected to boost growth 20%
26 May 2008
The US Senate has passed a bil extending tax credits- and authorizing US$2 billion in new bonds to boost renewable energy development.
Fiscal forecast: ETS will lose Govt $121m net in first commitment period
23 May 2008
The Government will allocate $2,151 million in emission credits and earn $2,030 million from them in the first Kyoto commitment period, making a net loss of $121 million.
Dunne: More than tax cuts needed for households to counter ETS price rises
23 May 2008
There will be justifiable outrage and anger if the Government decides to treat these cuts as effectively a down payment on increases in the cost of living brought on by the Emissions Trading Scheme, according to United Future leader Peter Dunne.
Australia debates leaving petrol out of ETS
23 May 2008
A major debate is underway in Australia on leaving petrol out of its emissions trading scheme.
Cullen quizzed on multi-billion ETS surplus from sale of credits
23 May 2008
The Government will make a net revenue gain from the emissions trading system of up to about $159 million a year between 2013 and 2018 - $795 million over five years - and "perhaps" $1b to $1.5 b a year out to 2030.
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.
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'.
