Topics tagged with 'The House'
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.
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.
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.
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.
2023 Budget spending counter to climate goals - report
11 Sep 2023
The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research says NZ’s 2023 Budget spend is sabotaging climate goals, with unfavourable climate effects for 80% of new government spending.
National suggests a different path for RMA reform
17 Aug 2023
A senior National MP has suggested that if the Government had sent the resource management law reform bills back to select committee, it may have been possible to get cross-party agreement with tweaks.
Fuel bills get differing responses
12 Jun 2023
Two fuels sector bills made progress in Parliament last week.
Parliament unites to stop gifting of carbon credits to big emitters
22 Feb 2023
Parliament has unanimously supported the first reading of an amendment bill that puts an end to the over-allocation of carbon credits to trade-exposed industries. The current system of “industrial allocation” has seen some of the country’s biggest emitters receiving a $60 million annual windfall.
Commissioner for the Environment doubts govt’s resource management plans are fit for purpose
21 Feb 2023
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton has told a select committee that two key pieces of legislation in its climate change adaptation plan are unlikely to provide an enduring framework that protects the environment.
Should government put the brakes on fuel tax cuts?
5 Jul 2022
The government isn’t ruling out further fuel tax cuts, but experts say policy makers should be looking at a targeted approach to inflation rather than continue with a “knee-jerk response” to rising fuel prices.
Aotearoa first country to pass climate reporting law
22 Oct 2021
AOTEAROA has become the first country in the world to pass a law requiring companies to disclose climate-related risks and opportunities.
Climate Change investors group throws weight behind mandatory reporting
19 Aug 2021
The Investor Group on Climate Change – which includes Australian and New Zealand funds with more than $3.2 trillion under management – says the number of investors making climate-related disclosures remains too low and mandatory reporting is required.
Speaker declines motion to debate IPCC report
11 Aug 2021
It may be, in the words of the UN Secretary-General, a “code red” alert for Planet Earth, but the speaker of the House yesterday declined a motion to debate the IPCC’s latest report.
Just transition a top priority: Shaw
7 Jul 2021
Climate Change Minister James Shaw has told an audience in Wellington that a just transition will be a top priority in the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan
Public to see ClimCom’s final advice next month
18 May 2021
The public will get to see the Climate Change Commission’s final advice to the Government by the middle of next month.
Building material suppliers may have to provide embodied carbon information
30 Apr 2021
In future, building material suppliers could be required to include information on the embodied carbon in the products they’re selling.
Bill requires finance sector to disclose climate risks
13 Apr 2021
A Bill requiring the financial sector to disclose the impact of climate change on their business and explain how they manage climate-related risks has its first reading in Parliament this week.
EU at loggerheads over 2030 target
31 Mar 2021
The fifth round of negotiations between the European Union Council and members of parliament achieved little progress on agreeing a climate law.
Luxon touts his climate action at Air NZ
25 Mar 2021
Just one of the three MPs giving maiden speeches given in Parliament yesterday mentioned climate change: Christopher Luxon.
Lobby adds voice to call for ClimCom's economic modelling
24 Mar 2021
The Taxpayers' Union lobby group has gone to the Ombudsman over access to economic modelling underlying the Climate Change Commission’s draft recommendations.
EU keeps free credits for industry
15 Mar 2021
The European Parliament has rejected proposals to phase out free carbon dioxide pollution credits for industries covered by the EU’s Emissions Trading System, even as the bloc plans to gradually replace the scheme with a carbon levy at its border.
Parliament passes reserve price provision
10 Mar 2021
The first Government auction of carbon credits will go ahead next week with a confidential reserve price in place.
GENESIS: Reserve price will distort the market
9 Mar 2021
Including a confidential reserve price in next week’s Government auction of carbon credits could distort the carbon market, says one of the country’s largest emitters.
EU clashes over ‘net’ 2030 climate target
8 Mar 2021
Lawmakers have denounced a “loophole” in the European Commission’s proposed climate target for 2030 and pointed the finger at the EU executive for its hard negotiation style over the EU climate law.
Oil lobby killed carbon prices. Now it supports them?
8 Mar 2021
Twelve years ago, the American Petroleum Institute ran an ad in the print version of the Washington Post. “If you like $4 gasoline,” it read, “you’ll love the House Climate Bill.”
Fund stays away from fossil fuels, despite covid
3 Mar 2021
The New Zealand Superannuation Fund has bounced back from a covid-crisis slump – and without investing a cent in fossil fuels.
ClimCom in the hotseat over cost models
25 Feb 2021
The Climate Change Commission’s failure to release all aspects of the models underlying its draft budget dominated Parliament’s Environment Committee this morning.
Don't get this wrong, Contact tells Government
24 Feb 2021
A major emitter wants the country’s first carbon auction delayed, warning that a botched auction could leave the market scrambling for credits.
Proving that taking care of forest pays carbon dividends
18 Feb 2021
New Zealand’s vast native forests may yet help the country meet its emissions reduction commitments under the Paris Agreement.
Deadline set for auction collateral
16 Feb 2021
If you are planning on taking part in the country's first carbon auction, you have until March 10 to hand over your collateral.
Action on auction bill
11 Feb 2021
Carbon market participants have 10 days to have a say on plans to include a confidential price reserve in the country’s new auctioning regime.
Nats to Shaw: Why the late change, Minister?
10 Feb 2021
The National Party says it will support sending a law to stop gaming of the carbon markets to a select committee, but wants to know how the Government got itself in such a pickle.
New climate adaptation law a goer, say Parker
10 Feb 2021
The Government says it will act on the Randerson Report’s recommendation to establish a Climate Change Adaptation Act.
'Dangerous' push to leave farmers out of Aussie target
9 Feb 2021
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison might be warming to the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, but federal Nationals leader Michael McCormack has thrown a spanner in the works by suggesting agriculture be excluded from the target.
Technical reserve law before Parliament
5 Feb 2021
A law change to stop carbon credits being sold in Government auctions at well below secondary-market prices has made it into Parliament.
Let's think about what's possible
4 Feb 2021
We need more than electric cars to save us - it's time to think about a whole new transport system, says applied mathematician Professor Robert McLachlan.
WORTH NOTING ...
27 Jan 2021
The country’s new carbon-auctioning regime is being put through its paces today and tomorrow with a simulated auction. The first real auction will be on March 17.
WORTH NOTING ...
26 Jan 2021
Simulated auctions of NZUs to test the new regime will be held tomorrow and on Thursday.
EDITORIAL: 202O - the year we got serious?
14 Dec 2020
Believe it or not, a 54 per cent rise in the price of NZUs this year does not make 2020 the year of the biggest gains.
WORTH NOTING ...
14 Dec 2020
A training course on how to take part in the first Government auction of carbon credits will be held on Thursday.
Australia will not be given speaking slot at climate summit, Morrison says
11 Dec 2020
Scott Morrison has signalled Australia will not be granted a speaking slot at a climate ambition summit this weekend, despite telling Parliament a week ago he would attend to “correct mistruths” about the Government’s heavily criticised record on emissions reduction.
Research spending doesn't match priorities - report
10 Dec 2020
There’s a serious mismatch between what New Zealand’s Government identifies as the most pressing environmental issues, including climate change and freshwater quality, and the investments in environmental research it actually makes.
WORTH NOTING ...
9 Dec 2020
Today is the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement on climate change – an event being marked by the group Parents for Climate Aotearoa (formerly Millions of Mothers) with a lunchtime toy picnic at Parliament.
Sage heads new environment committee
8 Dec 2020
Former conservation and associate environment minister Eugenie Sage will chair Parliament’s environment committee.
Morrison yet to be granted speaking slot at weekend climate summit
8 Dec 2020
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison does not yet have a speaker’s spot at a global climate ambition summit this weekend, despite telling his parliament last week he intended to use an appearance at the event to “correct mistruths” about the government’s heavily criticised record on emissions reduction.
WORTH NOTING ...
4 Dec 2020
The Christchurch office of the Accident Compensation Corporation is the target of 350 Aotearoa’s fossil fuel-divestment campaign today.
Carbon-zero public sector could include State investments
3 Dec 2020
The Government will decide in March whether a carbon-neutral public service will include the State’s investment portfolios.
Yes, we shall (virtually) go to Glasgow next week
3 Dec 2020
Speculation New Zealand will be excluded from global climate talks next week appears to have been premature.
Media round-up
Fri 1 May 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: The environmental cost of cruise ships isn't worth the economic benefit, according to an expert; a Kiwi joins an all-female voyage to tackle plastics in the Pacific; and Greenpeace's Russel Norman said what about oil?
Greens condemn planned coal mine next to protected wetland
Today 11:45am
By Liz Kivi | The Green Party says a new plan for a coal mine and fertiliser plant next to an internationally significant wetland is “ecological vandalism and climate denial.”
$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.
Planned coal mine borders internationally significant wetland
Thu 30 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Victorian Hydrogen, the company behind plans for a huge coal-to-urea project, has applied for a permit to explore for coal next to an internationally significant wetland in a sensitive catchment in Southland.
Burning wood for power worse for climate than gas equivalent, report finds
21 Apr 2026
Research casts doubt on plans by the UK government to offer subsidies for carbon capture attached to the power source.
Forest & Bird warns Emissions Trading Scheme ‘failing’
Tue 28 Apr 2026
New advice from the Climate Change Commission shows that New Zealand’s main climate policy tool is broken and at risk of collapse without urgent action to cut gross emissions, according to environmental advocates Forest & Bird.
‘Historic breakthrough’: Colombia climate talks end with hopes raised for fossil fuel phaseout
Today 11:45am
Nearly 60 countries back voluntary roadmaps to wean world off coal, oil and gas, at conference prompted by frustration with UN climate summits.
Carbon ‘stockpile’ up 9 million in March quarter
10 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | The ‘stockpile’ of pollution permits (NZUs) in private accounts has increased by just over 9 million to almost 145 million since the end of 2025, according to the latest figures from the Environmental Protection Authority.
World ‘will not see significant return to coal’ in 2026 – despite Iran crisis
Thu 30 Apr 2026
A much-discussed “return to coal” by some countries in the wake of the Iran war is likely to be far more limited than thought, amounting to a global rise of no more than 1.8% in coal power output this year.
Supply-side pressures and political uncertainty ahead for carbon market
7 Apr 2026
By Kristen Green | ANALYSIS: With failed auctions, a surge of new forestry registrations, and an election a few months away, the NZ ETS in 2026 will be subject to a mix of supply-side pressures and political uncertainty.
Latest emissions inventory: ‘Something has gone very wrong’
16 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2024 decreased by just 0.1% compared to 2023, in what an expert says is a “terrible result”, compared to faster progress in previous years.
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.
Fonterra ‘spins’ greenwashing research for favourable press
Fri 1 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | Dairy co-operative Fonterra has managed to ‘spin’ international research intended to highlight greenwashing, instead using it to generate unwarranted positive press, according to researchers behind the recent study into ag industry greenwashing.
Māui closure notice narrows the buffer
Today 11:45am
OMV New Zealand's notification that the Māui gas field will cease production by the end of 2026 has brought forward risks the industry had expected to emerge more gradually.
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.
Solar power soars to new heights but fears over 'dangerously high' temperatures
Thu 30 Apr 2026
Last year heatwaves hit from the Mediterranean to the Arctic, and Greenland lost 139 billion tonnes of ice, according to a new report from Copernicus, while solar power soared to new heights.
How climate change threatens the economic backbone of the Pacific
Today 11:45am
The vast Pacific Ocean and the islands dotted within it produce more than half of the world's tuna.
Commission advises no change to ETS settings but warns Govt of looming risks
24 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Climate Change Commission is warning the Government of a possible shortfall of Emissions Trading Scheme units by the late 2020s and says the scheme will struggle to provide an investment signal by the mid-2030s.
France unveils plan to ditch all fossil fuels by 2050
Thu 30 Apr 2026
Dozens of nations gathered in Colombia to hold the first-ever talks on how to transition away from fossil fuels. France published a 'roadmap' that explicitly aims to phase out coal by 2030, oil by 2045 and gas for energy purposes by 2050.
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
Wed 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.
‘Formidable’ El Niño expected this winter
Wed 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.
Coal-to-urea plan ‘extremely unlikely’ to be zero carbon
Tue 28 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | A plan to turn Southland coal into nitrogen fertiliser is extremely unlikely “if not impossible” to be net zero, despite the claims of the Australian company applying to fast-track it, says sustainable energy expert Ralph Sims.
Mercury signs major hydro upgrade programme with ANDRITZ
23 Apr 2026
Media release | Mercury has signed a contract with international technology group ANDRITZ as part of a $590 million upgrade of three of the nine hydro stations on the Waikato River.
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.
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.
Tehran will never cede control of Strait of Hormuz, senior Iranian politician tells BBC
21 Apr 2026
"Never." That's when a senior Iranian lawmaker says they'll be ready to give up their control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Govt missing tricks to save fuel in crisis
Thu 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.
Climate pollution static but NZ still on track for first emissions budget, says MfE
17 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand is still on track to meet its first emissions budget, according to the Ministry for the Environment, despite the pace of emissions reductions slowing to a standstill.
NZ ETS guide lays bare policy shifts, uncertainty risks
Fri 1 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A new guide to New Zealand’s emissions trading scheme highlights major policy changes and warns ongoing uncertainty is weakening price signals needed to drive low-emissions investment.
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.
Pacific Islands call for fossil fuel phase-out, NZ hangs back
23 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Pacific Islands nations have launched a landmark declaration for a Fossil Fuel Free Pacific, calling for a Fossil Fuel Treaty and urgent phase-out of fossil fuels, however New Zealand isn’t rushing to join the call.
NZ cleantech could match forests in emissions cuts – but funding gap looms
22 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A handful of New Zealand cleantech startups could cut global emissions by 19.2 million tonnes a year by 2030, but a lack of capital is threatening to slow their scale-up, a new report shows.
Kiwis overly optimistic about state of environment
27 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New research suggests many New Zealanders believe the environment is in better shape than it really is, with public perceptions often out of step with scientific evidence.
NZ First moves to revive container return scheme
Today 11:45am
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.
Thousands protest in Germany urging faster shift to renewable energy, amid Iran war
20 Apr 2026
Thousands of people demonstrated across Germany on April 18, urging a faster shift to renewable energy and accusing conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition of putting the brakes on the transition.
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.
Environment ministry straining under pressure of reforms and potential disestablishment
15 Apr 2026
The ministry responsible for New Zealand’s most significant resource management reform in a generation is doing so under institutional strain, compressed timeframes, and an uncertain future – including its own potential disestablishment.
Paddocks to power: The rise of small-scale solar farms
Fri 1 May 2026
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter | A new, small-scale solar farm has been lit in North Canterbury.
UK scientists to fire salt water into the sky in bid to tackle climate crisis
Fri 1 May 2026
Government supporting new geoengineering techniques as race against unregulated companies seeking to capitalise on need for climate cooling tech heats up.
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
Today 11:45am
Different carbon‑removal approaches solve different problems, and pitting these technologies against each other could slow progress.
EU faces ‘China shock’ as EV imports drive Beijing’s record surplus with bloc
Fri 1 May 2026
The EU is experiencing a prolonged “China shock” as a flood of Chinese EVs into Europe helped push Beijing to a record surplus with the bloc.
Immense irony as Iran war fuels 'boom' in renewable power - UN climate chief
Today 11:45am
Oil and gas prices have soared as the conflict in Iran chokes off about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies and spreads misery.
Infrastructure plan calls for ‘predictable approach’ to electrifying economy
18 Feb 2026
Aotearoa’s first National Infrastructure Plan, introduced to Parliament yesterday, calls for "a predictable approach to electrifying the economy" as one of ten priorities for the next decade.
Extreme weather in Wellington ‘a different beast’
21 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Climate scientist Luke Harrington says the small-scale but intense floods which have slammed the capital in recent days are the kind that intensify most rapidly in a warming climate – and are the hardest to predict.
Scientists forecast wildfire risk for species survival under climate change
24 Apr 2026
A new study warns climate change could increase the global area susceptible to wildfires in the future, putting many more species at risk than today.
Trump administration to pay two more companies to walk away from US offshore wind leases
Wed 29 Apr 2026
Bluepoint Wind and Golden State Wind have agreed to end their offshore wind leases in exchange for reimbursements totaling nearly $900 million. Both companies have decided not to pursue any new offshore wind projects in the United States.
