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.
Govt challenged in the High Court over climate plans
Mon 16 Mar 2026
A landmark case starts today that will see Climate Change Minister Simon Watts taken to the High Court over claims the Government’s climate plans are unlawful.
How the meat industry is quietly keeping its emissions off the climate agenda
Tue 17 Mar 2026
Meat and dairy giants have been accused of halting climate progress by cosying up to policymakers to justify the soaring growth of animal agriculture.
Auckland Airport switches on giant heat pump system to cut gas use
6 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | While Auckland Airport’s switch from gas to heat pumps is welcome, the emissions savings are dwarfed by ongoing aircraft emissions, which are set to rise, according to a sustainable transport expert.
Air NZ joins Marsden Point SAF project
3 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Air New Zealand has quietly added its name to a consortium exploring the viability of green hydrogen production for sustainable aviation fuel at Channel Infrastructure’s Marsden Point energy hub.
NZ urged to grab a slice of burgeoning $35 billion market for nature credits
Fri 13 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand could unlock strong domestic and international demand for high-integrity nature-based credits, if government, investors and restoration groups work together to scale supply, a new report says.
Govt’s own modelling shows LNG leads to higher electricity prices than other solutions
19 Feb 2026
By Christina Hood | COMMENT: According to modelling conducted by Concept Consulting for MBIE, either developing the Tariki gas storage facility or managing electricity demand would deliver lower wholesale electricity prices than the Government’s preferred solution of an LNG import terminal.
Close questioning over ‘ministerial latitude’ at climate hearing
Tue 17 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Lawyers challenging the legality of the government’s emissions reduction plans faced close questioning on the limits of ministerial foresight in the first of three days of hearings at the Wellington High Court yesterday.
Germany misses climate targets as emissions barely fall in 2025
Tue 17 Mar 2026
Greenhouse gas emissions in Germany have again missed targets set by the Climate Protection Act and barely fell at all in 2025.
Bidders no-show at carbon auction – again
3 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | As predicted, today’s carbon auction yet again failed to attract any bidders, with NZUs currently trading hands on the secondary market at a 35% discount on this year’s auction floor price.
3,600 times faster: China is shaking up the steel industry
25 Feb 2026
For over a century, making steel meant coal, heat, and hours of waiting. A Chinese research team now reports collapsing that process into just three to six seconds; no coal, near zero emissions, and a vortex lance already moving toward commercial production. The technology is called flash ironmaking, and in February 2026, its implications are still unfolding.
Hormuz crisis critical to New Zealand
10 Mar 2026
By Nathan Surendran | COMMENT: Why the Hormuz crisis is a symptom, not the disease – and what it means for New Zealand.
Sustainable retail-office project breaks ground under new Green Star framework
19 Feb 2026
Construction is set to begin on a new retail-office development in central Auckland, which is targeting a 40% reduction in embodied carbon and 25% lower energy.
Opposition attacks Govt over fossil fuel phaseout backdown
2 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Revelations that Resources Minister Shane Jones ruled out New Zealand signing up to a 'road map' away from fossil fuels at last year’s global climate summit show the National Party’s minor coalition partners’ undue influence over the Government, according to Labour leader Chris Hipkins.
Rod Carr is ‘over’ climate change defeatism
Fri 13 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | If there’s one thing former Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr is “over”, it’s people saying there’s nothing they can personally do to address climate change.
Oil shock tests Government’s balancing act
Tue 17 Mar 2026
The Government is trying to show it is on top of fuel security risk without giving the impression New Zealand is heading for a shortage.
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.
Inquiry into fatal landslides in Tauranga
Tue 17 Mar 2026
Media release | Cabinet has agreed the Terms of Reference and membership for a Government Inquiry into the Fatal Landslides in Tauranga, Emergency Management and Recovery Associate Minister Chris Penk has announced.
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.
From forest to flatpack, IKEA faces timber traceability test
11 Mar 2026
As the EU’s Deforestation Regulation nears implementation this year, furniture giant IKEA may need stronger traceability systems to prove its timber isn’t linked to post-2020 deforestation.
Greenpeace slams Govt climate policies amid rising petrol prices
Thu 12 Mar 2026
As petrol prices climb to $3 a litre, Greenpeace is blaming Government decisions for leaving Kiwis harder hit by the oil price spike.
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.”
Gaps in adaptation taxonomies hinder climate finance in Asia: report
5 Mar 2026
Without clearer criteria and metrics in adaptation taxonomies, Asia risks widening its climate financing gap, warns a new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
Russia gets export boost from Iran war as price of oil to India surges
10 Mar 2026
The war in Iran has fuelled a significant bump in demand for Russian oil and gas, the Kremlin said on Friday, boosting exports which have been battered by sanctions linked to Russia's war in Ukraine.
Five trees can’t offset a car: Lawyers accuse Mazda of greenwashing
9 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action NZ is taking Mazda to the Advertising Standards Authority over its claims that a tree-planting programme will offset vehicle emissions.
Govt missing opportunity to slash electricity prices, says expert
11 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s fixation on eliminating the "dry-year risk margin" as a lever to reduce costs misses a much bigger opportunity to lower electricity prices, according to Christina Hood, head of Compass Climate.
Japan eyes New Zealand as green hydrogen export hub
Thu 12 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A new partnership between major Japanese companies aims to explore exporting green hydrogen from New Zealand – but the economics of producing the energy-hungry fuel remain the biggest hurdle.
Wales council to buy and demolish homes prone to flooding
4 Feb 2026
A row of homes in a village in south Wales is to be bought by a local authority and demolished as they can no longer be protected from flooding caused by the climate crisis.
Climate law change spanner in the works for Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry
19 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s controversial changes to New Zealand’s legal framework for climate policy have thrown a spanner in the works for a long-running Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry into climate change.
Climate in the courtroom – where to from here?
Tue 17 Mar 2026
Media release: University of Auckland | Around the world, climate lawsuits are reshaping environmental law. Experts in Auckland are examining what this means for New Zealand.
Climate 'dream team' launches foundation targeting 100 million tonnes in emissions cuts
25 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The New Zealand Climate Foundation, which has the ambitious aim of cutting 100 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by 2035, had its official launch on Monday.
Expert Panel invites EDS to comment on Bendigo goldmine
Fri 13 Mar 2026
Media release | The Environmental Defence Society has been invited to provide comment on the Bendigo-Ophir gold mine by the expert Panel tasked with deciding the fast-track project.
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.
Tiny, lost and constipated: what a baby turtle told Australian scientists about warming seas
6 Mar 2026
The arrival of loggerheads in New South Wales shows these ‘sentinels of climate change’ are being forced into unknown territory.
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.
‘They pushed so many lies about recycling’: the fight to stop big oil pumping billions more into plastics
24 Feb 2026
Plastic production has doubled over the last 20 years – and will likely double again. For author Beth Gardiner, metal water bottles and canvas tote bags are not the solution. So what is?
Keep environment out of merger, says Upton
Tue 17 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton is calling on the Government to keep the Ministry for the Environment out of a mega-ministry merger, saying it needs its own ministry to protect transparency and contestable decision-making under the new resource management system.
Media round-up
20 Feb 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: 'Every tonne matters': The climate scientist who wants to give you hope; Minister says managed retreat is an option; and climate change is here – is New Zealand ready?
China has a new competitor? Kazakhstan reveals huge rare Earth deposit that could power the next tech boom
25 Feb 2026
China’s grip on rare earths might finally see some competition, and the world is already taking notice.
When will clean energy spending exceed military spending?
Tue 17 Mar 2026
COMMENT: While it had seemed that global clean energy spending was about to overtake military spending, the advent of a more conflict-ridden era is causing the most rapid growth in global military spending since at least the Cold War.
Native plant shows promise for tackling `forever chemicals’
11 Mar 2026
Media release: University of Auckland | One of Aotearoa New Zealand’s taonga plants, harakeke, shows promise as a treatment for removing “forever chemicals” from drinking water.
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.
Claims that AI can help fix climate dismissed as greenwashing
18 Feb 2026
Tech companies are conflating traditional artificial intelligence with generative AI when claiming the energy-hungry technology could help avert climate breakdown, according to a report.
NZ EV owners sticking with electric – survey
11 Mar 2026
Nearly all New Zealand EV owners say they would buy another electric vehicle, according to new research from Consumer NZ.
Summit aims to revive stalled UN talks on phasing out fossil fuels
11 Mar 2026
Colombia and the Netherlands have set out three priorities for a conference on phasing out fossil fuels they will co-host in Colombia in April.
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.
Global coastal sea-level risks may be underestimated, say scientists
5 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Coastal communities across the Pacific and Southeast Asia could be facing greater sea-level rise risks than previously estimated, researchers say.
Study finds warming world increases days when weather is prone to fires around the globe
20 Feb 2026
The number of days when the weather gets hot, dry and windy — ideal to spark extreme wildfires — has nearly tripled in the past 45 years across the globe, with the trend increasing even higher in the Americas, a new study shows.
Western Australian communities want mandatory payments from new renewable developments
6 Mar 2026
The West Australian government wants to make new wind and solar farms pay into community funds, but host towns say more work needs to be done to make sure the payments actually happen.
