Topics tagged with 'The House'
Back below $4
18 Oct 2013
NZUs edged under $4 yesterday, finishing the day at $3.95, OMFinancial reports.
Labour thermal power bid fails
6 Sep 2013
A bid by Labour MP Moana Mackey to bring back the ban on new thermal electricity generation has fallen at the first hurdle.
ANALYSIS: Australians' vote will affect carbon market
30 Aug 2013
The 2013 Federal Election in Australia will have a significant impact on Australian carbon markets, regardless of who wins, Westpac says.
Emissions target under fire from MPs
23 Aug 2013
The Government's 2020 emissions reduction target came under fire in Parliament this week.
EPA gets ready to sidestep Congress
16 Aug 2013
A top US climate change official says the Obama administration is finished waiting for Congress to act on climate change and plans to bypass the legislative branch in developing a federal response.
Australia draws the battle lines
16 Aug 2013
There’s a carbon battle going on over the Tasman in the lead-up to that country’s general election.
Groser defends climate change attitudes
9 Aug 2013
This week in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Tim Groser found himself defending statements by two of his Cabinet colleagues that seem to suggest they are not entirely convinced that anthropogenic climate change is real:
Aussie emitters await election outcome
9 Aug 2013
Australia's Federal election has been September 7 and the outcome will determine the fate of the Carbon Price Mechanism, but in the meantime, the business of compliance goes on. Westpac reports:
Watch reform bill, EDS warns councils
2 Aug 2013
The Environmental Defence Society is urging regional and district councils to urgently consider the implications of the Resource Management Reform Bill on their indigenous biodiversity functions.
Labour seeks help for fossil fuel action
12 Jul 2013
Labour is looking for cross-party support for its attempt to bring back a ban on new fossil fuel electricity generation in New Zealand.
Light trading in EUAs
12 Jul 2013
EUAs closed down 6 per cent for the week, as light volumes and a lack of buying activity from the utilities saw the market give back all the gains made since the market intervention plan was backed by the European Union Parliament, OMFinancial reports.
Air NZ to refuse shark-fin freight
28 Jun 2013
Air New Zealand has bowed to pressure and will no longer freight shark fins.
Yes, we can make steel without coal
21 Jun 2013
Our ancestors made steel without coal, so why don't we? Former Green Party co-leader JEANETTE FITZSIMONS examines the feasibility of coal-less steel:
EU body votes for weaker rescue plan
21 Jun 2013
European Union lawmakers have approved a watered-down rescue plan for the world’s biggest carbon market, after a record surplus of emission permits pushed prices to an all-time low.
Dunne decider on thermal power future
14 Jun 2013
Beleaguered MP Peter Dunne could be called on to cast the deciding vote over whether new thermal electricity generation is banned or not.
House hears ETS 'far left' debate
7 Jun 2013
This week’s OECD Economic Report on New Zealand sparked an exchange in Parliament over whether the Emissions Trading Scheme is a “far left” policy.
Museum wins environment award
7 Jun 2013
Auckland Museum’s efforts to reduce its carbon emissions have earned it one of New Zealand’s top environmental awards.
Minister defends Denniston decisions
31 May 2013
Conservation Minister Nick Smith says he deliberately approved Bathurst Resources’ mining application for the Denniston Plateau just one day before the new Crown Minerals Act came into effect.
Leaders to talk climate change
10 May 2013
Business and political leaders from across the spectrum will come together next month to see whether they can find common ground on climate change policies.
Pacific refugees not urgent problem, says PM
19 Apr 2013
Decisions about whether New Zealand should take climate change refugees from the Pacific will be up to a government “some way in the future”, the Prime Minister says.
New law protects EEZ, says minister
19 Apr 2013
A law which the Government says will enable the comprehensive environmental management of activities in New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone will come into force in June.
Ratepayers foot the bill, say local authorities
5 Apr 2013
Ratepayers are being left to pick up the cost of environmental monitoring that should be paid for by the Government, says Local Government New Zealand.
Casualties could be trees, says board
5 Apr 2013
Changes to the Resource Management Act could cost Auckland its trees, says the Auckland Conservation Board.
Don't blame biofuels, says minister
15 Mar 2013
The Government is denying its decision to scrap the biofuels obligation contributed to Solid Energy’s financial meltdown.
Price steady after overnight spike
15 Mar 2013
After a lack of support throughout the week, the December 2013 EUA - touching lows of €3.45 overnight - spiked up to €4.23 before settling at €3.70.
NZU supply tight
15 Mar 2013
NZU trading remains sporadic, as switching flow dictates price action, says Westpac.
Europe eyes ambitious restructure
8 Mar 2013
Five weeks after voting down the ‘backloading’ (or withholding) of allowances to raise carbon prices, the European Parliament’s industry committee is proposing two far-more ambitious structural measures.
Beehive watchdog slams RMA proposals
1 Mar 2013
The Government's proposed changes to the Resource Management Act paint the environment as the enemy of the economy, says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
Brussels abuzz as carbon vote falters
1 Mar 2013
A planned European Parliament vote on fast-tracking negotiations with EU states over carbon market reform was inexplicably cancelled as rumours and counter-rumours swirled around Brussels
Question for PM: UN is serious, are you?
22 Feb 2013
Green Party MP Kennedy Graham told Parliament this week that the United Nations Security Council is starting to consider climate change a serious risk.
Refugees? Don't ask us, says Government
1 Feb 2013
New Zealand has no policy for dealing with future climate change refugees.
Key's climate change answers anger Greens
1 Feb 2013
Prime Minister John Key was challenged in Parliament this week over why he didn’t mention climate change in his outline of Government priorities for the year.
Government mulls over binding target
1 Feb 2013
The Government is “considering advice on Doha outcomes” as it ponders what this country’s binding emissions reduction target will be.
Marketing getting news-fatigue
1 Feb 2013
International prices fell sharply last night as news headlines continue to dictate the mood of the European carbon markets, Westpac reports.
At last, it's climate-change time for Obama
25 Jan 2013
By PETER GRIFFIN in Washington. Emboldened by a decisive defeat of his rival in November’s US election, President Barack Obama has outlined a progressive agenda for his second and final term, including rekindling efforts to combat climate change.
Southern lignite stupid idea, says farmer
25 Jan 2013
The idea of digging up fertile farmland for lignite coal is “100% stupidity,” a visiting Australian farmer says.
Market plunge gets the tongues wagging
25 Jan 2013
The major talking points this week are the massive market plunge in an already-volatile market which has been stirred up by rumour and political uncertainty, says John Davis of CF Partners in London.
New low for European carbon
25 Jan 2013
It hasn’t been a good month for European carbon prices, with EUAs plunging from around EUR6.75 at the beginning of January to a record low of EUR2.81 for the Dec13 EUA contract overnight.
Key defends climate change actions
7 Dec 2012
Prime Minister John Key says that he takes criticism of New Zealand’s actions on climate change with a grain of salt.
RMA changes put money first, says watchdog
7 Dec 2012
Changes to the Resource Management Act put economic development ahead of environmental concerns, says the Environmental Defence Society.
NZ will end up just a slogan, Greens warn
30 Nov 2012
New Zealand is in danger of becoming little more than a marketing slogan that the world is starting to see through, Green Party climate change spokesman Kennedy Graham is warning.
Environment watchdog questions fracking
30 Nov 2012
Environmental issues associated with fracking can be managed, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment says.
Europe decides when a bicycle isn’t a bicycle
23 Nov 2012
European lawmakers have decided what is a bicycle … and what isn’t.
Plans to reduce supply in world's largest market
23 Nov 2012
International prices have traded sideways following last week’s back-loading proposal announced by the European Commission.
Bill dumps agriculture on backburner
9 Nov 2012
Agriculture is out of the Emissions Trading Scheme indefinitely.
National MP questions the science
9 Nov 2012
A Government MP who shouted “where’s the science?” during the debate on changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme this week says he’s no climate-change denier.
ETS changes get through House ... just
26 Oct 2012
Controversial changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme passed their second reading in Parliament yesterday by the slimmest of majorities.
Price flop not a good look, admits Smith
26 Oct 2012
Former Climate Change Minister Nick Smith admits that low carbon prices are sending “weak” market signals to emitters and foresters.
Maori vow to fight for ETS rights
26 Oct 2012
Maori say they will continue to fight damaging changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme even if they are passed by Parliament.
New courses focus on climate action, activism and creating vision
Fri 12 Sep 2025
Media release | Dark Times Academy’s final lineup of courses for 2025, launching in mid-September, will focus on taking action on climate, learning about practical activism, and creating visions for the future.
Carbon price steady after failed quarterly auction
Tue 16 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | The carbon price has continued to trade in its familiar moribund range in the high $50s following last week’s failed quarterly auction, with ample supply still trading on the secondary market at about $10 below this year’s $68 auction floor.
NZ needs to be part of a regional SAF strategy: Z, Air NZ
9 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand needs to be part of a regional strategic approach to sourcing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with domestic production less the aim than ensuring access to the fuel from one of a number of strategically positioned bio-refineries around the world.
'Non-negotiable' – EU carbon pricing to hit Kiwi exporters, expert warns
Thu 11 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | High carbon exports will inevitably face a high carbon tax at the EU border, possibly in the next five years, and high methane agricultural products might not be exempt, an international expert told a local audience yesterday.
UK foreign aid for nature hits £800m record due to cash for carbon credits
Tue 16 Sep 2025
The UK’s climate-aid spending on “nature protection and restoration” reached record levels of nearly £800m last year, according to government figures obtained by Carbon Brief.
Air NZ declares surprisingly low SAF prices
3 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Air New Zealand is able to source sustainable aviation fuel at between 1.5 and 2.5 times the price of conventional fossil fuels used for flying, all sourced from the US.
No bidders front to carbon auction - again
10 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | Today’s quarterly carbon auction was a non-event yet again, making it the third consecutive auction this year with no bidders, with the secondary market price still limping along at nearly 20% below the auction floor.
Ashburton councillor opposes climate strategy he voted for
Today 11:00am
Jonathan Leask, Local Democracy Reporter | Incumbent Ashburton councillor Phill Hooper says he doesn’t want to waste money on a climate change strategy, despite voting for the policy a few weeks ago.
'Atrocious' and 'bizarre': experts slam Act Party's climate policy
3 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Act Party is promising to challenge New Zealand’s Paris Agreement climate target, while the coalition Government’s other minor partner, NZ First, also says it wants to reevaluate the country’s commitment to the international treaty.
Industry struggles with double-digit power price hikes
Mon 15 Sep 2025
As power prices surge by double-digit amounts for the second year in a row, industrial users can’t keep absorbing cost increases, the Major Electricity Users’ Group says.
The merchants of doubt are back
3 Sep 2025
OPINION: If you don’t follow climate policy closely, you might not know that the Trump administration is launching an effort to overturn one of the most fundamental pillars of American climate policy.
Milestone for NZ Steel electrification
10 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | NZ Steel has passed an installation milestone for its new electric arc furnace, which will reduce emissions from the Glenbrook steel mill site by as much as one megatonne (1Mt) a year.
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.”
Watts not considering removing electricity from ETS
Tue 16 Sep 2025
Energy and Climate Change Minister, Simon Watts, says he is “not currently considering” removing electricity generation from the Emissions Trading Scheme, as proposed by NZ First Minister Shane Jones.
Gentailers told to behave as ministers weigh Frontier review
Today 11:00am
The chief executives of Contact, Meridian, Mercury and Genesis met Energy and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts on Thursday for their regular monthly session.
Declining sea-ice is altering Antarctic food webs
Thu 11 Sep 2025
A new study shows a significant change in Antarctic phytoplankton over time that could cascade through the marine food web and affect the ocean’s capacity as a carbon sink.
Science cuts will hold back climate research
Today 11:00am
By Liz Kivi | A crisis in government-backed science funding is worsening, with dire implications for climate research in New Zealand, according to experts from the scientific community.
Marginal drop in last year's regional emissions
27 Aug 2025
Regional greenhouse gas emissions were down slightly last year, with a fall in gas supply leading to a big drop in Taranaki, but more coal burnt leading to higher emissions in Waikato, according to new figures from Stats NZ
Indigenous forest 'islands' could help transition exotic plantations to native bush
Thu 11 Sep 2025
Native forest 'islands' within exotic plantations might be the key to transitioning plantations from exotic to Indigenous, according to new research.
Decline in global oil and gas field output accelerating, IEA says
Today 11:00am
The decline in output from mature global oil and gas fields is accelerating amid greater reliance on shale and deep offshore resources.
A modest geothermal strategy
31 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The Government has unveiled a far more modest geothermal energy strategy than its primary backer, Resources Minister Shane Jones, had sought.
Why mega-polluters have little to fear from the European Central Bank and its new climate policy
Fri 12 Sep 2025
The European Central Bank plans to raise borrowing costs for climate offenders – but a new FTM analysis shows that big polluters such as Shell will barely feel it.
Media round-up
5 Sep 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: The great methane debate; law change scuppers legal challenge to irrigation scheme consent; and what are the energy and climate implications of the $7.5 billion Amazon Web Services data centre deal?
Coal imports up 650%
Fri 12 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams and Liz Kivi | Coal imports are up 650% as generators stockpile the most polluting fossil fuel ahead of next winter.
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.
Media round-up
29 Aug 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Changes to road user charges will increase New Zealand's emissions; Climate Change Minister Simon Watts promises better access to hazard data for homeowners; and Kiwis borrow over $1 billion in ‘green loans’ for heat pumps and electric cars.
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.
Apple Watch not a 'CO2-neutral product,' German court finds
28 Aug 2025
Apple can no longer advertise its Apple Watch as a "CO2-neutral product" in Germany, following a court ruling on Tuesday that upheld a complaint from environmentalists, finding that the U.S. tech company had misled consumers.
Forest carbon stores massive blind spot - study
4 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Aotearoa New Zealand’s planted forests hold significant deep soil organic carbon — with over half of it stored below 30 cm, and much of it over 1,000 years old.
Govt tweaks offshore energy bill with 'declared areas' model
Today 11:00am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government is making changes to the Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to address offshore wind developers' concerns about competing for space with other industries.
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.
A steady ocean pattern just failed for the first time ever observed
Today 11:00am
The failure of the Gulf of Panama’s seasonal upwelling system has left scientists wondering what happens next.
Watts full-throated in National’s support for Paris
10 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts came to this week’s Climate Change and Business Conference with nothing to announce.
Govt resilience plan 'dangerous fantasy' - thinktank
29 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | An independent thinktank, whose members include former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer and multiple academics, is warning that the government’s long-term resilience strategy ignores physical and energy realities and exposes Kiwi households and businesses to systemic failure.
‘Plastic Cup’ competitions are cleaning up rivers in Hungary
1 Sep 2025
Afloat on DIY boats, teams of volunteers have removed over 450 tons of plastic waste from the Danube and its tributaries.
Invites-only fast-track for seabed mine slammed as 'rushed, awful'
Fri 12 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With the wider public shut out of submissions, critics including Te Pāti Māori, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining and Greenpeace say the process strips away robust scrutiny and risks setting a dangerous precedent.
Climate scorecard launched for local elections
Tue 16 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Youth-led climate justice organisation Generation Zero has launched new candidate scorecards for this year’s local body elections, hoping to make climate a key issue.
Underestimating support for climate action limits political decision making, study says
8 Sep 2025
Research reveals huge disparity between perceived and actual willingness of public to contribute to fixing climate.
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.
Solar and battery systems to boost resilience at Tasman community facilities
Tue 16 Sep 2025
Media release: Tasman District Council | Ten community facilities across Tasman District will soon be equipped with solar panels and battery storage, following confirmation of co-funding from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA).
The ozone hole continues to recover thanks to international action
Today 11:00am
Media release: World Meteorological Organization (WMO) | The Earth’s protective ozone layer is healing and the ozone hole in 2024 was smaller than in recent years, according to a new report.
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’.
Ara Ake backs 13 projects to unlock NZ’s energy flexibility
Thu 11 Sep 2025
Media release | Ara Ake has approved over $600,000 in funding from the National Flex Discovery Fund for 13 flexibility service providers (FSPs).
Most EU carmakers on track to meet emission targets: study
10 Sep 2025
Almost all European carmakers are on track to meet EU emission targets after winning a reprieve this year as electric vehicles (EV) sales pick up, a study showed.
Hotter, longer, more frequent: NZ’s escalating heat risk
26 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Heat extremes in New Zealand will intensify faster than previously thought, according to a new study.
Echo Tech secures growth investment to tackle NZ's e-waste crisis
Mon 15 Sep 2025
Media release | Echo Tech Limited, New Zealand’s leading provider of e-waste recycling and IT asset recovery services, is proud to announce a strategic investment from growth equity firm Altered Capital.
La Niña set to prolong NZ hydro shortfall
9 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With La Niña favouring a drier-than-normal spring across much of the South Island, hydro lakes are unlikely to recover without substantial rain and late snowmelt – keeping national storage levels below average.
Record UK wildfires have burned an area twice the size of Glasgow in 2025
12 Aug 2025
Wildfires have scorched more than 40,000 hectares of land so far this year across the UK – an area more than twice the size of the Scottish city of Glasgow.
Which countries are scaling solar and wind the fastest?
Fri 12 Sep 2025
The leaderboard is quite different depending on what metric you look at.
