Topics tagged with 'The House'
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
20 May 2020
Submissions on the Forestry (Regulation of Log Traders and Advisers) Amendment Bill, introduced as part of last week’s Budget, close tomorrow, when the Environment Select Committee will meet to discuss the bill.
Government goes for silence on ETS
19 May 2020
The Government will make no announcements about changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme until after surrender date on May 31.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
19 May 2020
MPs take a break from Parliament this week, but will be back in the House next week.
POLITICS: James Shaw dines out
15 May 2020
Climate minister James Shaw must be pinching himself; the $50 billion the Government is pouring into digging the country out of the covid-19 pandemic financial hole dwarfs what money he had secured so far to cut carbon out of the economy.
BUDGET: More money for infrastructure
14 May 2020
The Budget has come out with no real indication of the infrastructure projects the Government will back to stimulate the economy.
Wellington says govt urban plan fails on climate
14 May 2020
The Government's plans for urban development are at odds with its programme for dealing with climate change, says Greater Wellington Regional Council.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
11 May 2020
The Government will announce this afternoon whether covid-19 pandemic restrictions will be eased, taking the country from level three to level two.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
8 May 2020
Parliament's Epidemic Response Select Committee hears submissions today from Business New Zealand and Local Government New Zealand – two organisations promoting a low-carbon pandemic recovery.
ETS faces biggest overhaul in 10 years
5 May 2020
The biggest overhaul of the Emissions Trading Scheme since it was gutted in 2010 is back before Parliament.
Nats don't like railway network plans
4 May 2020
National is resisting moves to run the country’s rail network on a less-than-purely-commercial footing.
RMA welcomes back greenhouse gas emissions
30 Apr 2020
Greenhouse gas emissions are set to come back into the Resource Management Act, making it compulsory for councils to consider climate change in granting resource consents.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
23 Apr 2020
Parliament’s Environment Select Committee discusses changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme today.
Refinery could get windfall carbon credits
22 Apr 2020
Bringing the Marsden Point oil refinery into the Emissions Trading Scheme could cost taxpayers money, Cabinet has been told.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
22 Apr 2020
Today is Earth Day – and the fourth anniversary of the signing of the Paris Agreement.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
15 Apr 2020
Our Freshwater 2020, updating the 2017 official report on the state of New Zealand’s waterways, will be released tomorrow.
POLITICS: Roll out the big guns
9 Apr 2020
The Government’s climate programme is under double-fire this week.
POLITICS: We're on a climate knife-edge
3 Apr 2020
By ADELIA HALLETT | Is the covid-19 pandemic going to be a repeat of the Global Financial Crisis in terms of climate change? It could go either way.
EDS (and more) welcomes moves on emissions
3 Apr 2020
Moves to make local councils consider greenhouse gas emissions in resource consents would have thrilled climate activist and former Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons, says Environmental Defence Society chief executive Gary Taylor.
Lift RMA emissions ban, says select committee
2 Apr 2020
A 2004 ban on considering greenhouse gas emissions in resource consents should be overturned, the Environment Select Committee has told Parliament.
Emission trading changes will have to wait
26 Mar 2020
Changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme are in lockdown along with the rest of the country.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
25 Mar 2020
Parliament meets today to pass legislation putting the country into a state of emergency.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
23 Mar 2020
A meeting of Greater Wellington Regional Council’s climate committee scheduled for tomorrow has been cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak.
POLITICS: Sorry, we're a bit busy
20 Mar 2020
CLIMATE change received only the briefest of attention in Parliament this week.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
20 Mar 2020
Covid-19-related cancellations continue, with the Agricultural Climate Change Conference scheduled for Palmerston North on April 1 and 2 the latest casualty.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
19 Mar 2020
Parliament’s Environment Select Committee is hearing submissions on the Urban Development Bill today.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
17 Mar 2020
Restrictions on travel and public gatherings as a result of the spread of the Covid-19 virus are affecting climate-change events.
Super fund dumps big emitters - and fills pockets
16 Mar 2020
New Zealand’s national superannuation fund is hundreds of millions of dollars off because it has shed high-carbon investments, says chief executive Matt Whineray.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
16 Mar 2020
This week’s energy sector conference in Wellington is going ahead, although the coronavirus pandemic means not everyone will be there in person.
POLITICS: The mood is all very GFC
13 Mar 2020
The coronavirus Covid-19 and the impact it could have on the economy dominated the attention of politicians this week, but they did manage to squeeze in a mention of climate change.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
12 Mar 2020
Parliament sits today and the Environment Select Committee meets to discuss the Urban Development Bill, changes to the Resource Management Act, and the issue of food waste.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
11 Mar 2020
The impacts of climate change on the country’s energy system will be discussed in Wellington tomorrow.
ClimCom wants to see $50 carbon cap now
10 Mar 2020
The Climate Change Commission says controls on carbon prices should be lifted to about $50 a tonne now.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
10 Mar 2020
Carbon capture and storage will be the focus of this year’s Carbon and Energy Professionals conference.
Veteran activist clear to tackle Big Business
9 Mar 2020
Veteran activist and Iwi Chairs’ Forum spokesman Mike Smith has been given the go-ahead to take some of the country’s largest companies to court in a bid to cut their emissions to zero by 2030.
POLITICS: Nats declare war on RMA
9 Mar 2020
The Resource Management Act will be toast under a National Government.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
9 Mar 2020
Parliament sits this week, with the Environment Select Committee meeting on Thursday to discuss the Urban Development Bill, changes to the Resource Management Act.
EDITORIAL: Loss of a leader
6 Mar 2020
By ADELIA HALLETT | Jeanette Fitzsimons, the Green politician and activist who died last night, exemplified the environmentalists’ mantra of thinking globally and acting locally.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
4 Mar 2020
A demonstration against oil company OMV continues today, with two protesters occupying a company rig and a yacht shadowing it.
Officials question farmer ETS obligation
3 Mar 2020
Making farmers instead of agricultural processing companies the point of obligation under the Emissions Trading Scheme could push administration costs up 4000 per cent, officials say.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
3 Mar 2020
Parliament sits today and will resume debate on the Prime Minister’s speech.
Climate not big election issue, says National
2 Mar 2020
Climate change should be less of an election issue this year than it was last time round, thanks to cross-party agreement on the zero-carbon act, says National Party climate spokesperson Scott Simpson.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
2 Mar 2020
MPs are back to Parliament this week, with the House sitting tomorrow and on Wednesday and Thursday.
We need to know changes to ETS, say foresters
28 Feb 2020
Forest owners – who yesterday called for a $200-a-tonne carbon tax on the burning of coal – say changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme should be signalled in the May Budget.
FRIDAY POLITICS: A new look at the air we breathe
28 Feb 2020
The Government announced plans this week to overhaul the rules governing air quality and fine particulate matter.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
28 Feb 2020
Today is the last day to make submissions on the Government’s proposals to change the Emissions Trading Scheme’s settings and on ways to accelerate the uptake of renewable energy generation.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
27 Feb 2020
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern leaves Fiji today for Sydney, where she will meet with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
26 Feb 2020
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s visit to Fiji continues today, where discussion on climate change is on the agenda.
Bid to review Kāpiti Coast climate emergency declaration fails
Mon 15 Jun 2026
By Justin Wong, Local Democracy Reporter | Kāpiti Coast councillors have rejected a motion to review the local district council’s climate emergency declaration.
Climate change minister tight-lipped on ACT climate policy
Today 12:15pm
By Liz Kivi | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts is keeping his cards close to his chest about the ACT Party’s election campaign pledge last week that it would resubmit New Zealand’s Paris Agreement target.
$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.
Airline CEOs warn EU plan to expand carbon costs will raise fares
Wed 10 Jun 2026
Europe's biggest airlines have urged the European Union not to extend its Emissions Trading System to cover international flights, warning the move would raise ticket prices, a letter seen by Reuters showed.
NZ biodiversity credits top global rankings
Today 12:15pm
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A New Zealand biodiversity credit project has topped global sales rankings, with Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari accounting for 43% of worldwide biodiversity credit transactions in May and adding momentum to the country's emerging voluntary nature market.
Huntly biomass option no cheap fix, Genesis tells MPs
28 May 2026
Genesis Energy says biomass can be burned in Huntly's Rankine units, but current costs put it in roughly the same price range as imported LNG and extra Rankine capacity would be expensive and could take years.
Govt looks to tighten ETS auction supply
Fri 12 Jun 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government is consulting on auctioning fewer ‘pollution permits’ for 2027-2031, a move it says would help meet the country’s domestic emissions targets while also maintaining short-term confidence in the ETS.
Climate change has already made Australians in one state much poorer, and more’s to come
Today 12:15pm
The world’s hottest years over the past decade have coincided with stagnant economic productivity, rising prices and geopolitical instability.
Treasury says 2030 climate target could cost $5 billion
Thu 11 Jun 2026
By Liz Kivi | Treasury is predicting it could cost between $4.4 and $5 billion to buy the offshore mitigation needed to meet New Zealand’s 84-96 million tonne emissions reduction shortfall for its 2030 target under the Paris Agreement.
Importing LNG would raise costs and emissions: it’s a terrible decision for New Zealand
9 Jun 2026
COMMENT: Today’s announcement from the Government is political smoke and mirrors, with electricity users’ wallets still set to bear the brunt of the proposed LNG facility, writes Christina Hood.
NZ’s sustainable finance credibility gap
5 Jun 2026
By Manbo He | COMMENT: New Zealand has built serious sustainable finance infrastructure - but risks failing to attract the global capital that infrastructure was designed for, because it lacks the practitioner capability to operate it credibly.
Green building council calls for clean energy policies
18 May 2026
The New Zealand Green Building Council has released its 2026 election manifesto calling for policies to reduce energy waste in buildings, lower household and business energy costs, and improve New Zealand’s energy security.
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.
‘A shame’: experts on decision to send Govt carbon auctions offshore
Wed 10 Jun 2026
By Liz Kivi | Carbon market experts are questioning whether the Government has made the right decision in sending its auctions of carbon 'pollution permits' worth billions of dollars offshore.
Carbon capture and the need for ‘net zero oil’
Today 12:15pm
By Pattrick Smellie | The answer to making carbon capture and storage work is to make fossil fuel producers responsible for making it happen rather than consumers, says Oxford University climate change policy expert, Professor Myles Allen.
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.
El Niño under way and threatens weather extremes, scientists say
Mon 15 Jun 2026
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has declared that El Niño conditions are now under way in the tropical Pacific, with sea surface temperatures having risen sharply in recent months.
EDS urges MPs to scrap the Fisheries Amendment Bill
5 May 2026
Media release | The Environmental Defence Society today lodged a substantive submission on the Fisheries Amendment Bill.
GHG Protocol under fire as standards board member resigns
Thu 11 Jun 2026
At the heart of former GHG Protocol standards board member Danny Cullenward’s complaint is the protocol’s approach to forest carbon accounting.
World’s largest banks pledged $906bn to fossil fuel companies in 2025
Fri 12 Jun 2026
The world’s largest banks committed $906bn in financing to the fossil fuel industry last year, an “unfathomable” increase in investment locking in years more of coal, oil and gas production as the world continues to overheat, a new report has found.
Ballance secures gas for 2026 as it progresses energy transition plan
Today 12:15pm
By Oli Lewis | One of the largest industrial gas users in New Zealand is working on an energy transition plan to futureproof domestic fertiliser manufacturing, while continuing to secure ongoing gas supply contracts.
Cabinet green-lights $55M super-critical geothermal drilling programme
9 Jun 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Cabinet has agreed to release the $55 million unspent of the $60m secured by Resources Minister Shane Jones to drill up to 5 kilometres deep into super-critical geothermal heat under the Taupō volcanic zone.
Lack of finance stalling sustainable innovation – report
Fri 12 Jun 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A lack of access to suitable finance is threatening growth in New Zealand's sustainable innovation sector, despite strong confidence and ambitious expansion plans among purpose-driven businesses, according to a new report.
Antarctic surface melt set to increase dramatically this century, new study finds
Wed 10 Jun 2026
Media release – Victoria University | New research shows surface melting across Antarctica is set to intensify and spread dramatically over the 21st century, with melt increasing by 10 times and the area affected growing by more than 10 percent by 2100 if global temperatures continue to rise.
Why ‘greenhushing’ signals deeper issues with NZ’s climate risk reporting regime
15 May 2026
By Hang Pham, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington | Most of us are familiar with the concept of greenwashing: organisations exaggerating or overstating their environmental credentials. But in New Zealand, there are signs the country’s climate disclosure regime may inadvertently be driving a very different trend: not saying much at all.
Hipkins pans LNG plan as ‘massive step backwards’
19 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | Labour leader Chris Hipkins has told a Queenstown audience that a Government he leads would not proceed with a planned LNG import terminal, if elected at November’s election.
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.
'Ad hoc, piecemeal, incomplete': NZ's approach to hazards not fit for purpose, says insurer
Wed 10 Jun 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand's ability to manage natural hazard risks is failing to keep pace with the growing threat posed by floods, storms, earthquakes and climate change, according to a new report from IAG.
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.
Media round-up
Fri 12 Jun 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: A legal expert labels the government's climate law change "constitutionally abhorrent", the first critical minerals project has applied for fast-track, and warming winters are changing New Zealand’s landscapes.
LNG imports might not be needed for 'dry year' security: redacted report
Thu 11 Jun 2026
By Oli Lewis | The need for imported liquefied natural gas to provide security of supply in a dry year is low, according to newly released modelling, with some scenarios featuring higher levels of renewable generation requiring no gas imports at all.
Changes to emissions factors prompt caution over climate claims
4 Jun 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Organisations may need to revisit how they calculate and communicate their greenhouse gas emissions after the Ministry for the Environment released an updated version of its Measuring Emissions Guide, incorporating new emissions factors based on New Zealand's latest greenhouse gas inventory.
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.
ACT climate policy ‘disingenuous,’ says former top climate diplomat
Mon 15 Jun 2026
By Liz Kivi | ACT’s election campaign pledge to submit a new international climate target to the United Nations is “totally disingenuous", according to New Zealand’s former climate ambassador Kay Harrison.
'Terrible result': Emissions barely budged in 2024
5 Jun 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions were virtually unchanged in 2024, falling by 0.03%, despite the economy shrinking by ten times that amount during the same period, according to new data.
Fed Farmers' election wish-list includes stopping whole-farm conversions to carbon forestry
9 Jun 2026
Federated Farmers has launched a five-point plan for the next government, setting out what it says should be a major focus for political parties heading into the November election.
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.
Once-in-a-century floods routine as sea levels rise due to climate change
Thu 11 Jun 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A coastal flood expected to occur just once every 100 years is now hitting Wellington about twice a year, according to new international research that scientists say offers clear evidence of how climate change is already reshaping New Zealand's coastline.
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.
Seven ‘new approaches’ to avoid our Paris commitments: Carr
4 Jun 2026
Praying for “new approaches” to materialise to meet our international climate obligations isn’t a strategy, writes Rod Carr.
A real ‘intergenerational equity’ budget would address Australia’s unceasing environmental decline
15 May 2026
Labor has unveiled a budget designed to tackle intergenerational equity in Australia through bold tax reform.
Six NZ climate solutions up for 2026 Earthshot prize
21 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Six New Zealand climate and sustainability initiatives have been nominated for the 2026 Earthshot Prize, with the shortlist showcasing Kiwi-led solutions tackling emissions, plastic waste and ocean restoration.
New Zealand faces $26b energy infrastructure challenge, report warns
Mon 15 Jun 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand will need an additional $26 billion of investment in energy infrastructure over the next 30 years to meet its decarbonisation goals, with a new report warning that policy certainty is critical to unlocking the renewable generation needed to power a low-carbon economy.
Northern Thai residents march for action on polluted rivers. ‘This is an emergency’
9 Jun 2026
More than 600 residents of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces embarked May 31 on a roughly 68-kilometer, six-day ‘peace walk’ to demand the Thai government take action on the river pollution crisis that has seen Thai rivers polluted with heavy metals.
Why China's critical minerals strategy leaves the US behind
8 Jun 2026
The United States cannot realistically recreate that dominance overnight even if the political will existed.
Sustainable finance taxonomy for energy sector – consultation
8 Jun 2026
The Centre for Sustainable Finance is consulting on the sustainable finance taxonomy’s draft energy sector criteria.
Solar overtakes gas power in Asia for first time ever
Mon 15 Jun 2026
Solar has overtaken gas power in Asia to become the continent’s third-largest source of electricity, according to new analysis by Carbon Brief.
‘Landmark’ conservation reform bill – boost or bust for nature?
8 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government has announced an overhaul of the country’s conservation system, which environmental organisation Forest & Bird says will undo the work of many generations of Kiwis to protect public conservation land.
EU climate policy ‘won’t survive’ its clash with EU farmer politics
Fri 12 Jun 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | European Union climate change policy is on a collision course with European farmer politics, exacerbated by the rise of populist right-wing parties in the UK and the Continent, says Oxford University professor of geosystem science, Myles Allen.
NZ’s largest rooftop solar switched on at Fisher & Paykel Healthcare
Thu 11 Jun 2026
Media release | Sunergise, New Zealand’s leading commercial solar company, has switched on the country’s largest-ever rooftop solar installation at Fisher & Paykel Healthcare’s East Tāmaki campus in Auckland.
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.
Govt backs faster uptake of on-farm emissions tools with $51m fund
Thu 11 Jun 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government is investing up to $51 million over three years to help accelerate the uptake of on-farm emissions reduction technologies, with a new AgriZeroNZ initiative aimed at getting proven tools into the hands of farmers sooner.
Labour pledges unlimited public transport for $20 a week
Wed 10 Jun 2026
The Labour Party is promising to cap weekly public transport fares at $20 in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, if elected in November.
Bonn Bulletin: Tackling climate crisis is “hardest” challenge ever, Stiell says
9 Jun 2026
The June Climate Meetings open with a reminder to delegates of the tough but ever-clearer imperative of shifting away from fossil fuels to clean energy.
Project linking food waste to cutting methane emissions gets underway
27 May 2026
Media release | Kai Commitment is leading a New Zealand-first project to help understand the connection between food waste and methane emissions and identify effective interventions.
Record-breaking heat and dry spring leave parts of England without water
2 Jun 2026
Thousands of households in southeast England were left without water or facing low pressure during a record-breaking heatwave this week, as high demand followed a dry spring to expose the failings in Britain's ageing infrastructure.
Increase in wildfire-driven ozone linked to premature deaths across the U.S.
Wed 10 Jun 2026
Smog linked to wildfires is getting worse across much of the U.S., playing a role in more than 300 additional premature deaths every year since 2013, researchers say.
Waikato launches vision for energy transition bringing $4.5 billion investment to the region
8 Jun 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Waikato Regional Council has released a strategy aiming to position the region at the centre of New Zealand's energy transition, with plans to boost energy security, cut emissions and unlock billions of dollars in economic opportunities by 2050.
