The Standard

Environment

Categories under Environment

Despite Denials, US-NZ Minerals Agreement likely to proceed

Written By: - Date published: 10:02 pm, February 8th, 2026 - 8 comments

The NZ government has shrouded US rare minerals discussions in secrecy, refusing to provide information to Kiwis even as the US confirms talks are in progress. The agreement may requires countries to commit to accelerated and extended mining

Fast Track law fails at the first big hurdle

Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, February 8th, 2026 - 18 comments

Environmental groups have cheered the draft Panel’s decision refusing to allow Taranaki’s continental shelf from being smashed up to extract rare earth minerals. But how will the Government respond?

Are whales people? The Green Party Bill to give whales personhood

Written By: - Date published: 12:10 pm, February 7th, 2026 - 47 comments

Save the whales! (and ourselves)

GOOD NEWS: Fast-Track Seabed mining application rejected

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, February 6th, 2026 - 7 comments

TTR were asked to apply for Fast-Track by Chris Bishop after trying and failing for a decade through NZ courts. Yesterday, it looked like they were rejected again

Is Shane Jones really to blame?

Written By: - Date published: 8:37 am, February 3rd, 2026 - 8 comments

NZ First is openly allegiant to commercial fishers, mining (fossil fuels) and tobacco companies, but is it really their fault?

Shane Jones loves fossil fuels

Written By: - Date published: 1:09 pm, February 2nd, 2026 - 9 comments

National has allowed Shane Jones to effectively veto the country signing up to a road map away from the use of fossil fuels supported by much of the world that was consistent with current policy settings.

What does Labour do about Winston?

Written By: - Date published: 2:29 pm, February 1st, 2026 - 61 comments

Current polling suggests that we may witness something that has not happened before, a one term National Government. But this may mean Labour making a deal with Winston Peters. What should Labour do?

The Mount Maunganui disaster and climate responsibility

Written By: - Date published: 11:40 am, January 25th, 2026 - 22 comments

Bryce Edwards’ piece and key mainstream media articles on how the Maunganui disaster happened are the start of a long, complex conversation about New Zealand’s precarity and the urgent need to change.

MCERT V MAF V MBIE V Treasury

Written By: - Date published: 3:01 pm, January 15th, 2026 - 4 comments

The merger of many functions of the central public sector concerned with cities, the environment, housing and urban development, and transport, was announced in the week before Christmas and is now underway. There’s plenty of good on the face of it.

The C Word

Written By: - Date published: 9:36 am, January 12th, 2026 - 6 comments

Mountain Tūī Opinion and Analysis on New Zealand’s “C” word

Greenpeace NZ: 2025: A year of wins, action and resistance

Written By: - Date published: 10:29 am, December 28th, 2025 - 13 comments

“It was a year of people power, hard-fought wins, and standing up against political and corporate harm.”

How to Fall in Love with the Future: Excerpt

Written By: - Date published: 8:49 am, December 26th, 2025 - 2 comments

“This book will lift your spirits and give you hope”

– Brian Eno

Advantage’s 2026 predictions

Written By: - Date published: 12:03 pm, December 23rd, 2025 - 11 comments

Advantage gets out the crystal ball and postilated what may happen next year.

The Tunnels project and SH 1 to Wellington Airport

Written By: - Date published: 9:50 am, December 20th, 2025 - 13 comments

The plan ignores standard traffic planning practice, takes no account of predicted sea level rise and will be obsolete before the last stone is turned.

$270 a year more in energy costs for householders – Government pushes fossil fuel / agricultural corporate welfare

Written By: - Date published: 9:48 am, December 13th, 2025 - 5 comments

Under a series of science driven policy options, National / ACT and NZ First unanimously choose “catastrophic peril”. Anything for the fossil fuel and farmer industry, but at what cost, NZ?

Accelerating climate change under urgency

Written By: - Date published: 2:02 pm, December 11th, 2025 - 7 comments

The Government is legislating to halve methane emission reduction targets and remove the requirement for the ETS to accord with Paris Accord obligations. And intends to pass these changes under urgency despite there being no requirement to do so.

Why the next election will not be easy for Labour

Written By: - Date published: 12:12 pm, December 7th, 2025 - 27 comments

This may be a one term National Government. But electoral law reform, the state of Labour’s coalition partners, a possible economic upturn and a change in National’s leader threaten this.

The Government’s 59 policy changes that are destroying the country’s climate response

Written By: - Date published: 8:41 pm, December 5th, 2025 - 8 comments

Count them and weep.

Is National planning to welch on Paris Climate obligations?

Written By: - Date published: 11:50 am, December 4th, 2025 - 12 comments

It appears to be more and more inevitable that National will welch on the country’s Paris Accord obligations.

Seymour and the mouldy meal

Written By: - Date published: 11:29 am, December 2nd, 2025 - 22 comments

David Seymour’s campaign to reduce the so called excessive spend on Labour’s school lunches have struck a rather awkward problem. At least for one school recently provided lunches were inedible which basically destroys the whole reason for having them.

Why does National really hate EVs?

Written By: - Date published: 8:56 am, November 19th, 2025 - 14 comments

The Government has reversed the clean car standard and by doing this has ensured that the country’s car fleet will be less efficient and produce more greenhouse gasses.

Who’s winning the Climate Change Revolution?

Written By: - Date published: 9:42 am, November 17th, 2025 - 3 comments

The world’s largest economies are lowering or flatlining emissions at the same time as they are growing their economies. 

The Fast Track law is being made worse

Written By: - Date published: 8:48 pm, November 16th, 2025 - 8 comments

Just over a year ago the Government passed a constitutional abomination of a law and is now trying to make it worse and do this quickly. What is going on?

Why Is National Allowing Trans Tasman Resources to Destroy our Common Good?

Written By: - Date published: 10:52 am, November 15th, 2025 - 20 comments

This government is deliberately enabling private seabed mining in Taranaki to prevent New Zealand’s largest future renewable electricity supply.

Wrecking the country’s climate change response

Written By: - Date published: 11:59 am, November 8th, 2025 - 18 comments

If you thought that your contempt for the current administration had peaked let me disappoint you. This week they have taken steps to undermine the Climate Change Commission and the ability of the public to influence future emission reduction plans.

This Fonterra Failure is a New Zealand Failure

Written By: - Date published: 8:54 am, October 31st, 2025 - 49 comments

The vast majority of Fonterra shareholders have agreed to sell all its consumer brands to Lactalis, and it’s an economic crime against New Zealand.

Labour Day: the working class and civil emergencies

Written By: - Date published: 6:06 am, October 27th, 2025 - 17 comments

On this Labour Day, a massive shout out to all the workers in Southland, Otago and other areas affected by the storms last week. Paid and volunteer, obvious and those in the background doing support for the frontline workers.

More RONS!

Written By: - Date published: 9:40 am, October 25th, 2025 - 23 comments

National has announced it will be spending nearly three times as much on Roads of National Significance as it campaigned on and has justified dubious investment decisions by changing how benefits are calculated.

Government by the Farmers for the Farmers

Written By: - Date published: 12:14 pm, October 13th, 2025 - 13 comments

In a move that further undermines the country’s response to the climate crisis the Government has halved the methane reduction goal and determined that farms will not pay a price for greenhouse gas emissions.

Luxon’s bad faith stunt

Written By: - Date published: 8:56 am, October 1st, 2025 - 29 comments

Christopher Luxon recently wrote to Chris Hipkins seeking a bipartisan approach to gas drilling but then immediately turned this into a farce by leaking the letter to the Herald.

Old man yells at rest of the world

Written By: - Date published: 10:53 am, September 26th, 2025 - 12 comments

Winston Peters has blamed the two most populous countries in the world for contributing to climate change, a problem that many in his party thinks does not exist.