Government decisions that have hindered the country’s climate change response
Here is the list. It is difficult to believe that these decisions, one after another, are accidential and not deliberate attempts to undermine the country’s climate response.
My brief summary of the Government’s wrecking of every emissions reduction police it can get its hands on includes these:
Cancelling the Big Battery Project.
Abolishing the Government Investment in the Decarbonising Industry Fund and returning $641 million to the consolidated fund even thought they were told that this would result in approximately 3.2 million tonnes (Mt) additional emissions by 2030 and 10Mt additional emissions by 2050.
Cancelling the new interislander ferries, the carbon efficient rail supporting ones.
Undermining the national policy statement on freshwater management.
Halting Wellington’s low emissions transport plan.
Cancelling Auckland’s light rail project.
Reversing New Zealand’s position on restrictions to bottom trawling seamounts. Bottom trawling releases large amounts of carbon stored on the ocean floor.
Announcing a draft policy statement on land transport which slashed spending on walking and cycling and increased funding on motorways.
Cancelling Auckland’s Regional Fuel Tax which then caused the Eastern Busway to be cancelled.
Refusing to have sustainable management in the purposes clause of the fast track law.
Suspending the requirement for councils to identify significant natural areas (eg forests) so they could be protected.
Increasing speeds on roads especially around schools. This directly increases emissions.
Hand picking a committee to review methane levels based on the “no additional warming” metric.
Cutting Ministry for the Environment staffing levels.
Reducing the liability of oil companies to cleaning up their mess.
Abolishing public transport subsidies for young people.
Removing the requirement for resource consent decision makers to prioritise ecosystem health and human health when making decisions about freshwater allocation.
Passing Budget 2024 which was projected to increase emissions by about 2.8 million tonnes and cut $2.4 billion from programmes designed to reduce emissions.
Overturning the offshore oil and gas exploration ban and changing the Crown Minerals Act to promote oil and gas exploration.
Postponing a price of emissions for agriculture and fertiliser companies.
Disestablished He Waka Eke Noa which was to set up to bring in a pricing mechanism for agricultural emissions.
Announcing a carbon capture and storage framework even though the technology has shown no signs of ever working.
Announcing a vague five point climate change plan at the same time that news emerged that the country’s climate response was going backwards.
Weakening carbon efficiency standards for imported cars and only consulting four motoring organisations who supported the change before making the decision.
Publishing a draft Emissions Reduction Plan which relied on magic technology to cut methane emissions and magic carbon capture and storage.
Cutting the Climate Change Commission’s funding by about a quarter, so it will longer be able to deliver independent advice to the government on pricing farming gases, as it would have under the previous government.
Cuting jobs in the Environmental Protection Agency.
Announcing it would amend the Resource Management Act to effectively overturn court decisions which restrict water pollution.
Announcing RMA reforms that would not only stop the rollout of freshwater farm plans but would also weaken drinking water standards and indigenous biodiversity protection rules.
Pushing through an amendment to the Companies Act which removed a requirement for Directors to consider environment, social and governance issues when making decisions.
Enacting the fast track legislation which included support for a list of preferred projects including coal mines and irrigation projects, and which will increase emissions by facilitating dairy expansion.
Removing the renewable preference and renewable energy targets from the Government Policy Statement on Electricity.
Blocking regional councils from rolling out regional freshwater plans.
Cancelling regulations for low emission buildings.
Weakening company carbon disclosure rules.
Nicola Willis and Simon Watts and Christopher Luxon said they would not buy offshore carbon credits to meet our Paris commitments even though we have a legal obligation to do so.
Appointing fossil fuel lobbyist John Carnegie to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority.
Releasing its final emissions reduction plan for 2026-30 which still relied on the use of methane inhibitors and carbon capture and storage and lots and lots of pine trees on public and private land.
The Climate Minister telling Federated Farmers that there was no legal obligation to meet the Paris targets, and no liability.
Further undermining the ETS by agreeing to double the subsidies to Rio Tinto by giving them free ETS carbon credits of $37m per year against official advice.
Shutting down the Green Investment Fund.
Gutting the proposal for freshwater farm plans.
Abstaining on putting a price on international maritime climate pollution as part of global efforts to cut shipping emissions.
Appointing John Roche, a dairy industry insider, to the role of Orime Minister’s chief science officer.
Budget 2025 allocating $200 million to co invest in new oil and gas exploration, giving an unlimited 20% write off for new investments and cutting the predator free program as well as overseas climate financing from $250 million to $100 million.
Planning to spend up to $50 billion dollars on Roads of National Significance. The concept of Induced Demand clearly shows that the more roads a country builds, the more driving its citizens undertake.
Confirming the halving of New Zealand’s methane target, in defiance of the independent Climate Change Commission which had advised to strengthen it.
Scrapping plans to price emissions from agriculture even though National campaigned on the policy in 2023 and promising to implement it by 2030.
Announcing plans to unilaterally gut key provisions of the Zero Carbon Act without consulting the Opposition.
Delaying the 2025 deadline for a carbon neutral public service by 25 years.
Undermining the functions of the Climate Change Commission and vesting in the Government the power to unilaterally change emissions reduction plans without even consulting on it.
Winding back the the clean car standard. This policy was intended to make kiwis buy more EVs and low emissions vehicles.
Fast tracking changes to the Fast Track legislation which will allow rapid consenting of various emissions producing activities including coal mines.
Refusing to implement any of the Climate Change Commission’s proposals for change.
Passing under urgency without reference to a select committee the methane target change, as well as de-linking the carbon market from New Zealand’s Paris climate commitments.
Shane Jones shutting down the possibility of New Zealand signing up to an international ‘road map’ away from fossil fuels despite being told that the road map does not conflict or compromise New Zealand policy settings.
Proposing to consent urgently the construction of a $2.7 billion LNG terminal to deal with dry year pressure on the power system when using this fund to build lots and lots of solar projects would provide a superior response. And also hiding advice that concluded that access to LNG shouldn't materially affect average electricity prices.
Mark Mitchell claiming, after eight declared states of emergency in four weeks caused by extreme weather events that this is not a new norm caused by climate change but was instead just weather.
Breaching all sorts of constitutional norms as well as the Regulatory Standards Act 2025 by moving to retrospectively take away Mike Smith’s ability to sue the biggest polluters in the country even though the Supreme Court had ruled that Smith’s case could proceed. Trashing the rule of law to give businesses “certainty”, that is protecting them from liability, is more important than respecting the Judicial system. It was subsequently revealed that Z Energy and Fonterra, two of the defendants in the case, provided private briefings to the government about Smith’s case against them recommending changes which the Government agreed to. And this was not disclosed by the Prime Minister’s Office despite this information being requested as part of an OIA request by an environmental group. And that Luxon’s chief policy advisor sought submissions to be sent to his private email address to avoid the OIA.
Considering scrapping the clean car standard completely.
Failing to properly fund scientific investigation into extreme weather events.
Responding to advice from the Climate Change Commission that the risks of climate change to almost every facet of live is a big wake-up call replying by stating that adaption, not emissions reduction, was a key priority.
Refusing in the face of a potentially catastrophic disruption in oil supply to subsidise public transport costs or to incentivise the use of electric or fuel efficient vehicles.
To their credit National released a superficially impressive Solar Panel policy. The estimated cost is $7 million.
In Budget 2026 neither the Minister’s Speech nor the Fiscal Strategy Report mentioned the word “climate”. The budget also committed no money to pay for meeting the country’s Paris Agreement pledges despite being advised by Treasury that substantial purchases of offshore carbon credits were likely to be needed if the government chose to honour New Zealand's 2030 target.
Axing a scheme scheme to fund solar panels and other climate-resilient infrastructure for marae.
Proposing to allow the sale and/or development of 2.8 million hectares of Conservation Land, a decision that was backtracked on following a very successful campaign by Forest and Bird.
Doubling down on claims that the government will not spend billions of dollars offshore to meet New Zealand's climate commitments even though our reduction trajectory is well below that which we pledged to meet.
Requiring Councils through the Climate Change Response Amendment Bill to plan at for adaption to climate change least 30 years into the future but failing to pledge any resources to help with adaption.
Removing all explicit mentions of "climate change" from the Years 0 to 10 Science and Social Sciences curricula while preserving the right to teach them about money management.
Generally shrinking the chances of Aotearoa New Zealand meeting its climate change goals.
Message me if I have missed anything or if you think something does not belong. I intend to update this post regularly.