Latest news with #AgreementonClimateChange
NZ Herald
5 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
‘It won't happen in my lifetime': Shane Jones on renewable energy goal
The Resources Minister told The Front Page podcast there is a continuing role of oil and gas in New Zealand's energy mix – particularly during the transition period away from fossil fuels. 'But, in the transitional period, we need fossil fuels. I'm a politician that believes we should use our own resources before we import other people's resources.' The government's repeal of the 2018 oil and gas exploration ban passed its final reading in Parliament recently to industry praise and the chagrin of environmentalists. 'My mission is to create the most competitively priced energy in the OECD. 'I want New Zealand to have the most affordable energy in our comparable trading partner jurisdictions ... And for that to happen, we need to boost and shoot every arrow in the quiver,' he said. Affordability and energy security, however, have always come up against arguments around environmental risks and international climate commitments. Jones argues that the $200 million government investment fund for local gas exploration is designed to be an attempt 'to buttress our security'. 'The $200m set aside as part of the package beyond the oil and gas ban is to both accelerate what we know is already here, and hopefully to re-risk in the future, in the event that foreign firms or domestic investors want to have another go and open up new gas fields,' he said. Green Party-commissioned legal advice has called the investment a 'clear breach' of the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS) – a deal the Government struck with Costa Rica, Iceland, and Switzerland last year, prioritising trade in sustainable goods and services. Meanwhile, it's predicted that an estimated $100 billion of investment is needed by 2050 to build and maintain the infrastructure needed to improve the reliability of our grid. The Government is committed to doubling renewable energy in the next 25 years. On criticisms of him being 'a puppet for private interests', Jones puts it down to 'the blood sport of politics'. 'I think there's a new generation coming forward who've forgotten that milk comes from cows,' he said. He argued that the criticism often overlooks his efforts in supporting community energy projects and climate adaptation. 'I'm the politician that spent over $200m dedicated to protecting our stop banks to stop rivers from flooding, and I've been told by various regional councils if that money hadn't been allocated and spent by my good self, areas such as Taradale would have been wiped out. 'I'm the guy at a time of fiscal hardship, dedicated 60-odd million dollars to exploring for supercritical energy, and if we can pull it off, it'll completely invert the price equation of New Zealand's energy. 'I'm also the guy funding at the moment, small communities from Stewart Island, Chatham Islands, the East Cape, Northland community renewable energy projects. 'But it's easier to focus on Shane Jones as someone who backs fossil fuels, that's going to fry the planet,' he said. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: Geothermal expansion having the potential to be a 'game changer'. Plans for Marsden Point Oil refinery. What Jones has done to protect oceans. Why can't we ban bottom trawling tomorrow? The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016. You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Scoop
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
New Study Shows Speed Of Antarctic Ice Melt, Govt Fans Climate Flames
As the Government pulls out of global climate commitments, a significant new report shows that sea ice around Antarctica is melting at unprecedented speed. 'This is a clear and urgent signal that the climate crisis is accelerating, and a critical tipping point may have already been passed. It's not a distant threat to think about somewhere down the line; it's here,' says the Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson. 'The Aotearoa we all deserve is entirely within our grasp. Devastatingly, this Government is failing us all, undermining global climate efforts at every opportunity–all in the name of short-term thinking and profit. 'Last month, we learned the Government was being sued for their lack of a climate plan. Then we learned their 'investment' into gas fields was a breach of the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS), having sought no advice on the ramifications. 'Then, just two weeks ago, Luxon's Government abandoned the international Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance. It cannot go on. 'The Green Party is calling on the Government to urgently show real climate leadership, by honouring the global commitments we have signed up to. 'We also need serious investment in climate-resilient infrastructure, which is possible and affordable, as we've shown in our Green Budget. 'Truly prosperous economic activity is only possible if our planet is also thriving. We depend on a stable climate for the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat and the materials for life–the things of true value,' says Marama Davidson. Using Scoop for work? Scoop is free for personal use, but you'll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features. Join Pro Individual Find out more
Newsroom
25-06-2025
- Business
- Newsroom
New Zealand abandons international fossil fuel pledge
New Zealand's departure from the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance came quietly, but not as a surprise to anyone closely following the Government's fossil fuel policies. Resources Minister Shane Jones says the coalition's fossil fuel plans meant the exit was inevitable. But he also says more formal agreements, like free trade deals with the EU, include wriggle room for matters of sovereign risk, such as national energy supply. Jones saw the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance as a 'women's knitting group' by comparison and said New Zealand's energy needs were significant enough to warrant gas exploration under that 'sovereign risk' provision – meaning other international agreements were not set for some sort of domino effect. As the Government's agenda items began to surface in 2023, chief executive of World Wildlife Fund NZ Kayla Kingdon-Bebb told Newsroom the international community's backlash against its climate policies would be harsher than the Government expected – particularly the National Party. When New Zealand joined the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance in 2021, it was only permitted as an associate member. Full membership hinged on a decision to ban onshore oil and gas exploration. Full members include Denmark, Ireland, France and several Pacific countries including Samoa, Vanuatu and Tuvalu. But coalition agreements between all three Government parties committed to reversing the ban on offshore gas exploration, and $200 million was set aside in Budget 2025 to encourage exploration in New Zealand waters. Legal advice later provided to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said repealing the 2018 ban on offshore oil and gas 'would likely be inconsistent with the obligations in several of New Zealand's free trade agreements'. The Green Party warned on Tuesday that, based on the assessment of an independent KC, the move breached another international commitment: the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability. This agreement was celebrated by Trade Minister Todd McClay last year as a 'pioneering' endeavour. On Tuesday afternoon, McClay responded to questions from Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick by doubling down on the nation's commitment to its climate targets: 'What it says about this Government is we will meet our international obligations. When we enter into them, we take them seriously.' The following morning, New Zealand was found to have withdrawn from the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance. Swarbrick said the move showed the Government was 'straight up lying to New Zealanders when it talks a big game about renewables'. 'They are handing out subsidies to fossil fuel extraction beginning in a decade, cutting local energy efficiency programmes, breaching our international agreements, and now walking away from long-standing coalitions with historically bipartisan support.' When Simon Watts assumed the position of climate change minister, he said he didn't expect a backlash from the international community as a result of lifting the ban. As recently as November, he told Newsroom that officials assessed New Zealand could stay in the alliance while repealing the offshore ban. But later that month, the co-chair of the alliance, Lars Aagaard, said New Zealand's status would need to be re-evaluated if it repealed the offshore drilling ban. Meanwhile, Jones told Newsroom he'd long thought New Zealand would need to withdraw from the alliance, given the decision to resume oil and gas exploration. A departure had been 'uppermost in my mind' when he spoke to then-energy minister Simeon Brown 'quite some time back'. Jones said 'I would never have agreed for us to join up anyway.' On Wednesday, following New Zealand's withdrawal from the alliance, Watts held his stance about international perceptions, but not about staying in the alliance. Watts said he had received advice that withdrawing from the alliance was 'not going to have any significant impact' on New Zealand's international perception. On June 21, New Zealand's alliance partners were notified the country would be pulling out of the alliance. Watts said these partners had not previously expressed concern over his Government's climate policies. He said the incoming repeal of New Zealand's oil and gas ban was clear government policy, and now he was certain it would pass, withdrawing from the alliance was the right thing. Jones, a longtime advocate for the fossil fuel sector, did not see all obligations as equal. He said the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance was more of a 'women's knitting group' than a firm legal commitment was the climate equivalent of the 'country women's institute'. 'You can go in and out of it.' New Zealand's other commitments were instruments of a different character, Jones said. 'All of these international instruments leave New Zealand with enough wriggle room to address sovereign risks, and we do have challenges towards affordability and security of power.' The Crown Minerals Amendment Bill passed its second reading in November. It was yet to pass its third reading.
Otago Daily Times
25-06-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
NZ pulls out of global coalition for phasing out fossil fuels
By Eloise Gibson of RNZ The New Zealand government has quietly pulled out of an international coalition for phasing out fossil fuels. The move follows the announcement of $200 million funding to support new drilling for fossil fuel fields at the Budget. Climate Change Minister Simon Watts said the catalyst for leaving the alliance was the government's decision to repeal the previous government's ban on new offshore oil and gas exploration. New Zealand joined the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance at the Glasgow climate summit in 2021. The international alliance of governments works together on the "managed phase-out of oil and gas production". It was led by Denmark and Costa Rica, and includes France, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and several Pacific island nations. Watts confirmed New Zealand had exited the group after the move was reported by Carbon News. He said he did not think it would have a significant impact on New Zealand's international reputation. Watts said the government notified the alliance members in June that the repeal of the oil and gas exploration ban was coming, and removed itself from the group. He said he had asked the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade to communicate the decision in advance to Pacific countries, and had not received any negative feedback from other countries on the move. Being an associate member - as New Zealand was - required working to end subsidies for oil and gas and ending public finance for fossil fuel development. Newsroom reported in November that the coalition's decision to restart oil and gas exploration had raised questions among members about New Zealand's continued participation. The Green Party said the move was the latest sign the government cared little for the climate crisis or its impacts on the cost of living. Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said the coalition's fossil fuel subsidies helped secure profits of fossil fuel executives but made life harder for regular people. The news came a day after the Green Party released legal advice saying the coalition's $200 million dollar investment fund for local gas exploration was a "clear breach" of an international trade agreement with Costa Rica, Iceland and Switzerland. The Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability deal focuses on trade in sustainable goods and services and was signed by the government last November. It has been described as a "ground-breaking" trade agreement that delivered commercial opportunities to New Zealand's economy, while addressing climate change and sustainability challenges.
NZ Herald
24-06-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
$200m gas fund breaches climate trade deal, says Green Party
By The coalition's $200 million investment fund for local gas exploration is a 'clear breach' of an international trade agreement, according to legal advice commissioned by the Green Party. The Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS) is a deal the Government struck with
