The Government is seeking feedback on a proposed National Policy Statement for Natural Hazard Decision-making. This is a first step from central government to provide additional support for local government to manage risks to people and property from natural hazards such as floods, landslides and coastal inundation.
Read the full consultation document [PDF, 2.6 MB]
Read the Proposed National Policy Statement for Natural Hazard Decision-making 2023 .
Read the Proposed...More
The Ministry for the Environment (MfE) and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) are seeking feedback on managing the use and development of highly productive land (HPL).
Since the policy was introduced in 2022, two issues have been raised about its restrictions on the use and development of highly productive land for activities that don’t rely on soil.
The two issues being consulted on are a lack of a clear consent pathway for:
Construction of new specified...More
The Ministry for the Environment sought feedback on the Government's proposal to defer the date animals–farmers become liable for their emissions under the NZ Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS).
The Government proposes deferring the date by two years, from 1 January 2024 to 1 January 2026.
Deferring the date would give the Government more time to continue to develop specific agricultural emissions pricing policy alongside the He Waka Eke Noa Primary Sector Climate Action...More
The Government is exploring whether a biodiversity credit system could help to incentivise the protection and restoration of native wildlife in Aotearoa New Zealand.
A biodiversity credit system would help to conserve habitats and species by enabling landowners, who protect and restore native wildlife, to earn credits for their actions.
The Ministry for the Environment and Department of Conservation (DoC) are seeking feedback on the need for and the design of a biodiversity credit...More
The Government sought feedback on proposed changes to Aotearoa New Zealand’s legislation and regulations for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) used in laboratory settings and for biomedical therapies.
The proposals respond to concerns from the research community that current GMO regulations are hindering research and innovation. They aim to remove barriers to foster research and improve health outcomes.
The consultation document presents 10 policy changes to:
...More
The Government is reviewing the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) to make sure it’s fit for the job ahead.
The review will focus on the benefits, trade-offs and risks of changing the NZ ETS so it can incentivise gross emissions reductions, but continue to support removals.
It follows advice from He Pou a Rangi | Climate Change Commission. It recommended that the Government consider amending the NZ ETS to provide more robust support for gross emissions reductions...More
The Government is reviewing the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) to make sure it’s fit for the job ahead.
The review will focus on the benefits, trade-offs and risks of changing the NZ ETS so it can incentivise gross emissions reductions, but continue to support removals.
It follows advice from He Pou a Rangi | Climate Change Commission. It recommended that the Government consider amending the NZ ETS to provide more robust support for gross emissions reductions...More
The Government sought feedback on proposals to manage afforestation by redesigning the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme’s (NZ ETS) permanent forest category.
Last year the Government consulted on proposals to restrict permanent exotic forests in the New Zealand ETS in response to concerns about the impacts on the environment and rural communities from these forests. The proposals generated wide interest prompting the Government to further investigate changes to the permanent forest...More
We sought feedback on options to amend stock exclusion regulations in relation to lower intensity farming systems.
The low slope map, incorporated by reference in the stock exclusion regulations, was amended in 2022 to improve how it identifies low slope land and avoid capturing lower intensity farming in the high country.
While these recent changes have largely addressed issues with low slope land identification, the map is still likely to capture some lower intensity farming...More
The NZ ETS is a key tool in the government’s climate change response toolbox. It supports Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its emissions reduction goals by putting a price on greenhouse gas emissions.
Unit settings are updated annually to ensure the NZ ETS remains an effective tool to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
This consultation is on annual updates to the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) unit settings for the period 2024–28.
This is the third year that these...More
This Inquiry will look at past and existing land-uses. It will investigate:
storm damage and its causes
current practices
regulatory and policy settings.
It will include the impact of storm damage caused by woody debris (including forestry slash) and sediment on communities, livestock, buildings, and the environment. It will also look at associated economic drivers and constraints.
More
Councils can issue ‘instant fines’ for breaches of environmental rules under the Resource Management Act that do not justify prosecution in court.
The current infringement notice fines were set in 1999. They are now too low to discourage non-compliance with plan rules or consent conditions. This puts our environment at risk and is unfair to those New Zealanders who use our natural resources sustainably and within the law.
We consulted on proposed options for changing the...More
The Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Fees and Charges) Regulations 2013 set hourly charge-out rates for certain functions and services. The current charge-out rates have not been revised since 2013 and are not recovering costs.
We are proposing increases to those charge-out rates.
The main parties affected are people and companies who:
intend to apply for, or already have, marine consents under the EEZ Act
undertake or intend to undertake...More
The Government engaged with stakeholders about its proposals to improve governance of the market for New Zealand Units (NZU).
This engagement sought feedback on the impact of treating NZUs as financial products, the leveraging of existing financial market legislation, and on alternative market governance proposals considered as part of the policy design phase.
Read the consultation document [PDF, 2.4 MB]
Proposed changes included:
Using existing financial...More
Fluorinated gases (F-gases) contribute significantly to global warming. This is because they are potent greenhouse gases, with global warming potential hundreds or thousands of times greater than carbon dioxide.
F-gas refrigerants are found in a range of products such as heat pumps, dehumidifiers, vehicles, fridges and freezers.
We sought feedback on proposed measures to reduce the environmental impact of fluorinated gases (F-gases). This included:
a regulated product...More
Update
Read the report under section 215 of the Climate Change Response Act 2002 [PDF, 905 KB]
The Climate Change and Agriculture Ministers published a report on the Government’s proposed system, a legislated requirement of the Climate Change Response Act (CCRA).
The report outlines a system to put a price on emissions from agricultural activities as an alternative to the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme.
The proposed pricing system is based on the farm-level...More
Land is a taonga. It is intrinsically linked to the health of the wider environment and to people’s lives and livelihoods. For many years Aotearoa New Zealand’s land has been under pressure. If current trends continue, pressures on our land could increase – affecting both its health and the wellbeing of future generations.
We asked for your input into our Long-term Insights Briefing on how we ensure the future wellbeing of our land and people.
Read a short summary of the...More
Unit settings are updated annually to ensure the NZ ETS remains an effective tool to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
We sought feedback on the impacts of proposed changes, including the Climate Change Commission's recommendations, on price controls and unit settings for New Zealand Units.
Read the consultation document [PDF, 812 KB]
Webinars
We hosted two webinars where participants had an opportunity to hear more about the proposals and ask questions.
...More
Our wetlands in the coastal marine area are the interface of freshwater and marine ecosystems.
Why we are consulting
The original policy intent of the Resource Management (National Environmental Standards) for Freshwater (NES-F) was to restrict activities likely to cause the loss or degradation of all natural wetlands including those in the coastal marine area.
However, many councils and stakeholders initially interpreted the NES-F as applying only to natural inland...More
The National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity (NPSIB) is in force from 4 August 2023.
Find out about the NPSIB
As part of the development, from November 2019 to March 2020, we sought public feedback on the introduction of a National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity (NPSIB) to help protect precious flora and fauna. We received over 7000 submissions. The majority supported the intent of the NPSIB.
In this consultation we sought feedback from...More
We consulted on proposed amendments to wetland provisions in the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM) and the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater (NES-F) from 1 September to 27 October 2021.
Following consultation, we analysed submissions and prepared a report summarising submissions and providing advice and recommendations to the Minister. Decisions made on the basis of that report enabled drafting of proposed amendments to wetland...More
Healthy whenua (land) is important for a flourishing environment and people’s wellbeing.
That’s because how we use, manage and care for whenua affects our water, climate, air and native species, as well as people's quality of life. But how might our land – and New Zealanders’ relationship with it – change over the coming decades? What could they look like in 2050?
The Ministry’s Long-term Insights Briefing project delves into this important topic, and looks at the risks,...More
All New Zealanders can adapt to the locked-in effects of climate change. The sooner we act, the more effective that action will be.
We sought your feedback on the plan. It’s been put together so we can minimise the damage from a changing climate. We asked about how climate change is affecting you, potential impacts you are concerned about, actions you are taking and what other actions are needed.
Read the summary document [PDF, 1.4 MB]
Read the consultation...More
Decision
The Government has reached decisions regarding regulation updates to the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (SGG) Levy.
Climate Change (Unit Register) Regulations 2008 will be updated. Regulation 11D will be repealed to remove an accounting transaction which relates to voluntary emissions offsetting activity during the Kyoto Protocol commitment periods (2008–12 and 2013–20 inclusive).
Climate Change (Other Removal...More
Too much rubbish is ending up in landfills and our environment.
We sought views on proposals to transform recycling in Aotearoa New Zealand.
The three proposals were:
A container return scheme that encourages people to return their empty beverage containers for recycling [PDF, 1.4MB]
Improvements to household kerbside recycling [PDF, 891KB]
Separation of food scraps from general waste for all businesses [PDF, 865KB]
Read the full consultation...More
Too much rubbish is ending up in landfills and our environment.
We sought your views on three proposals:
A container return scheme that encourages people to return their empty beverage containers for recycling
Improvements to household kerbside recycling
Separation of food scraps from general waste for all businesses
Read the full consultation document [PDF, 3MB]
More
The Environmental Reporting Act 2015 (ERA) provides the framework for independent, structured and regular reports on the state of New Zealand’s environment. This helps us understand how our environment is tracking and the impacts of our activities over time, which is vital for good decision-making.
While the ERA has made positive changes to the way we report on the environment, we need to extend its functionality and breadth so environmental reports have more impact.
The...More
Everyone should have access to safe drinking water. We are considering changes to the National Environmental Standards for Sources of Human Drinking Water (NES-DW) to better protect our sources of drinking water.
The Government consulted on three proposals to strengthen the NES-DW:
standardising the way we define source water areas
strengthening regulation of activities around water sources
including more water suppliers under the NES-DW.
This consultation...More
Every year around 6.5 million tyres are imported into New Zealand. When they reach their end of use, about two-thirds go to landfill or are illegally dumped. This creates the risk of fire and toxic emissions.
In 2020, an estimated 1,000 electric vehicle batteries reached their end of use. By 2030 that number could reach 84,000 each year. Mis-managed large batteries also pose risk of fire. If they end up in the landfill or the environment, toxins such as heavy metals are released....More
Aotearoa New Zealand is one of the highest generators of waste per person in the world. We use too much, waste too much and pollute too much – and this has negative impacts on the environment and contributes to climate change.
Around the world, we use more resources than the planet can sustain. The way we live now is harming future generations.
Everyone has a role to play to minimise waste and its impact on the environment. We know communities, businesses and local...More
