The G20 decision to include climate change in its communiqué despite Australia’s attempt to ignore it, increases pressure on New Zealand to come up with a credible plan to cut emissions.

Confirmation this morning by John Key that his Government plans to do nothing to turn around NZ's rapidly rising greenhouse emissions means that New Zealand joins Australia as one of the problem children at the G20 meeting in Brisbane, the Green Party said.

A major climate report released overnight by the United Nations on climate change is an urgent call to action, the Green Party said today.   The report brings together the recent round of UN reports that summarise where climate science has got to. The report states that without additional action we are on track for “severe, widespread, and irreversible impacts globally.”

The National Party has the opportunity to show leadership by transitioning our vehicle fleet towards renewable electricity when a new contract to supply Government limousines for VIPs goes to tender next month, the Green Party said today. “This is a great opportunity for the Government to lead by choosing low emission, electric cars,” Green Party transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter said today. “The performance of some electric car models, like the Tesla Model S, exceed the specifications needed for the...

The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has concluded that Shell Todd Oil Services (STOS) broke the law by drilling two wells without a marine consent off the coast of Taranaki, the Green Party said today.

National is overseeing massive dairy conversions in the Waikato that are likely to undermine the $210 million taxpayer funded clean-up of the Waikato River, the Green Party has revealed today. State-owned enterprise Landcorp is converting more than 25,700 hectares of pine forest in the Upper Waikato to dairy. Once completed, the catchment will be home to 30,000 more dairy cows. “This is another example of National’s ‘break it then use taxpayers’ money to fix it’ approach to rivers,” said Green...

The Green Party today launched its Smart farming for Clean Rivers policy- the final component of its election pledge to make all New Zealand rivers clean enough to swim in.

The Green Party will clean up rivers so that pollution from the Firth of Thames does not go on to pollute the Hauraki Gulf.

"National’s water announcement is an election band-aid on a gaping wound because it doesn’t address the main cause of water pollution: intensification of land use,” Green Party Co-leader Dr Russel Norman said today. John Key announced that $100 million would be spent on retiring land next to important waterways, and that dairy farmers would be required to fence streams on their properties by 2017. To date, National has allocated $120 of the $400 million it ear-marked in 2011 for irrigation...

Conservation Minister Nick Smith ignored scientific and technical advice when he pushed through law changes to allow logging on West Coast conservation land, the Green Party said today.