Climate Change

Paul Goldsmith (Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone)

Missing climate briefing note: Who knew what, and when?

By Lillian Hanly of RNZ | 4th June, 2026

The missing climate briefing email has been found

The missing climate briefing email has been found

The 'missing' briefing from Fonterra and Z Energy wasn't lost – it was in the private email account of the prime minister's chief policy adviser.

By Henry Oliver | 3rd June, 2026

Bulletin editor

A grayscale image of a traditional building roof with ornate carvings, overlaid with two white cards labeled “BUDGET 2026” in red text on a grid-patterned background.

Marae are emergency infrastructure. So why aren’t they funded like it?

Budget 2026 shows the government understands one part of disaster resilience: roads need to be strengthened before they collapse. The same logic should apply to marae.

By Te Rina Ruka-Triponel | 31st May, 2026

After a lot of bung weather, May was really good. (Image: Tina Tiller)

Summer has come at last! Unfortunately it is nearly winter

New Zealand just experienced some of its longest stretches of dry weather on record. For some reason they came in mid-to-late autumn.

By Hayden Donnell | 30th May, 2026

The planned Datagrid data centre in Southland.

Why this AI data centre might be New Zealand’s most important climate project

The annual carbon emissions saving from running Datagrid in New Zealand rather than China could be equivalent to taking almost half a million cars off the road.

By Joel MacManus | 15th May, 2026

Paul Goldsmith has kicked off a storm (Photo: Getty. Collage: The Spinoff)

Is the climate law change this government’s jump the shark moment?

The government has ignored international law, the world's highest court, our own Supreme Court and the science.

By Martha Jeffries | 14th May, 2026

Image: Tina Tiller

Government changing climate law to prevent lawsuits a 'kneejerk reaction', critics say

The move, announced this morning, will stop a high court case against Fonterra and six other major emitters in its tracks.

By Kate Newton of RNZ | 12th May, 2026

Photos: Getty Images, Josie McClutchie; design by The Spinoff

New Zealand’s latest climate change risk assessment, explained

The Climate Change Commission has scoped 37 ways climate change could screw things up in NZ, and compiled a top 10 to-do list for the government.

By Ellen Rykers | 12th May, 2026

Climate change minister Simon Watts (left) and parliamentary commissioner for the environment Simon Upton

Methane-busting tools are being developed for NZ – what if they don't use them?

Agri-tech leaders say incentives would be required to ensure uptake of any new technologies, with current projections labelled as 'ambitious'.

By Kate Newton of RNZ | 4th May, 2026

This is fine.

NZ is in a perpetual state of emergency

At this point, it would be more efficient to just keep a state of emergency in place all the time.

By Hayden Donnell | 23rd April, 2026

Next time forecasters need to temper their advice with shrug emojis and the words “or don’t idc”. (Image: Emily Wong)

Huge forecasting fail: Cyclone Vaianu didn’t even kill or maim me

I bought food and water for this storm. What am I supposed to do with food and water?

By Hayden Donnell | 14th April, 2026

Why cyclones are going to dump more and more rain

Why cyclones are going to dump more and more rain

Ex-tropical cyclones like Vaianu are set to get wetter as the climate warms – but every bit we reduce emissions will help stem the wild weather.

By Ellen Rykers | 13th April, 2026

Climate policies like EV subsidies will be compared to tree planting in court. (Image: The Spinoff)

The legal challenge to New Zealand’s ‘incoherent’ climate plan, explained

A group of lawyers has taken the government to court, alleging its scrapping of climate policies was unlawful and its new plan is inadequate.

By Shanti Mathias | 16th March, 2026

Contributing writer

Help Me Hera: Is the world ending?

Help Me Hera: Is the world ending?

And if so, should I be having more gay sex?

By Hera Lindsay Bird | 5th March, 2026

Contributing writer

Summer isn’t dying, it’s just changing into something worse.

Goodbye, classic Kiwi summer. Hello, classic Kiwi climate change shitter

The good news is we’re still going to have long dry summers. The bad news is why.

By Hayden Donnell | 23rd February, 2026

Image: The Spinoff

What northern NZ’s wet and sticky summer reveals about our warming atmosphere

Humidity is not just a source of discomfort, but an early warning signal of a moisture-laden atmosphere and the risks that come with it.

By Kevin Trenberth | 18th February, 2026

Haupapa/Tasman Lake didn’t exist before the glacier began retreating (Image: The Spinoff/Getty)

Where will the tourists go when the glaciers disappear?

'Everyone knows we’re on borrowed time.'

By Shanti Mathias | 13th January, 2026

Contributing writer

Climate change minister Simon Watts, pictured ignoring New Zealand’s Paris commitments.

New Zealand will fail its Paris Agreement climate change targets

The government won't admit it yet, but The Spinoff is calling it: New Zealand has no viable path to reach its 2030 emissions targets.

By Joel MacManus | 15th December, 2025

Scenes from Cop (Photos: Francisco Hernandez; supplied)

A day in the life of a New Zealand MP attending Cop30 in Brazil

Francisco Hernandez shares his diary from Belém, featuring plenary sessions, Pringles, fire evacuations and bus blunders.

By Francisco Hernandez | 22nd November, 2025

Image: The Spinoff

The updates to climate law, explained

Making sense of the latest changes the government has proposed to the way emissions are reduced in New Zealand.

By Shanti Mathias | 7th November, 2025

Contributing writer