Ministry for the Environment (New Zealand)

The Ministry for the Environment (MfE; Māori: Manatū Mō Te Taiao) is the public service department of New Zealand charged with advising the New Zealand Government on policies and issues affecting the environment, in addition to the relevant environmental laws and standards. The Environment Act 1986 is the statute that establishes the Ministry.

Description
Functions assigned by Section 31 of the Environment Act 1986 include advising the Minister for the Environment on all aspects of environmental administration, obtaining and disseminating information, and generally providing advice on environmental matters. Since 1988, the Ministry of the Environment has coordinated New Zealand's interdepartmental policy response to climate change.

The Environmental Protection Authority was set up in 2011 to carry out some of the environmental regulatory functions of the MfE as well as other government departments.

The Ministry for the Environment administer a number of environmental funds:
 * Waste Minimisation Fund
 * Environmental Legal Assistance Fund
 * Contaminated Sites Remediation Fund

It runs the Green Ribbon Awards, which have been given out by the Minister for the Environment since 1990.

The Ministry owns the Environmental Choice New Zealand ecolabel, but it is administered independently by the New Zealand Ecolabelling Trust.

In 1997 the Ministry released New Zealand's first State of the Environment report. This was followed up in 2008 by a second report titled Environment New Zealand 2007. Chapter 13 of this report was removed before final publication but was leaked to the Green Party. After news media reported the existence of the omitted chapter, the Ministry placed the contents on its website.

As stated, the Ministry for the Environment was established under the 1986 Environment Act which was implemented to encourage preventive measures for the protection of the environment. The Ministry for the Environment was established to ensure broad thinking about the environmental issues that plague our world and continue to do so even more severely in the 21st century. The measures the ministry for the environment take time to consider and focus on include intrinsic values of ecosystems, including principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, values people place on the environment, needs of future generations and sustainability of natural and physical resources.

As a response to the ministry for the environment, in 1991 the Resource Management Act was passed to enforce resource sustainability and environmental protection on a legal platform. However, in 2023 the government is repealing the Resource Management Act to enhance new laws into this reform as a way of managing the environment and the pressing issue of climate change.

Key initiatives
The Ministry of the Environment has many key initiatives that help them support New Zealand and its environment.

Resource management system
The resource management system governs how people interact with natural resources. It allows people to use natural resources where suitable. This system is currently under some change. The new government in New Zealand has introduced a permanent fast-track approvals process to parliament and is repealing the Natural and Built Environment (NBA) and Spatial Planning Acts. There has been some controversy around this bill and its lack of consideration for environmental impacts.

Emissions reductions
New Zealand aims to reduce all greenhouse gases (except methane emissions from waste and agricultural biological processes) to zero by 2050.

The Ministry of the Environment has an emissions reduction plan (ERP) that outlines how New Zealand will reduce these emissions. These plans are created every 5 years. The ERP requires climate action from many parts of government and sectors of the economy including, transport, energy, building and construction, waste, agriculture and forestry.

National adaption plan
The Ministry of the Environment has a national adaption plan that helps New Zealanders adapt, live and thrive in a more damaged and difficult climate. This plan helps to support different groups of people including Māori and Pacific people. The plan is currently focusing on flood risk areas and developing projects to support other climate change impacts.

Recovering from recent severe weather events
New Zealand has recently suffered from severe weather events caused by climate change. In 2023, Cyclone Gabrielle severely impacted the Hawke’s Bay region.

The Ministry of Environment is supporting these councils and communities with a significant recovery job as well as helping these communities become more resilient. The main ways they are supporting these communities are by, changing laws, strong risk management and climate adaptation.

Ban on more problematic plastics
The Ministry of Environment classes problematic plastics as single-use plastics such as straws and produce bags. They banned these products in 2023 as an initial step in the 3-step phase-out plan. In 2025, they are banning all PVC and polystyrene food and beverage packaging.

Climate change policy
The Ministry for the Environment has introduced several policies to address climate change and protect New Zealand’s natural environment. The Zero Carbon Act, passed in 2019, sets a framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The act established the Climate Change Commission, which is a crown entity that provides independent advice to the government on emissions reduction targets and strategies. The commission has been criticised by Greenpeace for not going far enough when making recommendations for agricultural methane reduction.

Agricultural policy
In 2003 the Fifth Labour government decided to attempt to introduce a levy on farm animals and their methane emissions, in order to fund research on how to reduce farm emissions. The levy would’ve cost 9c for mature sheep, 54c for each mature beef cow, and 72c for each dairy cow. This was widely protested by farmers and the opposition. Eventually after sustained criticism, and unpopularity of the policy, on 17 October 2003 Labour said it found alternative sources to fund emissions research, and would not introduce the levy.

In 2018, the Interim Climate Change Commission was established, to look at various options of agriculture pricing. As the combination of Methane (43.7%) and Nitrous Oxide (10.7%) emissions make up a majority of New Zealand’s emissions, reducing Agricultural emissions would be necessary to lower New Zealand’s carbon footprint and currently policy left the majority of emissions untaxed. In 11 October 2022 the Sixth Labour Government announced its decision to pursue a farm-based levy, with a backup ETS processor levy if the farm levy was not ready by 2025. They also announced consultation on the policy, which lasted from 11 October to 18 November and were posted on 21 December 2022. The processor levy backup under the ETS (Emissions Trading Scheme) was where the levy would simply be decided by the ETS, and handed on to processors, such as slaughterhouses or importers and producers of fertilizer. Initially considered by the 2018 Interim Climate Change Committee, and this was left as a backup option, in case the farm-based levy was not in place by 2025.

The other approach was the farm-based levy, this arose out of consultation with the agriculture sector and He Waka Eke Noa (Primary Sector Climate Action Partnership), seeking an alternative to pricing under the ETS at a processor level. Under this the levy is paid by farmers themselves, and they are required to report their emissions. Of note of both methods is that Methane and Nitrous Oxide would be taxed separately and differently, as they have different effects and permanence in the environment and atmosphere. Additionally, the government committed to funding the agricultural sector, and $380 million to help farmers reduce emissions, among other funding.

In 18 August 2023, the Sixth Labour Government announced the confirmation of the split-gas approach, the commitment to have farm level emissions reported by late 2024, and various changes from consultation, such as the decision for carbon sequestration to give a reduction in the levy if it was scientifically valid. The National Party committed before the 2023 election to implement a sustainable pricing system for agriculture by 2030, and to start measuring farm level emissions by 2025. The National Party eventually formed a government after the 2023 election.

Ministers
The Ministry serves three portfolio and five ministers.

List of ministers for the environment

 * Key