Science Media Centre

The environment watchdog has proposed that New Zealand should follow the UK by putting climate change action into law. In her report Stepping stones to Paris and beyond, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Jan Wright advises the Government to start thinking decades ahead to tackle climate change, and to put specific plans for how we […]

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Jan Wright released her latest report on Wednesday, this time turning her attention to the issue of agricultural greenhouse gases. Methane and nitrous oxide – dubbed the biological greenhouse gases – make up about half New Zealand’s total emissions, Dr Wright said. If New Zealand had a chance […]

A new report from the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Jan Wright, has called for New Zealanders to work together to tackle the “complex problem of the biological greenhouse gases from agriculture”. Methane and nitrous oxide form about half of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, but there have been many false starts in dealing with […]

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Jan Wright,  has released her commentary on a wide-ranging ‘State of the Environment’ report published last year, saying that the Ministry for the Environment needs to give more direction to policy makers. The Environment Aotearoa 2015 report, released by the Ministry and Statistics News Zealand last year, covered […]

New Zealand needs to do more to prepare for the consequences of rising sea levels, warns the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment in a new report. In the report, titled, Preparing New Zealand for rising seas: Certainty and Uncertainty, Commissioner Dr Jan Wright outlines the risks posed by rising sea levels, including flooding and erosion. […]

A new report outlining the science behind the future’s inevitable sea level rise – and how it will impact on New Zealanders – has been widely covered in national media. The report from the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Changing climate and rising seas: Understanding the science, clearly lays out the evidence base for predicted increases in sea […]

Flooding and erosion from rising sea levels are likely to significantly impact on New Zealanders in our lifetimes, warns the latest report from the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment. Commissioner Dr Jan Wright released the report titled Changing climate and rising seas: Understanding the science this afternoon, which lays out the science behind sea level rise and […]

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment is calling on the government to put in place better regulations managing the environmental risks of oil and gas drilling – before it is too late. In a new report launched this week the Commissioner, Dr Jan Wright, said New Zealand needed to be ready to cope with the […]

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Jan Wright, today released the second part of her investigation into fracking and unconventional oil and gas exploration.  The report and a Q&A document from the Commissioner can be downloaded here.You can listen to audio of Dr Wright speaking at the report’s launch in Wellington, below: The SMC […]

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment is calling on government to pick up its game on water standards. Current proposals for freshwater management are not adequate for protecting water quality to even existing levels in New Zealand, according to the Commissioner. Dr Wright outlined her concerns in a submission on Government’s proposed National Objectives Framework […]