Strengthen climate rules, adapt communities, reward natural carbon storage
The Opportunities Party says climate change is real and caused by people. They want to make the Emissions Trading Scheme stronger by including farming emissions and keeping pine trees out of carbon credits. They want to help councils deal with flooding and heat, reward landowners who store carbon in soil and wetlands, and improve air quality through economic incentives.
What they say they'll do
- Strengthen the Emissions Trading Scheme to include agricultural emissions
- Exclude new exotic forestry from carbon credit schemes
- Have the Climate Change Commission set carbon budgets
- Help local government use nature-based solutions for flood and heat resilience
- Improve air quality using economic incentives
- Reward carbon storage through soil, wetlands, and biodiversity projects instead of pine trees
Who this affects
Farmers
Agricultural emissions would be added to the Emissions Trading Scheme, meaning farming could face new obligations under that system.
Forestry owners
New exotic forestry plantations would be excluded from earning carbon credits under the proposed changes.
Local councils and communities
Councils would receive support to put in place nature-based approaches to manage flooding and heat in their areas.
Landowners and conservation groups
Programmes would reward landowners who store carbon through soil, wetlands, and biodiversity projects rather than pine trees.
In their own words
“Climate change is real, is caused by human activity and is already here.”
“Strengthen the Emissions Trading Scheme by adding a mechanism for agricultural emissions, excluding new exotic forestry and ensuring the Climate Change Commission sets budgets.”
“Support programmes that reward carbon sequestration via soil, wetlands and other biodiversity-rich projects, instead of pine trees.”
Summarised neutrally from The Opportunities Party’s own official policy (as at 2026-06-26) and checked by an editor — never paraphrased without the source linked, and never an endorsement. Read the original ↗ Arapono is non-partisan. Compare all parties on Climate →
Coverage at a glance
Which party holds a published position on which topic.
| Party | Economy | Housing | Health | Education | Climate | Environment | Crime & Justice | Treaty & Māori Affairs | Immigration | Foreign Policy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National | ||||||||||
| Labour | ||||||||||
| Green | ||||||||||
| ACT | ||||||||||
| NZ First | ||||||||||
| Te Pāti Māori | ||||||||||
| TOP |
Published position∅ No stated position (verified) Not captured yet