New Zealand moves to protect companies from private climate lawsuits

The New Zealand government announced on May 12, 2026 that it would change climate legislation to prevent courts from finding companies liable in private cases for climate change-related harm caused by greenhouse gas emissions. 

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said the government would amend the Climate Change Response Act 2002 to apply to both current and future court proceedings, including a High Court case brought against six major emitters.

The change would prevent findings of liability in torts, which are civil cases where one person or entity claims another has caused them harm. The draft legislation has not yet been published but it is expected that the government would look to progress the legislation through the House ahead of the general election in November 2026.

The Government is clarifying climate change laws to provide businesses with certainty around their obligations, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said.

The minister was referring to the ongoing litigation in the High Court where an applicant, Michael John Smith, has brought civil claims against six major businesses for their greenhouse gas emissions and this is "creating uncertainty in business confidence and investment", in the case Smith v Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd.

“The courts are not the right place to resolve claims of harm from climate change, and tort law is not well-suited to respond to a problem like climate change which involves a range of complex environmental, economic and social factors,” Goldsmith said.

He said New Zealand already had a legal framework to manage emissions through the Climate Change Response Act and the Emissions Trading Scheme.

Russel Norman, executive director, Greenpeace Aotearoa explained what this means for the climate in practice. The New Zealand government is proposing to introduce a law which would be like a climate corporation polluting protection law, so that one can't go and use the Common Law, which is the Law of Tort, which is this law whereby if some company causes one harm or nuisance, one can take them to court and sue them for all the harm they are causing. 

The special law will stop anyone from going to court and suing these companies, for all the harm that they are doing because of their climate pollution, Norman added.

The announcement has renewed interest on the case brought by Michael John Smith against six major greenhouse gas emitters including dairy giant Fonterra Co-Operative Group with a trial date set for 2027. 

Michael Smith is an elder of Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Kahu, and a climate change spokesperson for the Iwi Chairs Forum, a national forum of tribal leaders. 
For seven years, Smith fought to sue some of New Zealand's biggest emitters, including Fonterra, arguing that they have a duty of care to protect communities from climate harm. The Supreme Court ruled in 2024 that the case had enough merit to go to trial and was due to begin in 2027. Now, the government wants to change the law before it gets there.
The case was the first to be brought in New Zealand seeking to hold private parties liable in tort for damage caused by climate change.

Stephen Young, Faculty of Law, University of Otago, commented that the "Smith v Fonterra litigation has always sat somewhat uneasily within orthodox tort law. The Government’s proposed amendments to the Climate Change Response Act 2002 appear intended to limit or foreclose those kinds of climate litigation claims in the interests of providing greater certainty for greenhouse gas emitters".

The Environmental Defence Society said that the proposed changes are an attack on the rule of law.