New Zealand Plans Law to Block Private Climate Liability Lawsuits

New Zealand's government announced on May 12, 2026 that it will amend the Climate Change Response Act 2002 to prevent courts from finding companies liable in private tort cases for climate change-related harm caused by greenhouse gas emissions. The move is designed to halt proceedings including Smith v Fonterra, a landmark High Court case brought by Maori elder Michael John Smith against six major emitters, which the Supreme Court cleared for trial in 2024.

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said the amendment would apply to both current and future court proceedings and is expected to progress through Parliament ahead of the November 2026 general election. The government's position is that courts and tort law are unsuited to resolving climate harm claims involving complex environmental, economic and social factors. Goldsmith cited the existing Climate Change Response Act and Emissions Trading Scheme as sufficient frameworks for managing emissions obligations, arguing that Smith v Fonterra creates uncertainty in business confidence and investment.

The Smith v Fonterra case, the first in New Zealand seeking to hold private parties liable in tort for climate damage, named six major emitters including dairy giant Fonterra Co-Operative Group. Smith, a climate spokesperson for the Iwi Chairs Forum, fought for seven years to bring the case to trial. The Supreme Court's 2024 ruling that the case had sufficient merit to proceed was seen as a watershed moment for climate litigation. Critics including Greenpeace Aotearoa and the Environmental Defence Society argue the proposed law amounts to polluter protection and an attack on the rule of law.

Legal scholars note the amendment sits uneasily with orthodox tort law principles. Stephen Young of the University of Otago's Faculty of Law said the proposed changes appear intended to foreclose climate litigation claims in the interests of providing greater certainty for greenhouse gas emitters. The trial date for Smith v Fonterra was set for 2027, and the government's legislation is widely interpreted as an attempt to prevent the case from reaching judgment. The move adds New Zealand to a growing list of jurisdictions where governments have intervened to limit corporate climate liability exposure.

Key figure — 2027 trial date