The COFFIS Observatory welcomes the climate complaint filed by Both ENDS with the European Commission’s Single Entry Point under the EU-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
The agreement, which entered into force in 2024, contains provisions regarding climate and sustainable development. Notably, neither side may weaken environmental laws to encourage trade or investment, and each side must implement the Paris Agreement, refraining from any action or omission that undermine its objectives.
The complaint, submitted on 29 September 2026, challenges New Zealand’s systematic rollbacks of environmental standards, including the introduction of new subsidies supporting fossil fuel production in the country. New Zealand has been a member of the Coalition on Phasing Out Fossil Fuel Incentives Including Subsidies since November 2024 and has since published one fossil fuel subsidy inventory.
This complaint builds on the May 2026 findings by Lawyers for Climate Action NZ, which identified a growing ‘credibility gap’ in New Zealand’s international climate commitments in a report titled A Credibility Gap: Assessment of New Zealand’s Fossil Fuel Subsidies and International Commitments. The report outlines how the recent decisions by the government likely trigger New Zealand’s obligations under the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS) (with Costa Rica, Iceland, and Switzerland), and the NZ-UK FTA, and bring into question New Zealand’s commitments under the NZ-EU FTA.
New Zealand has created a NZ$200 million Gas Security Fund to co-invest in gas fields and storage and its first two funded projects were announced in September. More funding announcements are expected. In June 2026, the New Zealand government was planning to fund a new LNG import terminal via a levy on power, but the proposal was scrapped due to public pressure. The final decision on the terminal has been delayed.
The European Commission will examine the complaint. Both ENDS is asking the Commission to raise the matter with New Zealand and, if unresolved, request formal consultations. If these do not succeed in resolving the matter either, the Commission should initiate panel proceedings.
The complaint against New Zealand is the second climate legal challenge against a COFFIS member country initiated this year. In June 2026, Environmental Defence Canada took the Canadian government to court, arguing that there is no credible plan in place to deliver the country’s 2030 climate goals. Since joining COFFIS in 2023, Canada has introduced new fossil fuel subsidies and is expanding its fossil fuel investments.
“The Both ENDS complaint against New Zealand shows that civil society will use every mechanism available to hold governments accountable. COFFIS members like Canada and New Zealand cannot claim international leadership on subsidy reform while using public levers to prop up fossil fuel industries,” said Paolo Destilo of the COFFIS Observatory.
