Poor marks for government on energy and climate management

New nationwide polling shows strong public support for renewable energy over fossil fuels, growing concern about New Zealand’s climate backsliding, and widespread unease that a return to offshore oil and gas exploration could expose the country to trade and legal risks.

An independent survey commissioned by WWF-New Zealand and Lawyers for Climate Action NZ, conducted by Horizon Research, shows that New Zealanders increasingly see renewable energy as the best solution for lowering household power bills.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents (65%) say the Government should prioritise renewable energy over fossil fuels, while 66% believe expanding renewable energy would help bring household electricity bills down.

By contrast, only 17% of New Zealanders think expanding gas use would lower power bills, despite the Government arguing gas is needed for energy security.

The polling also reveals that more than half of respondents (53%) are concerned that weakening climate policies could expose New Zealand to reputational or legal risks under trade agreements with the European Union and United Kingdom.

The survey found widespread dissatisfaction with the Government’s overall approach to managing climate change.

Only 20% of respondents believe the Government is doing a good job tackling climate change, while 54% say it should be doing more. More than two-thirds (67%) say they are concerned about climate change.

Household electricity bills

New Zealanders want the Government  to do more to back the use renewable sources for household electricity.

62% (2,412,000 adults) are aware that electricity bills tend to be higher when gas-fired plants are running.

61% (2,362,000 adults) think the Government has not done enough to explain that the need for gas will mean higher electricity bills for households.

64% (2,478,000 adults) think the Government should back the use of more renewable sources of electricity.

Renewables - and voting

66% (2,532,000 adults) say expanding renewable energy sources for power generation would bring household electricity bills down.

49% (1,898,000 adults) are likely to vote for a political party that promised to phase out fossil fuels like gas, and ramp-up renewable electricity.

International perception of New Zealand’s image

There is some concern about how the reversal of offshore oil and gas exploration will affect New Zealand’s image.

46% (1,782,000 adults) think the Government’s reversal of offshore oil and gas exploration ban will do some damage to New Zealand’s reputation.

49% (1,882,000 adults) are concerned that resuming offshore oil and gas exploration will damage New Zealand’s international reputation.

70% (2,690,000 adults) think New Zealand has some responsibility to support Pacific Island countries already facing severe climate impacts.

Free trade agreements

There is concern of potential trade or legal risks from weakening climate policies.

53% (2,041,000 adults) are concerned.

36% (1,380,000 adults) are not concerned.

Most expressed negative feelings about how the current Government is managing climate change, with ‘concerned’, ‘frustrated’, ‘disappointed’ and ‘angry’ the words most commonly chosen.

Climate change and climate action

New Zealanders are concerned about climate change and believe the current Government’s performance on tackling it is poor.

67% (2,590,000 adults) are concerned about climate change.

41% (1,577,000 adults) say the Government’s performance on tackling climate change is poor.

• 20% (777,000 adults) say it is good.

54% (2,068,000 adults) think the Government should be doing more to tackle climate pollution.

51% (1,964,000 adults) say, if a general election was held tomorrow, they would be likely to vote for a political party that promised swift and decisive action to reduce climate pollution.

How the government is making people feel on climate policy

55% express negative feelings on how they think the current Government is managing climate change, while 31% express positive ones.

Only 4%  are excited and 5% inspired and proud about how the government is managing climate change.

The full polling is available here [add link]

Sample and method

1,057 members from Horizon Research’s online panels and a third-party research panel, representing the New Zealand population 18+, responded to the survey between 8^th and 17^th December 2025.

The sample was weighted on age, gender, ethnicity, personal income, region and party vote at the 2023 general election to reflect the New Zealand population.

The survey has a maximum margin of error, at a 95% confidence level of ±3% overall.