New Zealand Lifts Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration Ban

New Zealand reopens for oil and gas exploration after the country’s Parliament on Thursday voted to repeal a 2018 ban on offshore resource drilling.  Back in 2018, the center-left government of former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern banned offshore oil and gas exploration to protect New Zealand from the effects of climate change and help it reach its net-zero goals.  The current coalition government has pushed for reversing the ban in a bid to strengthen New Zealand’s energy security and alleviate the cost of living crisis. …