Open letter warns against Seymour's Regulatory Standards Bill
Fri 4 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A group of prominent New Zealanders are speaking out against the Regulatory Standards Bill, with top climate scientist Jim Salinger warning it will have a chilling effect on future climate change and adaptation policy.
Kiwi ‘smart panel’ startup aiming to reduce energy bills and emissions
Fri 4 Jul 2025
NZ start-up Basis this week launched an ‘intelligent’ panel to replace traditional electrical switchboards in homes, which it says can save the average home $1,200 NZD annually on bills and lead to lower emissions.
Media round-up
Fri 4 Jul 2025
In our weekly round-up of climate coverage in local media: Proposed changes to forestry rules won’t solve the ‘slash’ problem; New Plymouth District Council officially opposes seabed mining; and is local media coverage of climate change lacking when reporting extreme weather events?
International group urges PM to strengthen climate targets
Thu 3 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | An international group of New Zealanders working on climate change issues has written to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon warning him against weakening climate targets.
MethaneSAT loss ‘a tragedy’
Thu 3 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The disappearance of a methane-tracking satellite, which was backed by $29 million of government funding, is a tragic loss according to one astrophysicist, who is calling for a review to understand how New Zealand blew past multiple red flags about its operation.
CARBON PRICE: NZUs $57.05
Fri 4 Jul 2025
The Carbon News NZU Index closed at $57.08 yesterday, down 28 cents on the previous day's close.
Carbon price grinds higher - where to from now?
30 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | The carbon price has continued to grind slowly higher since this month’s failed auction, with prices at their highest since March, although still languishing well below this year’s auction floor price.
New biodiversity credits aim to transform conservation funding
27 Jun 2025
Christchurch-based environmental services firm Ekos recently launched a new biodiversity credits programme for conservation funding, while AsureQuality is aiming to develop New Zealand's first ICVCM-accredited programme to create carbon credits based entirely on indigenous biodiversity in Aotearoa.
Govt hopes to lure international investors with nature credits
19 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government is hoping its support for a biodiversity credits market in New Zealand will see at least $20 million of investment stay in the country.
Carbon auction fails again
18 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | As predicted, today’s carbon auction failed to attract any bidders, with the secondary market languishing at nearly 20% below the minimum auction price.
EU Commission proposes allowing carbon offsets to help meet 2040 climate goal
Fri 4 Jul 2025
Campaigners accuse the European Commission of adding “loopholes” and “distractions” to the 90% emissions reduction target.
An Israeli startup says its new technology will save the planet. Scientists have doubts
Fri 4 Jul 2025
The startup Gigablue announced with fanfare this year that it reached a historic milestone: selling 200,000 carbon credits to fund what it describes as a groundbreaking technology in the fight against climate change.
UN expert urges criminalising fossil fuel disinformation, banning lobbying
Fri 4 Jul 2025
Rapporteur calls for defossilisation of economies and urgent reparations to avert ‘catastrophic’ rights and climate harms.
Central Chinese cities fight floods unleashed by record rain
Fri 4 Jul 2025
A record summer downpour in China's central province of Hubei dumped more than a month's worth of rain in just 12 hours on the city of Xianfeng, prompting authorities to move 18,000 people to safety, shut schools, and suspend bus services.
Record-breaking sea temperatures in the Mediterranean spark fresh warnings from scientists
Fri 4 Jul 2025
Intense marine heat can have devastating consequences for ecosystems with its ripple effects also extending onto land.
Greenpeace International begins groundbreaking Anti-SLAPP case to protect freedom of speech
Fri 4 Jul 2025
Media release - Greenpeace | In a landmark test case of the European Union’s new legislation to protect freedom of expression and stop abusive lawsuits, Greenpeace International has overnight challenged the US oil pipeline company, Energy Transfer, in court in the Netherlands.
CLIMATE CALENDAR
Fri 4 Jul 2025
The Carbon News calendar of talks, events, conferences, consultations, and petitions related to climate change.
Biodiversity plan is ‘light on detail and heavy on vague intentions’
Tue 1 Jul 2025
Media Release - WWF New Zealand | The government’s plan to tackle Aotearoa New Zealand’s biodiversity crisis lacks ambition and fails to match the scale and urgency of the challenge.
Gas decline increases urgency for new electricity generation
Tue 1 Jul 2025
Media release – Transpower | Declining gas availability means New Zealand has to lift the pace at which it is delivering new electricity generation to reliably meet growing demand over the coming years, a new report from Transpower shows.
Hopeful new way to measure human progress
30 Jun 2025
Media release - University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau | In response to the climate crisis, a new way to measure how well people and nature are living together has been announced in the world's leading scientific journal Nature.
