Transport

Government keeps lid on Buller mining papers

Thursday - The Government is refusing to release briefing papers on proposed new coal mines on the Buller Plateau.

Government cripples cities' climate campaigns

20 Jun 17 - New Zealand’s two largest cities are failing to cut greenhouse gas emissions because of the Government’s lack of action on climate change, new research shows.

How KiwiRail decision bites into e-car benefits

19 Jun 17 - The climate benefits of half New Zealand’s electric car fleet will be wiped out by the scrapping of electric train engines in favour of diesels, says an international sustainable energy expert.

OFF THE RAILS: Treasury tells of train troubles

14 Jun 17 - Treasury told its ministers that KiwiRail’s decision to replace electric locomotives with diesels raised some significant matters, but it wasn’t given enough time to assess the situation.

Port Nelson gets wine trucks off the road

9 Jun 17 - A project to improve the efficiency of freight in the Marlborough wine industry has seen the Port of Nelson cut greenhouse gas emissions by 1600 tonnes – and earned it a gong.

Search begins for best sustainable businesses

6 Jun 17 - Entries for this year’s Sustainable Business Network Awards are now open.

Road transport killing our clean-energy benefits

29 May 17 - The climate benefits of New Zealand’s increasing use of renewable electricity generation are being wiped out by our love affair with road transport.

Food industry is cooking the planet

29 May 17 - One of the biggest contributors to climate change is the agricultural food industry, but the political will to tackle the issue is lacking.

Drought brings drop in greenhouse gas emissions

26 May 17 - New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions fell slightly in 2015 - but only because a drought forced dairy farmers to cut production.

Cuts now will take heat out of climate shocks

23 May 17 - Substantial cuts to greenhouse gas emissions now will prevent New Zealanders alive today being exposed to temperatures they have never experienced before, says the New Zealand lead author of research...

Go-slow shipping has problems, says minister

18 May 17 - Slow-steaming - the most effective method of cutting shipping emissions – will cause problems for New Zealand’s fresh food exporters, Cabinet has been told.

Warming world threatens our ancient forests

16 May 17 - Failing to hold climate warming to 1.5deg could spell disaster for New Zealand’s ancient West Coast podocarps forests, new research shows.

Officials look at pricing of agricultural emissions

4 May 17 - Officials are investigating whether a price should be put on agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, despite the issue being specifically excluded from the current review of the Emissions Trading...

Humans better at rapid change than we think

4 May 17 - A new study provides evidence that humans are capable of radically altering the world around us, and offers hope in the face of climate change.

Government acts on decarbonising the economy

3 May 17 - The Productivity Commission is to investigate the cost of decarbonising New Zealand’s economy.

FACE THE FACTS: The Government has done little

28 Apr 17 - Two major reports on climate change – one on the likely impacts on New Zealand, the other on ways the country can cut emissions – were released a year ago by the country’s top scientific body, the...

Three ways to improve shipping’s footprint

11 Apr 17 - Do you wear runners, drink coffee or own a mobile phone? The chances are that these products cruised to you on a ship.

POWER POSERS: Energy industry worries and waits

7 Apr 17 - Uncertainty over the Government’s plans to implement the Paris Agreement on climate change is keeping New Zealand’s energy executives awake at night, says the World Energy Council.

Soon we could be driving on eggshells and tomato skins

4 Apr 17 - Researchers from Ohio State University have found a way to recycle food waste, specifically eggshells and tomato skin, into car tyres, replacing carbon black, a petroleum-based filler used in...