Topics tagged with 'COP'
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Cuts to climate finance put exports in jeopardy: Lawyers
Fri 23 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has halved international climate finance, a move aid organisations describe as “devastating,” and which lawyers say could put our Paris Agreement commitments and export market access at risk.

Cuts to climate finance put exports in jeopardy: Lawyers
Fri 23 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has halved international climate finance, a move aid organisations describe as “devastating,” and which lawyers say could put our Paris Agreement commitments and export market access at risk.

US dairy farmers consider return on climate-smart milk
Thu 22 May 2025
The approach is just one of many dairy practices now considered “climate-smart” because they could cut production of climate-warming gases.

Air New Zealand announces less ambitious emissions ‘guidance’
2 May 2025
Air New Zealand has published its first “emissions guidance,” saying it expects to reduce net “well-to-wake” greenhouse gas emissions from jet fuel by 20-25% by 2030, from a 2019 baseline.

Help sustainable aviation fuels take off or delay targets, airlines warn EU
Tue 20 May 2025
Earmarked funding, risk-reduction tools, and simplified imports top Airlines for Europe’s wish list for the EU’s upcoming Sustainable Transport Investment Plan.

Govt budgets $200m for would-be gas investors
Fri 23 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | Energy Resources Aotearoa has welcomed the government's plan to co-invest $200 million in fossil gas expansion, while environmental and climate groups have reacted with horror.

Sustainability claims questioned as renewable diesel surges
14 May 2025
Critics are sceptical about industry claims of renewable diesel life-cycle greenhouse gas emission cuts and warn renewable diesel carbon releases will surge if sourcing is scaled up, triggering tropical deforestation as producers convert forests to energy crops, such as oil palm and soy.

Media round-up
Fri 23 May 2025
In our weekly round-up of climate coverage in local media: What is behind delays to a taxpayer-funded methane satellite? Is carbon capture a fossil fuel industry scam? and David Hall argues that efficient forms of energy are not "lesser evils."

Tropical forest loss hit new heights in 2024; fire a major driver in Latin America
Fri 23 May 2025
Tropical forest loss skyrocketed in 2024, with vast swaths of primary forest consumed by fire, according to new satellite data.

Carbon price too low to fund carbon capture
Tue 20 May 2025
The government’s climate target to 2030 is at risk, after revelations that a carbon capture project which the government was relying on to deliver one third of its carbon reductions, might not go ahead.

NZ moving too slowly to decarbonise – former commission chair
Thu 22 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand's energy transition is too slow and too controlled by vested interests, according to former Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr.

Trump’s actions are already having consequences for climate, especially for the IPCC - expert
11 Apr 2025
Leading climate scientist, Dr Kevin Trenberth, left the US and came home to New Zealand because of the rise of Donald Trump. In this comment piece, he writes that he is appalled in multiple ways by the so-called “war on science” unfolding through staff cuts and the president’s policy edicts.

Owning a green home could cut mortgage payback time by two years
9 May 2025
A green certified home plus a green mortgage and associated energy bill savings could save Kiwi families up to $98,800 over the course of their mortgage - the equivalent of being mortgage-free several years early, according to new research.

Govt puts off reviewing carbon subsidies
Thu 22 May 2025
By Shannon Williams | The government is no longer considering changes to phase-out rates for millions of dollars worth of carbon subsidies to industrial polluters under the Emissions Trading Scheme.

Environment Court rules Mackenzie biodiversity deserves bespoke protection
17 Apr 2025
Media release | In a decision years in the making, the Environment Court has upheld EDS’s contention that Te Manahuna / the Mackenzie Basin’s significant ecology and indigenous biodiversity warrants a bespoke planning regime to protect it from farming intensification.

Climate change could drive surge in foreclosures and lender losses, new study finds
Thu 22 May 2025
Extreme weather linked to climate change could spell financial ruin for many American homeowners and lead to billions in losses for lenders, a new study finds.

Oceans Commission must have teeth – minister
14 May 2025
If an Oceans Commission were to be established under the government it would need genuine powers to make change, says Minister for Oceans and Fisheries Shane Jones.

Forecast points to a significant drop in NZU stockpile in 2026
Wed 21 May 2025
By Clive Bradbury | ANALYSIS: The Crown’s latest forecasts of supply and demand suggest we could see a significant drop in the NZU stockpile in 2026, with uncertainty around forestry playing a large part in the equation.

Hotter and deeper: how NZ’s plan to drill for ‘supercritical’ geothermal energy holds promise and risk
2 Apr 2025
By David Dempsey, University of Canterbury | New Zealand’s North Island features a number of geothermal systems, several of which are used to generate some 1,000 MegaWatts of electricity. But deeper down there may be even more potential.

Budget 2025 needs to prioritise a thriving and resilient Pacific region
16 May 2025
Media release | World Vision New Zealand is urging the government to prioritise Pacific prosperity and resilience with strong investment in climate finance and foreign aid as part of Budget 2025.

Climate crisis threatens the banana, the world’s most popular fruit
14 May 2025
The climate crisis is threatening the future of the world’s most popular fruit, as almost two-thirds of banana-growing areas in Latin America and the Caribbean may no longer be suitable for growing the fruit by 2080, new research has found.

Energy Australia is in court accused of greenwashing. What is the case about and why is it significant?
16 May 2025
Climate group alleges energy giant misled 400,000 customers about ‘Go Neutral’ product, arguing that carbon credits don’t actually remove emissions.

Methanex closure comes early this year
14 May 2025
The almost-now-annual closure of Methanex has come earlier this year, giving more confidence that the electricity system will get through the winter without a fuel shortfall.

Why hydrogen cars are being outsold by Ferraris
24 Apr 2025
Hydrogen has long been hyped as the “Swiss army knife” of the energy transition, but today – despite billions in investment – it largely remains limited to niche industrial applications.

Three-year flood map legal dispute ends in win for landowners
13 May 2025
By Alisha Evans, Local Democracy Reporter | Tauranga property owners have had a “significant win” after the council agreed to update flood maps, a developer says.

Will NZ walk away from the Paris Agreement?
20 Dec 2024
By Geoff Bertram | COMMENT: Unless the government can find very cheap offshore mitigation, the temptation to walk away from its Paris Agreement obligations may well be too strong to resist for a coalition government focused on fiscal austerity.

Energy Australia apologises to 400,000 customers and settles greenwashing legal action
Thu 22 May 2025
Energy retailer says carbon offsetting ‘not the most effective way’ to reduce emissions.

Govt pledges to slash building emissions
8 May 2025
The government is signing up to an international agreement aimed at decarbonising the building and construction sector in line with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees.

Carbon News launches price index
24 Jun 2024
Today’s issue is the first to feature Carbon News’ own carbon price index for secondary market spot prices for NZUs on New Zealand’s compliance market.

Opponents 'livid' over Taranaki seabed mining project fast-track application
Tue 20 May 2025
Opponents of the project have slammed the EPA's acceptance of Trans-Tasman Resources' fast-track application to mine 50 million tonnes of South Taranaki seabed every year.

Almost half a million blue sharks caught as ‘bycatch’ in Pacific - Greenpeace
Thu 22 May 2025
Media release | A new analysis of the latest fisheries data by Greenpeace Australia Pacific has revealed widespread slaughter of sharks in the Pacific Ocean by industrial longline fishers.

Fed Farmers ‘ready to go into battle’ over methane target
Wed 21 May 2025
Federated Farmers say they will never accept a 24% methane reduction target, and they are prepared to go into battle with the government over the issue.

Warm water affecting Antarctica’s largest ice shelf - new research
22 Apr 2025
While Antarctica’s Ross Ice Shelf is currently stable, new research shows warm water is reaching up to 170 kilometres under the front of the ice shelf.

Microplastics found in every layer of the ocean – study
7 May 2025
A new study by New Zealand and international researchers shows microplastics in every layer of the ocean - enough to change the chemical fingerprint of ocean carbon.

Budget undermines climate and environmental research, say scientists
Fri 23 May 2025
By Shannon Williams | Scientists are criticising the 2025 budget for sidelining environmental and hazard research, warning that deep cuts to core programmes reflect a growing shift towards profit-driven science at the expense of public safety and climate resilience.

Dismissals 'massive win' for climate movement
13 May 2025
The outstanding charges against 25 climate activists who disrupted traffic in Wellington have been dropped, a move the group calls a win for the climate movement.

Straterra has a new name: the New Zealand Minerals Council
16 Apr 2025
Media release | Straterra has been renamed as New Zealand Minerals Council, says chief executive Josie Vidal.

Flick flicked on
Tue 20 May 2025
There is a certain irony that one of the most vocal and public critics of the gentailers and the electricity market – Flick Electric – has been taken over by the largest gentailer – Meridian Energy.

Most people trust climate scientists less than other scientists, but not everywhere
Wed 21 May 2025
Media release | Climate scientists are overall less trusted than other types of scientists, according to a new study led by the UNSW Institute for Climate Risk & Response.

Green budget 'ludicrous la-la land' – govt
15 May 2025
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the budget was "clown show economics" and an "absolute circus".

Govt budgets $600 million for rail upgrades
Tue 20 May 2025
The government has announced $600 million for rail upgrades and renewals ahead of Budget 2025.

United Nations carbon market rules agreed but concerns remain
25 Nov 2024
New carbon market rules agreed at the fractious UN climate summit will be a relief to New Zealand and Singapore, who were leading the negotiations, but concerns about greenwashing and disadvantaging nature-based solutions remain.

Public transport woes for Canterbury’s big growth areas
Fri 23 May 2025
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter | It is back to the drawing board on proposed bus services in the Selwyn district as Canterbury's regional council struggles with growing demand and limited funds, chairperson Craig Pauling says.

Strong climate policies are an ‘antidote’ to economic uncertainty
Thu 22 May 2025
Clear and strong climate policies can be an ‘antidote’ to global economic uncertainty, and help to ‘get trade flowing and economies growing’.

New research tests wastewater carbon capture potential
5 May 2025
Treating wastewater with alkaline minerals could potentially remove more than 18 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year, according to new research.

Global sea levels rise spelling catastrophe for coastal towns and cities
14 May 2025
For around 2,000 years, global sea levels varied little. That changed in the 20th century. They started rising and have not stopped since — and the pace is accelerating.

Large fires are burning on the slopes of South Africa's famous Table Mountain
1 May 2025
Helicopters dropped water on large fires burning on the slopes of South Africa's Table Mountain on Tuesday as police investigated whether arson was the cause.

Nature is not an economic handbrake: Environmental Defence Society
16 May 2025
Nature is not a handbrake on economic growth – the two must go hand in hand, attendees heard on the final day of the Environmental Defence Society’s Dollars and Sense conference this week.