New Zealand: Transport
Electric bikes could halve transport emissions
25 May 2020
Replacing just 20 per cent of car miles travelled with e-bike travel could cut Britain's greenhouse gas emissions from transport by up to eight million tonnes a year, new research shows.
Regional rail wins funding for business case
22 May 2020
A proposal for new trains to replace diesel engines with electric and expand Wellington’s regional rail service has won Government funding – but only to see if the business case stacks up.
Third of new Toyotas are hybrid, says company
14 May 2020
A third of new Toyota vehicles sold in New Zealand are hybrids, the company says.
Nats don't like railway network plans
4 May 2020
National is resisting moves to run the country’s rail network on a less-than-purely-commercial footing.
Costs kill Mercedes dreams of hydrogen
29 Apr 2020
Mercedes-Benz is killing its programme to develop passenger cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
Flying and driving on post-covid agenda
21 Apr 2020
A third of New Zealanders intend travelling again when covid-19 pandemic restrictions are lifted, new research shows.
Airlines bailouts should come with climate conditions
6 Apr 2020
Financial help from taxpayers to airlines hit by the coronavirus crisis must come with strict conditions on their future climate impact, green campaigners have said.
It's official, e-cars produce less CO2
25 Mar 2020
Electric vehicles produce less carbon dioxide than petrol cars across the vast majority of the globe – contrary to the claims of some detractors, who have alleged that the CO2 emitted in the production of electricity and their manufacture outweighs the benefits.
General Motors wants to go big on EVs
20 Mar 2020
General Motors' Bolt and Volt models never sold well, but now the company is touting a battery that has more range than Tesla’s.
Ride-hailing operations highly carbon intensive
27 Feb 2020
A new study finds the ride-hailing companies emit nearly 70 percent more carbon thanks largely to a practice known as “deadheading.”
Pricey carbon could push up prices at the pump
26 Feb 2020
Carbon prices of $50 a tonne – the figure the Government is putting forward as the new price cap – could put the price of diesel up 13c a litre and petrol up 7c a litre.
Air NZ joins space agency in climate watch
25 Feb 2020
Air New Zealand is working with the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration to monitor climate change in New Zealand.
Fertiliser could power ocean-going ships
25 Feb 2020
Ocean-going ships could be powered by ammonia within the decade as the shipping industry takes action to curb carbon emissions.
Billions are pouring into mobility technology
25 Feb 2020
Over the past decade, almost $US200 billion has been invested globally in mobility technology that promises to improve our ability to get around.
Wellington again plugs electric buses
21 Feb 2020
Wellington will get more electric buses as part of a drive to slash emissions.
Aucklanders take to public transport
21 Feb 2020
Auckland’s public transport system is finally as popular as it was in the 1950s – albeit with five times the population.
Tesla creeps closer to 640-mile mark
21 Feb 2020
Tesla has announced an increased range as a step toward bringing electric vehicles — and their contribution to combating climate change — into the mainstream.
Funds back 110 more EV-charging stations
19 Feb 2020
Money towards another 110 electric-vehicle-charging stations has been announced this morning, bringing the number of Government-funded stations to more than 1000.
There's more to it than just trucks, says Volvo
18 Feb 2020
Shifting the heavy transport sector from diesel to electricity will take more than just the availability of trucks, says Swedish auto maker Volvo.
Green transport set to rule cities by 2030
13 Feb 2020
From public transport to cycling, sustainable transport is on course to overtake driving in the world’s biggest cities within a decade, according to a new study.
We hate flight shame – but not enough to quit flying
7 Feb 2020
Despite flying being the single-fastest way to grow individual carbon footprints, people still want to fly. Passenger numbers even grew by 3.3 per cent globally last year alone.
Electric vehicle sales triple in Australia
7 Feb 2020
Electric vehicle sales in Australia more than tripled last year but were still far lower than in a majority of developed countries, industry data shows.
Rome airport pioneers eco-friendly tarmac
5 Feb 2020
Rome’s Fiumicino airport is testing a pioneering tarmac developed by an Italian company, made of a material that has twice the lifespan of traditional asphalt and is better for the environment.
GO ELECTRIC: The secret's in the sums
4 Feb 2020
Do the maths, says Massey University applied mathematician Professor Robert McLauchlan, it really does make sense to get rid of your fossil-fueled car.
Buyers must be helped into EVs, says report
29 Jan 2020
The price of electric vehicles must be subsidised if New Zealand is to meet its commitment to the Paris Agreement, a new report says.
Hybrids surge on to greenest cars list
29 Jan 2020
After several years of all-electric cars dominating the annual list of greenest vehicles, 2020 brings a surprise – a resurgence of the hybrid.
Only 3min flight, but Canada claims first for electric plane
12 Dec 2019
A plane billed as the first commercial aircraft running entirely on electricity has taken to the skies in Canada.
NZ will sign new ship emissions pact
5 Dec 2019
New Zealand will sign up to new international maritime regulations to reduce ship emissions and lift air quality around ports and harbours.
Coffee, tea, or a bite of me?
5 Dec 2019
Air New Zealand has begun trialling edible coffee cups with customers in the air and on the ground.
Toyota tests the water on hydrogen vehicles
27 Nov 2019
Toyota New Zealand says it is testing the New Zealand market for hydrogen vehicles as part of a drive to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
You can care about the climate and still drive an SUV ... I do
26 Nov 2019
According to a recent report, SUVs are the second-biggest cause of the rise in global carbon dioxide emissions during the past decade.
Can carbon offsets tackle airlines’ emissions problem?
21 Nov 2019
Not everyone is convinced that climate sins can be absolved through projects based on simple carbon accounting.
DIRTY SECRETS: Space camera tells tale of shipping pollution
20 Nov 2019
Exhausts from dirty heavy oils used in ships leave a telltale trail of such dense cloud that they can be tracked from space.
IEA points finger at gas-guzzling SUVs
15 Nov 2019
The world’s thirst for oil will continue to grow over the next two decades, with climate-damaging emissions climbing until at least 2040, the IEA says.
Drivers love their e-cars, says BMW
12 Nov 2019
BMW has called for European policymakers to roll out electric vehicles on a massive scale, saying its customers are turning to e-cars - and loving them.
Behind the wheel of a hydrogen car
6 Nov 2019
Why is the clean, green hydrogen technology lagging far behind the hybrid and all-electric sectors of the car industry?
Volvo lands biggest order for e-buses
6 Nov 2019
Volvo Buses has received the largest single order for electric buses in Europe.
Why driverless cars won’t deliver a transport revolution
21 Oct 2019
The breathless hype around driverless electric vehicles once promised an urban transport “revolution”.
'A DEADLY PROBLEM': Should SUVs be banned from cities?
9 Oct 2019
SUVs are a paradox. While many people buy them to feel safer, they are statistically less safe than regular cars.
Denmark wants to rid Europe of fossil-fueled cars
9 Oct 2019
Denmark, backed by 10 other European Union countries, has called for a strategy to phase out diesel and petrol cars by 2030.
Business slow to take up offsetting airline travel
30 Sep 2019
Most New Zealand businesses are not offsetting greenhouse gas emissions from flights, Air New Zealand says.
Shippers see zero-emissions vessels by 2030
24 Sep 2019
Zero-emissions shipping will be a commercial reality by the end of next decade, according to a pledge JUST made by shipping giants.
Twice as many planes in 20 years, warns Airbus
20 Sep 2019
The number of commercial aircraft in operation will more than double in the next 20 years to 48,000 planes worldwide, Airbus has forecast.
CAR WARS: Oil industry v electric vehicles
18 Sep 2019
Electric vehicles could make up nearly half the fleet of passenger cars and trucks by 2040. But oil and gas companies are striking back.
Lifting the lid of aviation's black box
16 Sep 2019
One of the world’s most important institutions in the fight against climate change is also one of the UN’s most opaque.
Latest thing in solar panels means more power to Prius
16 Sep 2019
It’s the ultimate in motoring self-sufficiency – an electric car powered by solar panels on the roof.
We'll be doing more driving, researchers say
12 Sep 2019
Human demand for transport will increase as the climate warms, becoming its own feedback loop, researchers say.
Europe's carmakers near carbon cliff-edge
11 Sep 2019
Time is running out for European carmakers, which have waited until the last minute to try to meet ambitious EU emissions targets and face billions in fines if they fail to comply.
World’s largest electric ferry enters service
21 Aug 2019
An all-electric ferry, purported to be the world’s largest, has completed its first voyage between two Danish islands, as the shipping sector gears up for strict new emission laws.
Govt promises ‘earlier action’ in response to Commission’s warning climate targets at risk
Fri 17 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government says it will “explore opportunities for earlier action” ahead of the third Emissions Reduction Plan, and has committed to looking at ways to stop the system of free carbon credits for industrial polluters from disincentivising industrial decarbonisation.
Transpower tracks more than 100 new grid projects
Tue 14 Oct 2025
Transpower’s latest connection data show more than 100 generation, storage and load projects in its pipeline, reflecting the rapid pace of electrification across the country.
All carrot, no stick for farmers on methane
Fri 17 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: The abandonment of methane emissions pricing and the adoption of a weaker target is effectively the last nail in the coffin of the historic cross-parliamentary consensus embedded in the Zero Carbon Act 2019.
Govt releases updated emissions projections
Mon 13 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Ministry for the Environment has released updated emissions projections to 2050, which show significant differences to the Climate Change Commission's recent projections for the same period.
Emails show forestry lobby fought Gisborne crackdown as slash clean-up drags on
26 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Sustainable land use advocates are accusing Eastland Wood Council of stonewalling efforts to tighten forestry rules, after correspondence between the group and the local council was released under the Official Information Act.
Climate credibility gap widening for Aussie firms
1 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Australian public companies’ climate change commitments are in retreat, reflecting difficulty in achieving stated targets and increased fossil use, but not because of any pressure to make less effort, according to a study of major companies’ ESG reporting.
