New Zealand: Transport
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.
Dirty shipping fuel margins plunge
19 Aug 2019
Margins for European high sulphur fuel oil, used to power ships, sank last week as preparations for a global shift to cleaner maritime fuel next year start to weigh on prices.
PLANE SAILING: How will we travel the world in 2050?
19 Aug 2019
Arresting the soaring increase in flying will be the first step towards a sustainable system of international travel – but how can it be done?
Trainspotters fear heritage business will run out of steam
13 Aug 2019
Worried about how New Zealand’s zero-carbon drive will affect your activities? Spare a thought for the country’s steam locomotive enthusiasts facing a world without coal.
Super-sized airships could again be kings of the skies
9 Aug 2019
Tomorrow's fuel could be delivered at all-but zero carbon cost by vast airship tankers, sailing round the world at stratospheric heights on the jet stream.
Are shared e-scooters good for the planet?
7 Aug 2019
E-scooters now operating in many cities around the world might have a larger total environmental impact than the transportation modes they displace.
Major carmakers strike deal with California
30 Jul 2019
Four major international carmakers have made a deal with California to build more fuel-efficient vehicles while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
German Greens want trains before planes
29 Jul 2019
Germany’s Greens want to make domestic flights ‘largely obsolete’ by 2035.
Patience, the e-car revolution is coming
22 Jul 2019
Someday, electric cars will just be cars. The big question is when will that happen?
UK gives Jaguar Land Rover loan for e-cars
17 Jul 2019
THE UK Government has handed Jaguar Land Rover a loan guarantee of more than $NZ900,000 to help to accelerate its progress in the global electric vehicle race.
Government pushes plans for cleaner cars
9 Jul 2019
New emissions standards for cars could cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions by more than five million tonnes over 20 years.
Air NZ jettisons plastic products
9 Jul 2019
The removal of plastic from Air New Zealand’s in-flight service is cutting its carbon emissions, the airline says.
Costly aircraft contrails are going sky-high
3 Jul 2019
The clouds created by jet engine pollution have a surprisingly powerful short-term impact on global warming.
Let's include pollution deaths in road toll
1 Jul 2019
Deaths from air pollution caused by vehicles should be included in the road toll, doctors and electric vehicle campaigners say.
Few Air NZ passengers offset emissions
28 Jun 2019
Only a fraction of people flying to and from New Zealand are offsetting the greenhouse gas emissions from their flights, according to Air New Zealand figures.
'Rugby, big cars and beer' worries expert
28 Jun 2019
Energy and climate expert Professor Ralph Sims has been trying for years to get the message across to New Zealanders that driving cars is our climate downfall.
Storms threaten billions in road-rail damage
26 Jun 2019
Countries are being told to urgently upgrade their road and rail networks in the wake of a report predicting billions of dollars a year in damage from natural disasters.
Aviation industry hears clamour for electric planes
17 Jun 2019
Aerospace companies gathering for the Paris air show this week are turning their thoughts to a future run on electricity rather than fossil fuels.
Florida clears path for autonomous vehicles
17 Jun 2019
Florida establishes a clear legal framework for self-driving cars to operate within the state.
Largest hybrid-electric aircraft takes flight
12 Jun 2019
The highest-capacity hybrid-electric aircraft has taken to the skies in California on its first test flight.
Tesla’s electric-car dream will soon come crashing down
30 May 2019
Tesla completely transformed the car landscape when it introduced the Roadster, pioneering the mass-market electric car. Now, it is doomed.
These strange beasts are our cars
17 May 2019
Widespread automation, electrification, and connectivity are set to revolutionise the car of the future.
What Daimler’s move means for carbon-neutral car industry
15 May 2019
Daimler, one of the world’s leading producers of premium cars and commercial vehicles, is engineering a new future for the sector with a bold new climate commitment.
Origami navy carries kids' SOS to the global shipping industry
9 May 2019
Schoolchildren launched a fleet of origami boats carrying messages about climate change to delegates at UN shipping talks in London.
Why people should come first in transport future
30 Apr 2019
People using public transport or walking or cycling should be given priority over cars and that might mean limiting traffic speeds to 30kmh, a new report says.
How will we cope with vehicles that do our driving for us?
30 Apr 2019
Billions of dollars are being poured into autonomous vehicle research - but not much thought is going into how humans will respond to the new-fangled transport.
Ford under criminal probe over emissions
29 Apr 2019
The US Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into Ford’s emissions certification process.
Why flying taxis could be the way to go for long journeys
12 Apr 2019
Futuristic electric flying taxis like those seen in the movie Blade Runner could offer a more sustainable - and much faster - way to travel long distances.
Electric cars outsell the rest in Norway
3 Apr 2019
In a symbolic first, electric cars outsold fossil fuel-powered ones in Norway last month.
How the car industry hid the truth about diesel emissions
29 Mar 2019
The ‘Dieselgate’ scandal was suppressed for years – while we should have been driving electric cars.
Plant waste key in new aviation fuel
22 Mar 2019
Waste from plants and trees could soon be fueling jet planes.
CRUISE CONTROL: Bigger ships, bigger trouble
15 Mar 2019
As more gigantic cruise ships take to the high seas in the coming years, the industry says it intends to embrace low-carbon technologies and reduce its environmental impact.
Detroit gets new life as e-Motor City
12 Mar 2019
After years when Detroit was Ground Zero for scepticism about electric vehicles, the traditional auto industry’s hometown has become a hub of EV action.
High-flying airlines in short haul mode on gas emissions
7 Mar 2019
None of the world’s top 20 stock-listed air carriers has any plans in place to manage greenhouse gas emissions after 2025, according to a new report.
Electric cars star at Geneva motor show
7 Mar 2019
Electric cars have been the star of the glitzy Geneva motor show so far, as Honda unveiled its first all-electric effort, the E-Prototype, and Italian supercar maker Pininfarina lifted the lid on what it claims is the world's fastest electric car.
Global shipping inches forward on fuel rules
25 Feb 2019
The International Maritime Organisation inched forward last week on its promises to ban the use of heavy fuel oil in the Arctic and reduce black carbon emissions from ships.
Bank opens for e-projects money
21 Feb 2019
Applications for the latest round of Government funding for low-carbon transport projects are open.
Boeing's flying car lifts off in race to revolutionise travel
25 Jan 2019
Boeing says its flying car prototype hovered briefly in the air during an inaugural test flight, part of the race to change the face of the aerospace industry within the next decade.
Free public transport is great but it’s no silver bullet
25 Jan 2019
Luxembourg's recent announcement that all public transport in the country will be free from next year was received with astonishment.
By 2025, VW intends to be making million e-cars a year
11 Dec 2018
German auto giant Volkswagen is embarking on an electric spurt, pressing ahead with plans aimed at producing more than a million electric cars a year by 2025.
Airlines not using enough green planes
10 Dec 2018
Airlines are failing to take up the most efficient planes in sufficient numbers to make a significant dent in their carbon dioxide emissions, says a new study.
Maersk has idea to slash ship emissions
7 Dec 2018
The world's biggest shipping company, Maersk, wants to slash its carbon emissions to zero by developing a new kind of container ship to ply the oceans.
Polite applause for e-cars, but fans go ga-ga over Gladiator
4 Dec 2018
Car makers served notice at the Los Angeles motor show that they're going electric, and introduced a few new models to some applause. But the lustiest cheers were for something else: the massive new Jeep Gladiator.
Cruise ship captain fined for using dirty fuel
27 Nov 2018
The captain of a cruise ship found to be burning fuel with excessive sulphur levels has been fined €100,000 ($NZ166,000) in a Marseille court, the first such ruling in France.
Hydrogen is back in the energy picture
14 Nov 2018
As the price of renewable energy drops and storage technologies mature, hydrogen fuel is drawing fresh attention.
Air NZ paves way for electric aircraft
9 Nov 2018
Air New Zealand is preparing the way to operate hybrid planes on its domestic regional routes.
Govt backs electric trains on main trunk line
31 Oct 2018
Electric locomotives are to stay on the main trunk line.
Global effort to cut ship emissions stalls
30 Oct 2018
The International Maritime Organisation agreed this year to cut greenhouse gas emissions 50 per cent by 2050, but its members are struggling to agree on how to get there.
Gene tech reforms face political split
Thu 23 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams |The Government’s Gene Technology Bill continues to divide Parliament, after the Health Select Committee released its long-awaited report last week outlining key recommendations and lingering concerns.
Govt launches strategy backing wood-based heat sector
Thu 23 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Forestry biomass could replace as much as 40% of fossil fuel-generated process heat by 2050, but access to supply, regulatory settings and business cases for converting to wood-based heat sources are required, the Government says in a series of documents released yesterday.
Council buys dairy farm to help clean up Lake Rotorua
Tue 21 Oct 2025
Bay of Plenty Regional Council has bought a 266-hectare dairy farm in the Lake Rotorua catchment and plans to retire it from production to reduce nitrogen entering the lake.
Govt releases updated emissions projections
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.
Govt to ease climate reporting thresholds, water down liability
Wed 22 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The rollback of climate change reporting requirements has produced a wave of relief in corporate New Zealand as managed investment funds and listed companies with annual revenue under $1 billion are exempted.
