New Zealand: Transport
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.
Dealers get the word on electric vehicles
26 Oct 2018
Need help deciding whether or not to buy an electric vehicle?
Dyson to take vacuum cleaners to the next level - electric cars
26 Oct 2018
British vacuum cleaner king James Dyson is building an automotive factory in Singapore where his company will assemble its first electric car.
Few of our councillors vote electric for mayoral motor
15 Oct 2018
The nation’s mayors might on the front line for dealing with the impacts of climate change, but that doesn’t mean they’re going carbon-neutral in their choice of mayoral car.
Scrapping grants for hybrid cars 'astounding'
15 Oct 2018
Incentives for consumers to buy hybrid and electric cars rather than diesel or petrol alternatives have been slashed by the UK government, adding thousands of pounds to the price of a new low-emission vehicle.
A million electric vehicles in the US. So what?
15 Oct 2018
Sometime this month, a million electric vehicles will have been sold in the United States. But does it matter?
Mazda picks up the pace in electric vehicles
4 Oct 2018
Mazda has laid out plans to revamp its product line-up, saying that all its vehicles will come with electric power by 2030.
VESPA VETO: Why Genoa is moving to ban its icon of cool
4 Oct 2018
Nothing symbolises Italian urban chic quite like the Vespa. But in the city that gave birth to them, the diehards suddenly have a fight on their hands because of pollution.
Uber puts $10m into sustainable transport
3 Oct 2018
Uber has announced a $10 million investment over the next three years in sustainable mobility.
The thing with electric cars is selling them
2 Oct 2018
Electric cars are poised to arrive en masse in European showrooms after years of hyped concept-car launches. The trick now is selling them at a profit.
Cargo ship pioneers passage through Arctic
1 Oct 2018
A Danish-flagged cargo ship has successfully passed through the Russian Arctic, in a trial voyage showing that melting sea ice could potentially open a new trade route from Europe to Asia.
‘Circle of five’ carmakers under EU cartel probe
20 Sep 2018
The European Commission's anti-competition team is looking into BMW, Daimler and the VW group for allegedly limiting the roll-out of technology meant to clean up car emissions.
Diesel vehicle numbers still growing
20 Sep 2018
Three years after the Dieselgate scandal erupted, the number of highly polluting diesel vehicles on Europe’s roads has risen to 43 million.
European nations make plans for hydrogen
20 Sep 2018
Dozens of European countries are backing a plan to increase the use of hydrogen as an alternative to fossil fuels to cut the continent’s carbon emissions.
Germany takes the h-train
20 Sep 2018
Germany has launched the world's first hydrogen train. It has a range of 960km on a single tank of hydrogen, similar to that of diesel trains.
Google street cars will map city air pollution
18 Sep 2018
Google Street View cars will be outfitted with sensors that test air quality in cities and towns across the globe.
Quarter of world's 100 busiest airports in danger from the sea
14 Sep 2018
As a typhoon tore through Japan last week, travellers at Kansai International Airport looked out on a terrifying void: Where the runway should have been, they saw only the sea.
Electric Mercedes spearheads Germany's assault on Tesla
6 Sep 2018
Mercedes-Benz is set to unveil its much-anticipated electric SUV this week, marking the start of a German onslaught against Tesla.
Drivers foot huge bill for carmakers' scam
31 Aug 2018
Drivers in Europe have paid $NZ260 billion more on fuel than they would have if their vehicles had performed as well on-the-road as in official laboratory-based tests, says a new report.
Europe now boasts more than a million e-cars
30 Aug 2018
Europe now has more than a million electric cars after sales soared by over 40 per cent in the first half of the year, new figures reveal.
Nissan makes electric car just for China
30 Aug 2018
Nissan has begun production for its first electric car designed specifically for China.
The road ahead might not be smooth for electric scooters
21 Aug 2018
Electric scooters are seen as a good choice by many eco-conscious consumers, but some cities see regulatory headaches.
Companies offer e-cars on subscription
20 Aug 2018
Electric vehicles could soon be available on subscription.
E-planes on way ... as soon as we can figure out the battery
20 Aug 2018
At least 20 companies are developing aerial taxi plans, including Boeing and Airbus. But flying requires an incredible amount of energy, and presently, batteries are too heavy and too expensive to achieve liftoff.
Rolls-Royce making battery to power ships
20 Aug 2018
Rolls-Royce is developing a battery storage device for use in the shipping industry.
Who will own EV charging stations?
16 Aug 2018
The fragmented nature of EV charging infrastructure ownership means that any of a range of players could be taking your money.
KiwiRail sees exciting future for hydrogen trains
3 Aug 2018
Hydrogen-powered trains could play a big part in cutting New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, KiwiRail says.
Toyota planning Olympic Games specials
31 Jul 2018
Toyota is planning to use the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo to showcase the future of transportation.
Airbus to build solar-powered unmanned planes
23 Jul 2018
Airbus has unveiled plans to manufacture a solar plane which will fly unmanned high in the sky.
Drivers get help to find EV charging stations
19 Jul 2018
Finding a place to charge your electric car is about to get easier.
Aircraft industry feels heat from changing climate
19 Jul 2018
The extreme heat that has come with climate change is prompting aircraft manufacturers to test their fleets for increasingly hotter temperatures.
Musk eyes 500,000 e-cars a year from new China factory
13 Jul 2018
Tesla founder Elon Musk says his new factory in Shanghai - the company's first outside the US - will build 500,000 electric cars a year.
Next Beetle will be electric with four doors
10 Jul 2018
Volkswagen's next Beetle will be a completely new, all-electric model with four doors.
Airlines eye massive carbon handout
29 Jun 2018
Brazil and China are behind a push to allow billions of tonnes of old carbon credits to be used to offset future growth in pollution by airlines.
Musk's latest is a pickup truck that can carry a pickup truck
29 Jun 2018
TESLA CEO Elon Musk is talking about his plans for an over-sized electric ute. He calls the concept “a pickup truck that can carry a pickup truck”.
Gas not answer to shipping problem, says study
28 Jun 2018
Europe has little to gain from trying to decarbonise the unwieldy shipping sector with liquefied natural gas, according to a new study.
Self-drivers might make us more dependent on cars
26 Jun 2018
Lots of questions remain unanswered about how urban systems will work with the introduction of self-driving vehicles.
Norway eyes passenger flights after testing tiny electric plane
21 Jun 2018
Norway has tested a two-seater electric plane and predicted a start to passenger flights by 2025 if new aviation technologies match a green shift that has made Norwegians the world’s top buyers of electric cars.
Daimler moves on e-truck market
13 Jun 2018
Daimler, the largest truck manufacturer in the world, is eyeing up the prizes to be won from electric vehicles.
Fiat Chrysler to stop making diesel cars
5 Jun 2018
Italian-American carmaker Fiat Chrysler will stop producing diesel-fuelled passenger vehicles within three years,
BIT ON THE SIDE: Lambo looks at a new way to power e-cars
1 Jun 2018
Lamborghini wants to build a super e-car, but has no faith in today's battery technology to do the job. The Italian carmaker says the answer is likely to be rechargeable side panels.
Climate Commission called to Waitangi inquiry over alleged breaches
Tue 10 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Climate Change Commission is being called to front up to the Waitangi Tribunal and give evidence over alleged legal breaches of its obligations to Māori.
Renewables surge cuts power emissions, but oil dominates fossil fuel use
Fri 13 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand’s fossil fuel emissions fell in 2025 as strong renewable electricity generation reduced the need for gas-fired power, but oil consumption is rising and now accounts for a record share of fossil emissions.
Govt's solar on farms initiative to cut costs, boost resilience
17 Feb 2026
Farms across Aotearoa will begin installing solar panels and battery systems as part of a government-backed demonstration programme designed to test whether on-farm renewable energy can reduce electricity costs and improve energy security for the food and fibre sector.
Annual emissions fell to lowest in 15 years in Sept 2025
5 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions fell to their lowest annual total in the year to September 2025 since records began 2010, according to Statistics New Zealand data published this morning.
Tairāwhiti needs proper Govt support to heal the land – not empty announcements for political optics
24 Feb 2026
OPINION: The Government’s answer to Tairāwhiti’s severe erosion crisis – that the region apply for modest, contestable funding rounds – while rejecting the region's own land transition business case, leaves our long-term resilience hanging in the balance, writes Manu Caddie.
Rule changes could reshape corporate emissions strategies
6 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand organisations may need to rethink how they manage and report electricity-related emissions as proposed global accounting changes take shape, according to a new report.
