New Zealand: Transport
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.
Walking is good for you ... and for the planet
29 May 2018
Walking and cycling programmes in New Plymouth and Hastings are paying good returns on investment by cutting greenhouse gas emissions and improving health, a new study shows.
BP invests $20m in tech to charge EVs in 5min
29 May 2018
BP will invest $20 million in an Israeli startup that claims to offer five-minute electric-vehicle charging with new-generation batteries.
Electric vehicles seen driving crunch time for cobalt
28 May 2018
The increasing popularity of electric vehicles might create a crunch for supplies of cobalt in the early-to-mid 2020s, miners and analysts say.
Oil industry should be very afraid of fuel-efficient engines
25 May 2018
Oil demand is set to face an even bigger threat from fuel-efficient engines than from electric vehicles over the next two decades, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
We're looking at 11 million electric-car sales by 2026
24 May 2018
Sales of new electric vehicles will reach 11 million within the next eight years, according to new analysis.
Modern diesels part of the pollution solution
22 May 2018
Concerns over urban air quality and the rise in global temperatures have spurred technological innovation by car makers, meaning that the era of dirty diesel is now over.
Why greener fuels might not make shipping safer
21 May 2018
The shipping industry is concerned that compared with traditional fuels, greener alternatives have a greater potential to cause major accidents.
Tesla could be looking for $10 billion boost
21 May 2018
Elon Musk might need to tap capital markets for more than $10 billion by 2020 to fund Tesla’s automaking operations, new products and an expected expansion into China,
Volvo to stop making diesel cars
17 May 2018
Swedish car company Volvo has announced its intention to stop making diesel cars.
EU warms to plastic waste as transport fuel
11 May 2018
A proposal to use non-recyclable plastic waste in the production of transport fuels is picking up momentum among EU member states, despite warnings from environmentalists.
We're still talking electric locos, says minister
10 May 2018
KiwiRail says the new government hasn’t told it to reverse plans to replace electric locomotives on the Main Trunk Line with diesel engines.
SHIP SHAPE: What will vessels look like in the next 30 years?
4 May 2018
With a global shipping industry target to halve its huge carbon footprint, the race is on to find new technologies to green the fleet.
VW makes $25 billion bet on e-cars in China
27 Apr 2018
Volkswagen will invest $NZ25 billion in electric and autonomous vehicles in China by 2022.
PSSST! Ferrari quietly - very quietly - testing electric car
26 Apr 2018
Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne has admitted the supercar manufacturer has been quietly - very quietly - testing a gasoline-electric hybrid car.
E-car revolution will bring problems of its own
23 Apr 2018
Electric cars are praised as the answer to questions of green and clean mobility. But the overall sustainability of electric vehicles is far from clear.
Shipping pact calls for 50% emissions cut
16 Apr 2018
Global shipping must at least halve its emissions by 2050, under a hard-fought international deal that for the first time sets the sector on course to shrink its carbon footprint.
Shipping industry has the technology to go green
11 Apr 2018
As the engine of global trade, the shipping industry is, broadly speaking, invisible in our daily lives, yet 90 per cent of the world’s goods are transported by ship. AS THE ENGINE of global trade, the shipping industry is, broadly speaking, invisible in our daily lives, yet 90 per cent of the world’s goods are transported by ship,
NZ wants to see cuts in shipping emissions
9 Apr 2018
New Zealand is calling for deeper emissions cuts from the international shipping industry.
Shipping talks ‘on knife-edge’ as deadline looms
9 Apr 2018
Talks on a climate target for international shipping looked fragile on Friday, with countries deeply divided a week before the deadline.
German diesel car sales follow UK in falling off a cliff
9 Apr 2018
Sales in Germany of diesel vehicles dropped by an astonishing 25 per cent in March, compared with the same time last year.
Will the shipping industry give us climate deal of the year?
5 Apr 2018
As a key meeting kicks off in London, the hopes of climate hawks are pinned on the shipping industry setting a course for the climate deal of the year.
H-power key to climate targets, says Shell
28 Mar 2018
Planes and trucks powered by hydrogen will be a crucial part of efforts to cut carbon emissions to safe levels, according to oil giant Shell.
Ford partners with Mahindra to build e-vehicle
28 Mar 2018
Car giants Ford and Mahindra have agreed to work together on developing a new EV for the huge Indian market, but potentially for sale elsewhere.
Hydrogen-powered car faces big setback
27 Mar 2018
A two-year trial to offer cars that consume Earth’s most common element and emit only water will end over high costs.
Change rail rules, says trains privatiser
23 Mar 2018
One of the men behind the privatisation of New Zealand’s rail network says the rules need to be changed so that rail can help to cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Norway’s electric car demand outstrips supply
19 Mar 2018
One out of every five new cars sold in Norway is electric, and more than 50 per cent of new cars sold in 2017 were electric or plug-in hybrids.
Renault-Nissan battery aims to leapfrog competition
15 Mar 2018
The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance is aiming to take the lead in new solid-state battery technology.
DYING DIESEL: Can makers woo back customers?
7 Mar 2018
Amid fears about pollution, penalties and bans, UK buyers are abandoning diesel cars in droves.
Fiat-Chrysler intends to ditch diesel cars
28 Feb 2018
Car maker Fiat-Chrysler has signalled that it is getting ready to stop making diesel cars.
Energy storage leap could slash e-car charging times
28 Feb 2018
Researchers have claimed a breakthrough in energy storage technology that could enable electric cars to be driven as far as petrol and diesel vehicles, and recharge in minutes rather than hours.
Porsche stops production of diesel cars
26 Feb 2018
Porsche has announced that it is putting an end to diesel engines in its cars.
Minister mum on future of electric trains
23 Feb 2018
There’s no word yet on whether KiwiRail’s plans to replace electric engines with diesel will go ahead.
Mazda gets busy phasing-in fossil fuels
22 Feb 2018
Mazda is saying what everyone knows: the internal combustion engine is going to power the vast majority of cars for the next 50 years.
Climate change brings turbulent times to air travel
21 Feb 2018
From rising temperatures preventing take-off to rising seas flooding runways, aviation needs to adapt to changes already grounding flights around the world.
Yoogo is a-go-go in Christchurch
16 Feb 2018
The Southern Hemisphere’s biggest deployment of pure-battery electric cars has been launched in Christchurch.
Hydrogen could be the fuel to finish off the fossils
14 Feb 2018
The surplus electricity from solar and wind power gives hydrogen the chance to replace oil and gas.
Drones deliver the goods ... and clean the atmosphere
14 Feb 2018
Delivering parcels by drone could help to cut carbon emissions.
Electric flying taxi has lots of engines ... and lots of money
5 Feb 2018
A California company developing a multi-engined electric air taxi has just received $100 million in venture funding from several major outfits, including Toyota.
These cargo ships will draw power from solid solar sails
2 Feb 2018
A Japanese company is moving ahead with plans to equip ocean-going cargo ships with rigid sails embedded with solar panels.
Ryanair makes pledge to become plastics free
2 Feb 2018
Irish airline Ryanair has vowed to eliminate use of nonrecyclable plastics on aircraft and at head offices and bases.
HOT NEWS: Mustard seeds help to power breakthrough flight
1 Feb 2018
A Qantas aircraft powered partly by mustard seeds has made the first biofuel flight between Australia and the United States.
First electric barges prepare to sail from European ports
26 Jan 2018
The world’s first fully electric, emission-free and potentially crewless container barges are to operate from European ports this northern summer.
Pacific Islands call for fossil fuel phase-out, NZ hangs back
Thu 23 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Pacific Islands nations have launched a landmark declaration for a Fossil Fuel Free Pacific, calling for a Fossil Fuel Treaty and urgent phase-out of fossil fuels, however New Zealand isn’t rushing to join the call.
Announcements expected soon on $200M gas fund
Fri 24 Apr 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Fossil fuel companies appear likely to take up a $200 million government fund to encourage additional oil and gas exploration, dashing lobbyist Business New Zealand’s hopes that it might be repurposed to underwrite industrial electrification.
Fonterra admits ‘100% grass-fed’ claim breached law in greenwashing row
2 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Fonterra has admitted its “100% New Zealand grass-fed” claims on Anchor butter were misleading and breached the law, settling a case brought by Greenpeace Aotearoa over packaging used between December 2023 and April 2025.
Climate pollution static but NZ still on track for first emissions budget, says MfE
17 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand is still on track to meet its first emissions budget, according to the Ministry for the Environment, despite the pace of emissions reductions slowing to a standstill.
Wilding conifers continue to plague Southland
17 Apr 2026
By Matthew Rosenberg, Local Democracy Reporter | Fast-spreading conifer trees are causing headaches in Southland as inconsistent funding continues to hinder control efforts.
Victorian Hydrogen announces Southland urea fertiliser project using coal
Wed 22 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Australian-based Victorian Hydrogen has announced it is developing a new 1.5 million-tonne-a-year urea fertiliser operation in Southland, which it will apply for under fast-track legislation.
