New Zealand: Transport
How double-dealing killed off the electric bus
31 Oct 2017
The electric bus would have let Londoners enjoy clean air early in the 20th century, saving but for the dishonesty and double-dealing which promoted the internal combustion engine instead.
We deliberately misled the public, says shipping executive
30 Oct 2017
Shipping lobbyists at UN talks were "prostitutes employed by our racket to try to put one over on the public’, says a marine industry veteran.
Toyota hooks up with Mazda and Denso to make e-cars
24 Oct 2017
Toyota, Mazda, and Denso will jointly establish a new company to develop zero-emission electric cars.
New aircraft biofuels plan would 'destroy rainforests'
16 Oct 2017
A new plan to accelerate production of biofuels for passenger planes has drawn stinging criticism from environmentalists who argue that most of the world’s rainforests might have to be cleared to produce the necessary crops.
Toyota urges NZ to get out of big-emitting cars
10 Oct 2017
New Zealanders are buying bigger cars, damaging the country’s chances of cutting greenhouse gas emissions, say Toyota New Zealand chief Alistair Davis.
Jobs, tax and politics ... three ways e-cars will change us
10 Oct 2017
Vehicle manufacturers, the oil industry and governments are starting to wake up to the disruption that electric cars could bring about.
Ford to cut costs and back trucks and electric cars
6 Oct 2017
Ford plans to slash $14 billion in costs over the next five years and shift capital investment away from sedans and internal combustion engines to develop more trucks and electric and hybrid cars.
It's a big task keeping aircraft running in a warming world
3 Oct 2017
Climate change is forcing airport planners to rethink plane and runway design, since many of them are susceptible to excessive heat and at risk of sea level rise from coasts and rivers.
How electric cars can be recharged for free
3 Oct 2017
Electric car owners in the UK will be paid for letting an energy company use their vehicle’s battery.
Z Energy backs car-sharing company
29 Sep 2017
Z Energy is investing in the carbon-positive car-sharing company Mevo.
EasyJet backs plans for electric planes
28 Sep 2017
EasyJet is backing plans to develop commercial passenger aircraft powered by electric batteries instead of conventional aero engines.
Dyson to invest billions in 'radically different' e-car
27 Sep 2017
British inventor Sir James Dyson has announced plans to build an electric car that will be “radically different” from current models and go on sale in 2020.
Electric cars could be biggest disruption since the iPhone
25 Sep 2017
It’s been 10 years since Apple unleashed a surge of innovation that upended the mobile phone industry. Electric cars could be about to pull the same trick on Big Oil.
UN shipping chief hails progress on carbon emissions
19 Sep 2017
Countries are nearing agreement on how to tackle shipping’s carbon footprint, UN shipping chief Kitack Lim has told an industry conference, but resistance to a binding cap remains.
Silence rules as Frankfurt shows off electric cars
18 Sep 2017
When Angela Merkel addressed the Frankfurt motor show, it was not to a backdrop of revving engines but an exhibition of noiseless electric Golfs, South Korean hybrids and Japanese fuel-cell cars.
Mercedes ready to show its first hydrogen SUV
11 Sep 2017
Mercedes-Benz will unveil its first production-ready hydrogen car on Wednesday at the Frankfurt motor show.
Jaguar Land Rover to go electric or hybrid from 2020
8 Sep 2017
Jaguar Land Rover is the latest large carmaker to say it will stop launching new models solely powered by internal combustion engines.
Cruise ships have done nothing about pollution, report claims
6 Sep 2017
Cruise ships have done virtually nothing to reduce their pollution over the past year, with some still emitting as much particulate matter as a million cars a day, according to a new report.
BLACK-OUT: What was ministry advice on Kiwirail?
1 Sep 2017
Heavily redacted documents give little clue what advice the Ministry for the Environment gave the Government on the scrapping of KiwiRail's electric engines.
Europe rolls out tougher car emissions tests
1 Sep 2017
New on-road car emissions testing comes into force in the European Union tomorrow as regulators strive to prevent a repeat of Volkswagen’s diesel emissions scandal.
BMW to build all-electric version of the Mini Cooper
31 Aug 2017
BMW has confirmed that it will release a full-electric version of the iconic Mini Cooper by 2019.
Driverless cars could see rural sprawl of humankind
28 Aug 2017
Self-driving cars will change how we live, in all sorts of ways. But they won’t just affect humans – the coming revolution in autonomous transport has significant implications for wildlife as well.
BLUE GOLD: E-cars mean the world is going crazy for cobalt
25 Aug 2017
Niche metal cobalt - a key component in the new breed of e-car batteries - is leaving bigger names like copper and lithium in its dust and triggering an international hunt for new deposits.
Airlines' offsetting doesn't add up, says Consumer NZ
23 Aug 2017
Carbon offsetting by the two major domestic airlines operating in New Zealand doesn’t fully reflect carbon emissions caused by air travel, says Consumer New Zealand.
Intercity commuter trains would slash emissions
21 Aug 2017
A commuter-train service between Auckland and Hamilton could slash 6000 tonnes off New Zealand’s annual greenhouse gas emissions.
Hyundai confirms e-cars will be core business
18 Aug 2017
Hyundai has confirmed it is placing electric vehicles at the centre of its product strategy — one that includes plans for a premium long-distance electric car as it seeks to catch up to Tesla and other rivals.
Government changes mind and pushes for e-cars
14 Aug 2017
The Government is promising to make a third of its car fleet electric by 2021 – despite saying last year that cash-strapped government departments couldn’t afford to replace petrol cars, let alone buy more expensive electric cars.
E-CAR QUERY: What do we do with the dead batteries?
11 Aug 2017
Carmakers, recyclers and tech start-ups are working to solve the question of how to deal with lithium-ion batteries when they wear out.
Tesla drivers claim record of 1078 km on one charge
9 Aug 2017
Five members of the Italian Tesla owners club claim to have set a new distance record, travelling 1078 kilometres on a single charge in a Tesla Model S.
Roads could be covered with 'tunnels' to absorb pollution
4 Aug 2017
Major roads could be turned into tunnels covered with pollution-absorbing material in an effort to cut emission fumes and improve air quality.
Do petrol and diesel bans mean the death of biofuels?
1 Aug 2017
If cars running on fossil fuels will be substituted by electric cars, it could imply that all liquid transport fuels will be eliminated.
Britain sets 2040 for ban on diesel and petrol cars
27 Jul 2017
Britain will ban all new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2040 amid fears that rising levels of nitrogen oxide pose a major risk to public health.
It's not easy building electric cars
25 Jul 2017
Despite Tesla’s success, the high risks of mass-producing an electric car from scratch haven’t changed all that much.
European car makers plead with China to slow down
19 Jul 2017
Faced with China’s unwavering plan to accelerate the introduction of electric and hybrid cars, European manufacturers have joined forces with other global producers to plead with Beijing for a ‘less ambitious’ roadmap.
US utilities giving people cash for clean cars
19 Jul 2017
Carmakers, regulators, legislators and utilities are increasingly working together to boost sales of electric vehicles
Officials work to cut shocking vehicle emissions
18 Jul 2017
Officials will put a plan to cut New Zealand’s appalling transport emissions to the Government before the end of the year.
TOO HOT TO FLY: Increasing heat might ground planes
17 Jul 2017
As temperatures rise it may become too hot to fly, with aircraft likelier to be grounded, and more passengers more likely to lose their seats.
China and EU bolster greener global shipping
12 Jul 2017
The trillion-dollar global shipping industry might soon be forced to curb greenhouse gas emissions under new rules backed by the European Union and China.
E-cars selling, but not enough to make a difference
11 Jul 2017
New Zealanders are buying electric vehicles in “record” numbers, but they are not making a dent in the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The world is on the brink of an electric-car revolution
10 Jul 2017
The internal combustion engine had a good run. It has helped propel cars — and thus humanity — forward for more than 100 years.
France to ban sales of petrol and diesel cars by 2040
7 Jul 2017
France will end sales of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040 as part of an ambitious plan to meet its targets under the Paris climate accord.
Volvo to make only electric or hybrid cars from 2019
6 Jul 2017
All new cars launched by Volvo from 2019 onward will be partially or completely battery-powered, in what the company called a “historic end” to building models that only have an internal combustion engine.
Drivers top consumers of palm oil in Europe
6 Jul 2017
As millions of Europeans hit the road this month for a summer break, most won’t know they’re driving on palm oil.
LIFT-OFF: Hydrogen fuel reaches trial stage
3 Jul 2017
Using surplus electricity from renewables to make hydrogen fuel is starting a new era for all forms of heavy transport.
NZ team has high hopes for hybrid-electric aircraft
29 Jun 2017
Wellington researchers hope their technology will help to build the first hybrid-electric jet plane.
Panasonic joins push to put solar on car roofs
26 Jun 2017
Panasonic has started producing a 180-watt array of solar cells that can be put on the roof of a vehicle.
How KiwiRail decision bites into e-car benefits
19 Jun 2017
The climate benefits of half New Zealand’s electric car fleet will be wiped out by the scrapping of electric train engines in favour of diesels, says an international sustainable energy expert.
How do you price the impact of trucks on society?
19 Jun 2017
An EU trucking lobby group has published a report claiming that trucks are overpaying in taxes and charges compared to the impact of some of their external costs. The report raised a few eyebrows.
OFF THE RAILS: Treasury tells of train troubles
14 Jun 2017
Treasury told its ministers that KiwiRail’s decision to replace electric locomotives with diesels raised some significant matters, but it wasn’t given enough time to assess the situation.
Electric cars accelerate past 2m mark globally
8 Jun 2017
The number of electric cars in the world accelerated past the two million barrier last year, as prices fell and manufacturers launched new models.
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With New Zealand's $1.3 billion international climate finance commitment set to end with no clarity on what follows, the Auditor-General says oversight of that funding remains patchy and long-term outcomes are unclear.
NZ hydrogen regulation to catch up with the world
18 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The government has announced a regulatory reset for New Zealand’s emerging clean tech hydrogen sector.
State-owned farmer drives profit growth with emissions reductions
19 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Government-owned Landcorp, trading as Pāmu, is one-third of the way to meeting its 2031 emissions reduction targets, with five years left to run to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30.3% against 2021 emissions.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transport pollution was the biggest contributor to an increase in New Zealand’s consumption-based emissions in 2023, with emissions from household travel up 12%, and consumption-based emissions totalling 58.3 million tonnes – up 1.6% from the previous year.
Uncertainty eroding confidence in forestry sector
5 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Warnings are mounting that tree planting is set to plunge to “very close to zero”, as new Ministry for Primary Industries data shows ETS registration applications falling sharply as confidence in forestry declines.
Investors must support positive climate-tech
28 Nov 2025
OPINION: We need better leadership than the current ‘climate opportunism’ that is rife in the Beehive, and we need to back a marketplace that will make it happen, writes Rob Campbell.
