New Zealand: Transport
Toyota wins Green Car-of-the-Year Award ... again
21 Apr 2017
Toyota has again won the World Green Car-of-the-Year Award.
Climate change promises rough ride for airlines
19 Apr 2017
By TIM RADFORD | Keep that seat belt buckled − it could be a bumpy flight. New research predicts that severe clear air turbulence in the stratosphere could increase by 149 per cent because of climate change.
Boeing backs electric commuter jet
19 Apr 2017
Seattle startup Zunum Aero has received funding from Boeing HorizonX and JetBlue Technology Ventures toward making its dream of electrified air travel a reality.
In theory, Germans ready to ditch cars
18 Apr 2017
German motorists are ready, in theory at least, to abandon their cars in favour of buses, trains and bikes, according to a new study.
POWER PLAY: Tesla will have e-truck ready to roll this year
18 Apr 2017
Tesla has announced it will launch its first all-electric truck toward the end of this year.
Three ways to improve shipping’s footprint
11 Apr 2017
Do you wear runners, drink coffee or own a mobile phone? The chances are that these products cruised to you on a ship.
Tesla leaves 100 years of Ford car-marketing in its dust
6 Apr 2017
Elon Musk’s electric car company has been valued at $49 billion, leaving the 100-year-old Ford motor manufacturer lagging behind.
Europe expects diesels to disappear ... and quickly
5 Apr 2017
Diesel vehicles will disappear from roads much faster than expected, according to the European Union’s industry commissioner.
SUFFERING STUTTGART: Car's birthplace reaches a crossroads
3 Apr 2017
The city where the automobile was born has the dirtiest air in Germany – and a global drive to electric vehicles threatens its future.
Indian oil majors prepare for e-vehicle boom
31 Mar 2017
India’s oil majors are eyeing up the lithium-ion battery market in preparation for an electric-vehicle boom.
Why the bike is good for moving more than people
30 Mar 2017
Better infrastructure for transporting people by bike is great. But cycle freight could free up roads and transform cities and towns, too.
Flight-path changes could cut jets' effect on climate
27 Mar 2017
Small tweaks to flight paths could reduce the effects that aircraft have on climate by as much as 10 per cent, a new study shows.
CARBON FIBRE: The wonder material with a dirty secret
24 Mar 2017
Carbon fibre is increasingly celebrated as a wonder material for the clean economy.
London taxis go green with electric factory
24 Mar 2017
London’s iconic black cabs are going green with the opening of a £300 million electric vehicle manufacturing plant.
Companies queue to supply Air NZ with biofuels
17 Mar 2017
Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia say they now have a shortlist of companies to supply them with biofuels.
PLANES v POLLUTION: A new-look for Heathrow
17 Mar 2017
Britain and Europe’s largest airport is not the most obvious target for an eco-friendly rebranding. Yet Heathrow Airport recently unveiled a new sustainability strategy.
Biofuels mix could see end of chemtrails in the sky
16 Mar 2017
Mixing biofuels into aviation gas cuts chemtrails, new research shows.
Government offers new money for electric cars
15 Mar 2017
The second round of Government funding for projects to get more electric vehicles on New Zealand’s roads opens today.
SPINNING SAILS: Ancient idea to be given a new airing
15 Mar 2017
An ocean-going tanker is to be fitted with a type of “spinning sail” invented almost a century ago in a step that could lead to more environmentally friendly tankers worldwide.
Science is getting closer to sun-powered cars
13 Mar 2017
Scientists are developing a practical method to convert water and sunshine into fuel — a key step in someday powering cars with the sun.
CRUISE CONTROL: Choppy seas for sustainable ocean travel
10 Mar 2017
Not many of the 25 million people enjoying the sea breeze on a cruise ship this year are likely to think about the air pollutants being emitted from the vessel.
Aviation industry acts to reduce aircraft emissions
7 Mar 2017
The aviation industry is the first sector to introduce a global design standard on emissions.
Auckland welcomes e-cars to special lanes
6 Mar 2017
From today, electric vehicles are allowed in priority lanes on Auckland’s roads – but only for two weeks.
Beijing looks to replace entire taxi fleet with electric vehicles
6 Mar 2017
Beijing officials have hatched plans to replace all of the city's 70,000 gas-powered taxicabs with electric vehicles to try to improve the China capital's notorious pollution issues.
KiwiRail puts $4.5b tag on electrifying network
3 Mar 2017
Electrifying the entire North Island rail network would cost more than $4.5 billion, says KiwiRail.
Tesla's China sales triple to more than $1billion
3 Mar 2017
Tesla’s revenue from China last year tripled to more than $1 billion, indicating better traction in the market Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has predicted could eventually become the company’s biggest.
Flight to greener aviation fuel has hit turbulence
1 Mar 2017
When it comes to reducing carbon emissions, one of the biggest hurdles is the world’s addiction to flying.
Liquid hydrogen could fuel future air travel
1 Mar 2017
Liquid hydrogen might be the solution to the thorny problem of sustainable air travel.
E-cars make up 37% of Norway vehicle sales
1 Mar 2017
Plug-in electric vehicles made up 37 per cent of Norway’s new-car sales last month.
Europe takes tough line on shipping emissions
27 Feb 2017
The European Parliament has lost patience with shipping industry inaction over climate change and has outlined plans to include vessels in its Emissions Trading System.
Six states propose new electric vehicle fees
27 Feb 2017
Six US states have proposed legislation this year that would add to the cost of owning an electric vehicle, worrying clean energy advocates who say owning emissions-free vehicles should be incentivised rather than taxed.
Railway stations across India to go solar
24 Feb 2017
India’s railways – the leading consumer of power – are to become the nation’s largest producer of solar energy.
Melbourne streets become living transport lab
23 Feb 2017
Integrated transport has long been the holy grail of transport engineering. Now, a project set up north of Melbourne’s CBD aims to make it a reality.
London to charge polluting vehicles
21 Feb 2017
Older, more polluting cars will have to pay an extra £10 ($NZ17) charge to drive in central London’s congestion charge zone, the city’s mayor has said.
Volvo aims at first all-electric vehicle in 2019
16 Feb 2017
Volvo has announced that its first all-electric vehicle is coming in 2019 with battery packs up to 100 kilowatt hours.
European trains go down renewable route
13 Feb 2017
Renewable energy is helping to power increasing numbers of the world’s road vehicles. Now several European countries are exploring the potential for using renewables to fuel their trains.
Norway spearheads Europe's electric vehicle surge
9 Feb 2017
Oslo, Norway’s capital, like most of the Scandinavian country’s cities and towns, boasts bus-lane access for electric vehicles, recharging stations aplenty, privileged parking, and toll-free travel for electric cars.
UK plans to get rid of diesel vehicles ... and soon
8 Feb 2017
A scheme that would see the scrapping of diesel cars could be introduced in just months as part of a plan to lower emissions and improve air quality across the UK.
US sees electric vehicle sales soar
8 Feb 2017
Following a 5 per cent decline in sales from 2014 to 2015, US electric vehicle sales jumped by 37 per cent in 2016.
Flights to slip under radar of EU emissions limits
7 Feb 2017
International flights in and out of the European Union could be exempted from emissions limits for at least another four years to give the United Nations time to implement a global system to curb pollution from planes.
E-cars and cheap solar could sink fossil fuels by 2020
3 Feb 2017
Falling costs of electric vehicles and solar panels could halt worldwide growth in demand for oil and coal by 2020, a new report has suggested.
Emissions rules unfair, say coastal ship operators
26 Jan 2017
New Zealand shipping companies say it is unfair they are paying for their greenhouse gas emissions but international companies competing with them on coastal routes are not.
EV charging stations to get standard set-up
26 Jan 2017
The Government is standardising public electric-vehicle charging stations.
Electric cars will not stem global demand for oil, says BP
26 Jan 2017
Global demand for oil will still be growing in 2035 even with an enormous growth in electric cars in the next two decades, with numbers on the road rising from 1m to 100m, BP has predicted.
Paris rolls out driverless bus service to fight pollution
25 Jan 2017
Paris has launched its first driverless electric shuttle bus service, aiming to curb congestion and pollution that many Parisians blame for a whole raft of health complaints.
Toyota dealership strikes diamonds
25 Jan 2017
North Shore Toyota has joined Waikato Toyota to become just the second motor vehicle dealer in New Zealand to gain Enviro-Mark Diamond certification.
Cities unite to price cars for electric fleet
24 Jan 2017
Four of the largest US West Coast cities are asking carmakers whether they can produce "a potentially record-breaking order" of 24,000 electric vehicles.
Big carmakers lead $10b hydrogen investment
24 Jan 2017
Daimler, BMW, and Toyota are leading a group of 13 companies pledging to invest more than $10 billion during the next five years to spur public interest in buying hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.
China’s electric vehicles set for bumpy ride
19 Dec 2016
The statistics are impressive: sales of electric vehicles in China are likely to reach 400,000 this year, a more than 150 per cent increase on the figure for 2015.
Hybrid cars join emissions reporting regime
16 Dec 2016
Hybrid cars have been brought into the voluntary greenhouse gas report regime for the first time.
'Not giving up' – Right to repair bill in doubt
Thu 21 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A bill that would make it easier for New Zealanders to access spare parts and the information to repair a product themselves while also cutting carbon emissions is looking unlikely to make it into law.
NZ must strengthen energy system
Tue 19 Aug 2025
New Zealand must keep strengthening its energy system if it is to remain competitive on the world stage while moving towards net-zero emissions, according to a new benchmarking report from the BusinessNZ Energy Council.
International scientists slam NZ govt's proposed approach to methane
13 Aug 2025
New Zealand's proposed approach to methane emissions has again been attacked by international climate scientists, with a new study saying the attempt to redefine climate target-setting by livestock-exporting countries undermines the transition to a sustainable and equitable food system
Dry winter pushed up Spark’s emissions
Thu 21 Aug 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Increased use of coal and natural gas to generate electricity in the last year caused a spike in scope 1 and 2 emissions reported by telecommunications operator Spark NZ.
Certainty crucial to emissions cuts – Watts
Wed 20 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says that policy certainty is the Government’s primary lever for unlocking private capital and meeting climate targets, telling a carbon forestry conference that ETS settings are 'locked' through 2030.
NZ still lagging behind in ESG reporting
Mon 18 Aug 2025
The number of companies reporting on ESG and sustainability performance in New Zealand is improving, but we are still lagging behind compared with our key trading partners, according to a report.
