New Zealand: Energy
Contact Energy likes what it's doing with green bonds
10 Nov 2017
Contact Energy is getting a lot of attention for its pioneering green borrowing programme, certified by Climate Bonds Initiatives and launched in mid-August.
POWER PLAY: 100% renewable in reach by 2050
9 Nov 2017
Researchers say a world running on 100 per cent renewable electricity is attainable by mid-century, or even earlier.
Polish grab for carbon-market cash
8 Nov 2017
A Polish bid to siphon off up to €29bn of EU carbon market money for ageing coal plants has been slapped down in a backroom statement by the UK, France, Germany and four other countries.
Bishops urge Church to divest from Exxon because of climate change
8 Nov 2017
The Church of England should "show moral leadership" and immediately sell its investments in the oil giant ExxonMobil, according to a group of bishops and other clergy.
Report: oil refineries will close as world decarbonises
7 Nov 2017
A quarter of global oil-refining capacity could become unviable and be forced to close by 2035 as a swelling tide of climate regulations and rapid advances in clean technologies cut oil demand, a new report shows.
Memo coalminers: we're looking at your climate policies
7 Nov 2017
ANZ BANK is telling thermal coalminers to clean up their act ,as it starts to pick and choose which it will back through a transition to a low-carbon economy.
Scots on track to be 100% renewable
7 Nov 2017
Scotland is on target to generate all of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.
Cape Verde may beat NZ to 100% renewable power
6 Nov 2017
By ERIK NORDMAN | Cape Verde, the small island archipelago nation off Africa’s northwest coast, has set itself a very bold renewable energy target - to obtain 100 per cent of its electricity from renewale resources by 2025.
Shell and BP planning for 5deg global warming
31 Oct 2017
Oil giants Shell and BP are planning for global temperatures to rise as much as 5deg by the middle of the century.
Falling solar costs further boost booming market
27 Oct 2017
Solar power costs will fall by another 60 per cent over the next decade giving an already booming market another boost.
Electric cars emit 50% less greenhouse gas than diesel
27 Oct 2017
Electric cars emit significantly less greenhouse gases over their lifetimes than diesel engines even when they are powered by the most carbon intensive energy, says a new report.
France looks to solar power ‘prosumers’
19 Oct 2017
France plans to more than double its solar power capacity in the next 10 years and make it easier for citizens to become energy independent.
Worldwide demand for petrol likely to reach peak by 2030
18 Oct 2017
World petrol demand will peak within 13 years thanks to the impact of electric cars and more efficient engines, energy experts have predicted.
The tide has turned globally, analyst tells politicians
17 Oct 2017
The global shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy will continue regardless of political action from politicians such as Donald Trump and Tony Abbott, a senior ratings analyst says.
Coal misinformation is distorting the facts
17 Oct 2017
A recent story in the global media on 621 plants being built globally was played up in various media – but the figure is way off the mark.
Is your Auckland rooftop suitable for solar?
13 Oct 2017
Got a roof in Auckland? A new computer tool will help you to figure out how many solar panels will fit on it and the economics of installing the system.
Fossil fuels win billions in public money after Paris pact
13 Oct 2017
Billions of dollars of public money was sunk in new fossil fuel projects by the world’s major development banks in the year after the Paris climate change deal was agreed, according to campaigners.
UK and Canada lay down coal power challenge
13 Oct 2017
The UK and Canada challenge other nations to join them in committing to end coal power generation, saying “we are doing our part”.
BLOWN AWAY: It could be one wind farm to rule them all
12 Oct 2017
The entire world could be powered by one deep-sea wind farm stretching across the North Atlantic.
SHINING EXAMPLE: Solar power fastest-growing energy source
6 Oct 2017
Solar power was the fastest-growing source of new energy worldwide last year, outstripping the growth in all other forms of power generation for the first time.
Europe gives diesel $11bn a year in tax breaks
29 Sep 2017
Diesel fuel, a major cause of toxic air pollution in cities, was handed $NZ34 billion in tax breaks in the EU between 2014 and 2016, new research has found.
Getting energy from water evaporation is not just hot air
27 Sep 2017
Harvesting power from naturally evaporating water could become a new form of renewable energy, according to an American study.
More countries eye turning waste into energy
25 Sep 2017
Countries with large quantities of waste from forestry, manure or straw from farms are now looking for economic ways to turn them into forms of renewable energy.
Cash shortfall stops electricity reaching world’s poor
20 Sep 2017
Finance for electrification of developing countries is flowing at less than half the rate needed to achieve the global goal of universal access by 2030.
Silicon fires up renewable energy revolution
13 Sep 2017
Large blocks of silicon storing wind and solar power as heat are the latest innovation in the battle to replace all fossil fuels with renewable energy.
FUEL FACT: We're burning more oil than ever
8 Sep 2017
New Zealand is burning more oil than ever, despite pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Biofuel breakthroughs bring negative emissions closer
1 Sep 2017
If we are to have any real chance of avoiding catastrophic climate change, it is not enough to reduce our emissions; we must put the process into reverse.
Wind, solar and water could be powerhouses by 2050
29 Aug 2017
More than 70 per cent of the countries in the world could run entirely on energy created by wind, water and solar by 2050, according to scientists.
Phase-out of fossil fuels can be painless
28 Aug 2017
A pollution-free world driven by renewable energy is possible, say scientists with a plan for a fossil fuel phase-out for 139 countries.
Carbon capture has failed ... but here's what we could do
28 Aug 2017
For years, optimists have talked up carbon capture and storage as an essential part of taking emissions out of electricity generation.
Fossil fuel subsidies are a staggering $5 trillion a year
8 Aug 2017
A new study finds 6.5 per cent of global GDP goes to subsidising dirty fossil fuels. That's more than $5 trillion a year.
Solar most popular form of new electricity generation
7 Aug 2017
Solar has become the world’s favourite new type of electricity generation.
Nuclear revival looks set to falter
7 Aug 2017
Hopes of a nuclear revival to combat climate change have been dashed as another prestige project runs into trouble.
Now Tesla wants to unite batteries and offshore wind
3 Aug 2017
Tesla and wind farm developer Deepwater Wind are teaming up to create the world's largest project that combines an offshore wind farm with large-scale electricity storage.
Free footy tickets lure oil workers to renewables
19 Jul 2017
Redundant North Sea energy workers are being offered free football tickets to build revolutionary new electricity storage systems.
Some biofuels worse than fossil fuels, warns report
18 Jul 2017
Biofuel use needs to increase to help to fight climate change as liquid fuels will be needed by aircraft and ships for many decades to come, finds a new report requested by the UK government.
Wood-for-coal switch would save us millions
14 Jul 2017
Using wood instead of coal to provide industrial heat would cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions by 460,000 tonnes and save more than $11 million a year in carbon credits, a new report says.
Handful of fossil fuel producers feed global emissions
11 Jul 2017
A mere 25 fossil fuel producers have accounted for just over half of global greenhouse emissions emissions in the past three decades, a new report says.
It's nonsense to say fracking can be made safe
30 Jun 2017
research can help to produce guidelines to reduce the risks associated with fracking, but ultimately it makes no sense to talk of fracking being entirely safe.
State should show the way, says bioenergy group
29 Jun 2017
The Government needs to put its new energy efficiency strategy into place – and State-owned operations are the place to start, says the Bioenergy Assocation.
Fossil lobbies threaten to scupper renewables in South Africa
29 Jun 2017
South African power utility Eskom recently repeated that it will not conclude supply contracts with the developers of new renewable energy power stations.
Closing nuclear plants threatens climate targets
29 Jun 2017
Closing nuclear plants in Europe and North America from 2020 threatens global plans to cut carbon emissions unless governments build new nuclear plants or expand the use of renewables.
Cutting emissions would slow growth, officials claim
28 Jun 2017
The Government is dealing with criticism of its industrial emissions target by turning it into a bottom line instead of a goal.
Science splits ranks over fossil fuel phase-out
28 Jun 2017
US academics are arguing with ferocity about how to achieve a fossil fuel phase out. But, for now, the debate is entirely academic.
Energy major talks of falling fossil fuel demand
27 Jun 2017
One of the world’s biggest energy companies sees problems ahead with falling fossil fuel demand and huge growth in renewables.
Renewable energy no longer niche investment
26 Jun 2017
Institutional investors remain eager to put money to work on renewable energy projects even as US President Donald Trump has vowed to revive their chief competitor: coal.
Not so much coal about ... but we're burning more
23 Jun 2017
New Zealand’s coal consumption is climbing.
Top banks still lend billions to extract fossil fuels
23 Jun 2017
Some of the world’s top banks are continuing to lend tens of billions for extracting the most carbon-intensive fossil fuels, according to a report of top lenders.
Renewables investment by 2040 will be in the trillions
23 Jun 2017
More than $10 trillion will be invested in new power generation capacity by 2040, of which nearly three-quarters will be in renewables.
SUCKER PUNCH: Plant pulls CO2 directly from the air
23 Jun 2017
On the roof of a waste incinerator outside Zurich, a Swiss firm has built the world’s first commercial plant to suck CO2 directly from the air.
Green building council calls for clean energy policies
Mon 18 May 2026
The New Zealand Green Building Council has released its 2026 election manifesto calling for policies to reduce energy waste in buildings, lower household and business energy costs, and improve New Zealand’s energy security.
Greens condemn planned coal mine next to protected wetland
4 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Green Party says a new plan for a coal mine and fertiliser plant next to an internationally significant wetland is “ecological vandalism and climate denial.”
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.
NZ at risk of falling behind on EV transition
Fri 22 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | An EV lobby group is warning that New Zealand is at a crossroads on transport electrification, with inconsistent policy settings and lagging charging infrastructure slowing uptake, while global adoption accelerates and fuel price shocks renew interest in electric vehicles.
Govt presses ahead with forestry rule changes despite opposition
14 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government is pushing ahead with changes to commercial forestry rules despite most submitters opposing the proposals, with critics warning the reforms will weaken councils’ ability to manage erosion and forestry slash risks in vulnerable regions such as Tairāwhiti.
Victorian Hydrogen announces Southland urea fertiliser project using coal
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.
