News Direct: All stories
Groundbreaking global report says zero waste an essential part of any climate plan
6 Oct 2022
Media Release - The release of a groundbreaking international report, Zero Waste to Zero Emissions: How Waste Reduction is a Climate Gamechanger, says that at the global scale the two main sources of GHGs from the waste sector are methane from organics in landfill and CO2 from burning waste plastic.
10 YEARS AGO...
6 Oct 2022
Ten years ago, NIWA contributed research to an international project assessing climate change impact on the warming of the world's lakes. Data on Lake Brunner and Lake Taupo was included for analysis.
New agreement with mana whenua over Tiwai Smelter
5 Oct 2022
Media Release - Murihiku Rūnaka and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu have reached an agreement with New Zealand Aluminium Smelters Limited (NZAS) and Rio Tinto Aluminum Limited to work together on restoring the whenua (land) at the Tiwai Peninsula and the future of the Tiwai aluminium smelter beyond December 2024.
10 YEARS AGO...
5 Oct 2022
Ten years ago, emergency management specialists were working on a $760,000 project investigating community resilience in the face of disaster.
10 YEARS AGO...
4 Oct 2022
Ten years ago, the European Commission announced a future emissions monitoring system which would target the shipping industry's environmental footprint.
10 YEARS AGO...
3 Oct 2022
Ten years ago, an IPCC report said there was 95% certainty that human activity was behind climate change, with every New Zealander estimated to emit around 16 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.
New research to future-proof New Zealand wine sector
30 Sep 2022
Media Release - A new experimental vineyard in Blenheim will help enhance the supply of quality grapes for New Zealand’s wine sector into the future.
10 YEARS AGO...
30 Sep 2022
Ten years ago, a forestry investment company head accused the National Government of lying to New Zealanders over plans to encourage afforestation as a means of reducing greenhouse gas levels.
Progress continues on future-proofing Auckland’s transport infrastructure
29 Sep 2022
Media Release - Transport minister Michael Wood has welcomed the latest progress on Auckland’s two most transformational transport projects in a generation – Auckland Light Rail and the Additional Waitematā Harbour Connections.
10 YEARS AGO...
29 Sep 2022
Ten years ago, the New Zealand Superannuation Fund stopped investing in four companies following a review of engagement priorities, including the company that owned the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
10 YEARS AGO...
28 Sep 2022
Ten years ago, the Green Party was sceptical of proposed changes to the ETS and suggested it could be renamed as the 'emissions trading scam'.
Vanuatu makes historic call for treaty to end the fossil fuel era
27 Sep 2022
Media Release - Vanuatu called on other nations to join them in establishing a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, a proposed international mechanism that aims to explicitly address the source of 86% of CO2 emissions that cause climate change: fossil fuels at the UN on Friday.
Partnership supports climate action in Latin America and Caribbean
27 Sep 2022
Media Release - Aotearoa New Zealand is extending the reach of its support for climate action to a new agriculture initiative with partners in Latin America and the Caribbean.
10 YEARS AGO...
27 Sep 2022
Ten years ago, the then-Labour opposition criticised National's decision to not restrict cheap international carbon credits, stating it would have negative consequences for carbon forestry in New Zealand.
Deel offers 'digital nomad e-van-gelist' scholarship
22 Sep 2022
Media Release - Deel opens applications for ‘digital nomad e-van-gelist’ role paying NZD $5,000 per month to travel Australia and New Zealand in a van, documenting the whole experience.
10 YEARS AGO...
22 Sep 2022
Ten years ago, the Australian government announced a large grant to investigate the permeability of geothermal drilling wells.s.
10 YEARS AGO...
21 Sep 2022
Ten years ago environmental scientists at the International Council for Clean Transportation (ICCT) pointed out the flaws in electric cars deriving energy from sources still dependant on fossil fuels.
Research predicts big climate change impacts on marine mammals
19 Sep 2022
Media release - A new Department of Conservation report predicts that climate change could have a major impact on some of New Zealand’s marine mammals.
10 YEARS AGO...
19 Sep 2022
Ten years ago, new research on harakeke (New Zealand flax) showed resistance to fungal growth could make it a potential green replacement for food packaging.
Sea-level rise increasing at faster rate around Aotearoa New Zealand
16 Sep 2022
Media Release - Sea levels around Aotearoa New Zealand have risen at a faster rate in recent decades compared with the first half of last century, Stats NZ says.
July extreme weather insurance claims hit $43.7m
15 Sep 2022
Media Release - New claims data released by the Insurance Council of New Zealand Te Kāhui Inihua o Aotearoa (ICNZ) show that weeks of extreme weather over July resulted in 6,266 general insurance claims with a provisional value of $43.7 million.
10 YEARS AGO...
15 Sep 2022
Ten years ago, a panel behind the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (which created the world's first global environmental currency) called for intervention to address a crisis in the carbon market.
Wooden cities key to cutting worldwide carbon emissions
14 Sep 2022
Media Release - The Forest Owners Association president is predicting massive increases in the worldwide demand for engineered timber construction.
10 YEARS AGO...
14 Sep 2022
Ten years ago, the European Union put draft legislation in place to limit the use of crop-based bio fuels, representing a major shift in Europe's much-criticised biofuel policy.
10 YEARS AGO...
13 Sep 2022
Ten years ago, New Zealand renewable fuels company Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation won a prestigious award for their technology which processed multi-biomass feed stocks (trees, algae and agricultural waste) into renewable hydrocarbon fuels.
Agriculture drives more than 90% of tropical deforestation
9 Sep 2022
Media Release - Halting deforestation will require a step-change in approach, and to be effective measures must address underlying and indirect roles of agriculture, says study.
Māori authorities demonstrate their commitment to kaitiakitanga in response to climate change
8 Sep 2022
Media Release - Over half of Māori authorities, compared with a third of all New Zealand businesses, took actions in response to climate change in the last two years, Stats NZ said today.
NZ school students to kick off international wave of protest
7 Sep 2022
Media Release - On September 23rd, Aotearoa will be the first country in the world to kick off the next Global Climate Strike led by Fridays For Future. Protestors will be rallying in Tāmaki Makaurau from 1pm at Aotea Square. Simultaneous events are also being planned in Wellington and Christchurch.
Greenhouse gases down in most regions in 2021 compared with pre-COVID 2019
6 Sep 2022
Media Release - Greenhouse gas emissions decreased in 10 out of 16 regions between 2019 and 2021, with Taranaki showing the biggest drop in emissions during this period, Stats NZ said today.
10 YEARS AGO...
6 Sep 2022
Ten years ago, new research exposed the impact severe weather events from climate change could start to have on driving up food prices.
10 YEARS AGO...
5 Sep 2022
Ten years ago, a dissident farmer took aim at the farming lobby and told the Horizon Regional Council there needed to be tougher controls of nitrogen discharge from agriculture.
10 YEARS AGO...
2 Sep 2022
Ten years ago, a Queenstown construction company achieved a six star Homestar rating for the first build in an eco-friendly evolution series of sustainable homes.
Taupō District Council adopts climate change directives
1 Sep 2022
Media Release - Taupō District Council has demonstrated its commitment to helping address climate change, adopting a set of directives and emissions reduction targets at its monthly meeting on Tuesday.
10 YEARS AGO...
1 Sep 2022
Ten years ago, a European ban on incandescent bulbs failed to convince the then-National Government that New Zealand should follow suit.
10 YEARS AGO...
31 Aug 2022
Ten years ago, industry criticised a government decision to stop subsidising biofuel development.
10 YEARS AGO...
30 Aug 2022
Ten years ago, the government said an Australian decision to link to the European ETS would not slow progress on a trans-Tasman linkage. (Needless to say neither eventuated.)
10 YEARS AGO...
29 Aug 2022
Ten years ago, a New Zealand scientist had come up with a product that he hoped would allow farmers to earn carbon credits while cutting greenhouse gas emissions and boosting production.
The search for fossil fuels must come to an end: Greens
26 Aug 2022
Media Release - Following a High Court decision yesterday the Green Party is calling on the Government to amend the Crown Minerals Act to end fossil fuel extraction and to require Ministers to consider climate change when making decisions about whether to grant a permit to prospect, explore or mine other Crown minerals.
10 YEARS AGO...
26 Aug 2022
Ten years ago, the government was expecting to have changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme through the select committee and back into Parliament in a matter of weeks, with opposition parties accusing it of rushing the changes through.
Commercial build projects to count the ‘cost’ of carbon
25 Aug 2022
Media Release - Construction projects will soon come with both a financial budget and a projected carbon estimate as quantity surveyors increasingly include carbon emissions in their advice to clients.
10 YEARS AGO...
25 Aug 2022
Ten years ago, the Green Party warned that fracking was not the answer to New Zealand's economic woes.
10 YEARS AGO...
24 Aug 2022
Ten years ago, critics of the biofuel industry added fears of a food crisis to claims that the fuel would not reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Put Papatuuaanuku first: Kingitanga
22 Aug 2022
Media Release - Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has urged political leaders to heal the damage of decades past with policies that put people and the environment first.
School strikers are back – demanding action on climate change
17 Aug 2022
Media Release - After nearly an 18 month hiatus, students from all across the country are preparing to strike for their futures once again – this time, on September 23rd. For this strike, a special focus is being placed on the agriculture industry in New Zealand, which accounts for over half of all emissions.
Simon Stiell appointed new UNFCCC executive secretary
16 Aug 2022
Media Release - UN Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Simon Stiell as the new Executive Secretary of the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat based in Bonn, Germany. The appointment has been endorsed by the Bureau of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
New law requires overseas investors to show benefit to NZ of farm forestry conversions
12 Aug 2022
Media Release - A law change to ensure that forestry conversions by overseas investors benefit New Zealand has passed its final reading in Parliament.
Seagrass restoration project aims to help tackle climate change
1 Aug 2022
Media Release - Cawthron Institute has partnered with Westpac NZ Government Innovation Fund, Port Nelson and forestry company OneFortyOne to launch a seagrass restoration project that aims to fight climate change and improve ecosystem health.
Local Government New Zealand passes free fares remit
29 Jul 2022
Media Release - On Thursday morning, the Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) Annual General Meeting passed a remit supporting the Free Fares call for central Government to fund free public transport for under-25’s, tertiary students, Community Services Card Holders, and Total Mobility Card holders and their support people.
Three biggest unions ask NZers to vote for climate
29 Jul 2022
Media Release - The country’s three biggest unions, with a combined membership of 186,000, NZNO Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa, NZEI Te Riu Roa and the PSA Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi, are supporting Vote Climate, the campaign to get voters to support local government candidates who will invest in reducing transport emissions.
Kiwis most concerned about climate change: Ipsos poll
26 Jul 2022
Media Release - New Zealanders have an increased sense of urgency on the climate crisis and are the most concerned about the impact of climate change seen around the world.
Biodiversity plan is ‘light on detail and heavy on vague intentions’
Today 10:30am
Media Release - WWF New Zealand | The government’s plan to tackle Aotearoa New Zealand’s biodiversity crisis lacks ambition and fails to match the scale and urgency of the challenge.
