News Direct: All stories
Climate-friendly Let's Get Wellington Moving options revealed
2 Nov 2021
Media Release - Let’s Get Wellington Moving has officially unveiled four options to help transform the Capital, focused on mass rapid transit, improvements at the Basin Reserve and an extra Mt Victoria Tunnel as part of a multi-billion dollar plan to move more people with fewer vehicles, enable more housing, and help reduce carbon emissions.
Aotearoa joins International Climate Council Network
2 Nov 2021
He Pou a Rangi, New Zealand’s Climate Change Commission has joined forces with a group of international evidence-based climate advisors in an effort to deliver on global climate action.
10 YEARS AGO...
1 Nov 2021
Ten years ago, the New Economic Party was launched. It claimed to be based on green business principles and included former Green Party members among its founders.
10 YEARS AGO...
29 Oct 2021
Ten years ago, a conference of international climate change scientists held in Wellington called for the establishment of an international auditing system to measure the emissions of individual countries.
New Zealand public housing pilot to feature at COP26
29 Oct 2021
Media Release - An innovative new Kâinga Ora public housing pilot tackling climate change in the built environment will feature on the world stage at the United Nations Climate Conference (COP26).
10 YEARS AGO...
28 Oct 2021
Ten years ago, a leak at the Maui gas field saw dairy companies unable to process milk and farmers forced to dump unprocessed milk.
Wellington joins global race for climate action
28 Oct 2021
Media Release - Wellington has been welcomed into the global Cities Race to Zero initiative, joining cities around the world in a collective pledge to halve carbon emissions by 2030 – and become a net zero carbon capital by 2050.
10 YEARS AGO...
27 Oct 2021
Ten years ago, submissions on whether industrial gas CERs - sometimes called hot air credits - should be banned from the NZ ETS were about to close.
UN praises updated NDCs but still"nowhere near goal"
27 Oct 2021
Media release - New or updated climate action plans by governments can be effective in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but greater efforts are needed to keep global warming at bay, the UN climate change office says.
10 YEARS AGO...
26 Oct 2021
Ten years ago, Dr Pieter Tans, of the Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, visited Aotearoa with a stark warning: It's not possible for economic growth to continue indefinitely. (A decade later, it's not clear anyone was listening.)
'Landmark Decision’ gives legal teeth to protect environmental defenders
26 Oct 2021
Media Release - A 46-strong group of countries across the wider European region has agreed to establish a new legally binding mechanism that would protect environmental defenders, the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) says.
10 YEARS AGO...
22 Oct 2021
Ten years ago, a plan to power Stewart Island with 100% renewable energy - including a wave-energy plant - was announced.
NZ dairy industry linked to illegal Indonesian palm oil plantations: Greenpeace
22 Oct 2021
Media Release - A new report released today by Greenpeace Indonesia, " Deceased Estate: Illegal palm oil wiping out Indonesia’s national forest", reveals that illegal palm oil plantations are destroying protected Indonesian rainforests and other habitats, and New Zealand’s industrial dairy sector is a major beneficiary.
10 YEARS AGO...
21 Oct 2021
Ten years ago, Australia's CSIRO released research indicating that the amount of methane emitted from cattle fed on tropical grasses in northern Australia was up to 30% less than those emitted in the non-tropical south.
10 YEARS AGO...
20 Oct 2021
Ten years ago, forestry owners who hadn't taken advantage of an opt out clause in the ETS were being warned they could be hit with huge bills come harvesting and the compulsory surrender of carbon credits.
Victoria University Prof joins Bill Gate's Breakthrough Energy Fellows
20 Oct 2021
Media Release - Dr Franck Natali, Associate Professor at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington and Wellington UniVentures’ Innovator-in-Residence, has been accepted on to the inaugural Breakthrough Energy Fellows Program to develop his work into revolutionising the way ammonia is produced.
10 YEARS AGO...
19 Oct 2021
Ten years ago, Waikato University released research which revealed a "sustainability divide" between those businesses responding to the recession by dropping their environmental commitments and those that doubled down on them.
Climate aid boost the wrong move at the wrong time: National
19 Oct 2021
Media Release - The Government’s decision to commit $1.3 billion over four years to support poorer countries to deal with climate change is the wrong one, given New Zealand is still struggling with lockdowns which have no end in sight, National’s Climate Change Spokesperson Stuart Smith says.
Climate aid boost a fantastic outcome: Oxfam
19 Oct 2021
Media Release - Today's announcement is a fantastic outcome for communities on the frontlines of climate change, Oxfam Aotearoa Executive Director Rachael Le Mesurier said in response to the $1.3 billion the Government has promised in climate finance over the next four years.
10 YEARS AGO...
18 Oct 2021
Ten years ago, a Waikato University report warned that accountants would lose business to other experts if they didn't pick up their game when it came to including sustainability in their accounts.
10 YEARS AGO...
15 Oct 2021
Ten years ago, the Gillard Government in Australia announced a $10 billion Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
Sustainable transport key to combating climate change: UN
15 Oct 2021
Media Release - From electric cars and buses to zero-carbon producing energy sources, new and emerging technologies along with innovative policy changes, are critical for combating climate change. But to be effective, they must ensure that transport strategies benefit everyone, including the poorest, a multi-agency UN report says.
10 YEARS AGO...
14 Oct 2021
Ten years ago, the Gillard government in Australia passed green energy legislation that put a price on carbon for the first time. It was described as an "historic moment."
Contract awarded to power NZ Battery investigation
14 Oct 2021
A consortium of specialist firms has been awarded a major contract to advance the New Zealand Battery Project’s feasibility investigation into a pumped hydro storage scheme at Lake Onslow, the Minister of Energy and Resources Megan Woods has announced.
Cash injection For ‘pine to natives’ forest conversion project
14 Oct 2021
The country’s largest ‘pine to natives’ forest conversion project has been given a $15,000 cash injection by a leading producer of radiata pine products.
10 YEARS AGO...
13 Oct 2021
Ten years ago, an Australian forestry investors predicted there would be growing interest in our forest as carbon sinks from across the Tasman.
Trade can play pivotal role in tackling climate change: UN
13 Oct 2021
A new United Nations report has underscored an urgent need for economies in the Asia-Pacific region to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including to maintain their trade competitiveness as carbon taxes at borders become more likely.
10 YEARS AGO...
12 Oct 2021
Ten years ago, Philips received a UN-back award for its work in developing LED lighting.
States can be held accountable for climate change effects on the young: UN Child Rights Committee
12 Oct 2021
Media Release - In a historic ruling on the harmful effects of climate change on children’s rights, the Child Rights Committee has found that a State party can be held responsible for the negative impact of its carbon emissions on the rights of children both within and outside its territory.
45,000,000 doctors call for urgent action on climate change
12 Oct 2021
Media Release - Ambitious national climate commitments are crucial for States to sustain a healthy, green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new UN health agency report launched on Monday in the lead-up to the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland.
10 YEARS AGO...
11 Oct 2021
Ten years ago, Treasury reported that due to a drop in emissions, New Zealand was $17 million better off in terms of its Kyoto position than it was the previous year.
10 YEARS AGO...
8 Oct 2021
Ten years ago, a report was predicting chocolate would become a luxury only the wealthiest could afford due to climate change.
Hack the planet competition 2021 finalists announced
8 Oct 2021
Media Release - After an unprecedented pan-Commonwealth search for innovative satellite-driven solutions to tackle the challenges of the climate emergency and ocean sustainability, the Satellite Applications Catapult and the Commonwealth Secretariat are delighted to announce the inaugural finalists of the Hack the Planet competition 2021.
New million dollar waste sorting facility to open in Taranaki
8 Oct 2021
Media Release - A game-changing $1.2 million rubbish facility for building and business waste is coming to New Plymouth District. The New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) will open a waste sorting facility on Colson Road for business waste in the first half of next year. The Ministry for the Environment is paying $420,550 with the rest coming from NPDC’s Solid Waste fund and user charges.
10 YEARS AGO...
7 Oct 2021
Ten years ago, the UN was warning that climate change would lead to tens of millions of refugees if action was taken urgently.
10 YEARS AGO...
6 Oct 2021
Ten years ago, the Ministry of Agriculture released figures showing nearly 10 million carbon credits had been issued for pre-1990 forests.
Peacocke to be climate-ready neighbourhood
6 Oct 2021
Media Release - Plans for the new Peacocke community will help create the first climate-ready neighbourhood in Hamilton.
Hawke's Bay partners with the Nature Conservancy
6 Oct 2021
Media Release - Hawke's Bay Regional Council partnering with global environmental organisation The Nature Conservancy.
10 YEARS AGO...
5 Oct 2021
Ten years ago, a leading European environmental agency reported that global CO2 emissions had increased by 45% since 1990 - reaching a then all time high of 33 billion tonnes. (By 2019 the figure was 36.44 billion.)
Environmental outlook for Oceania rated severe: Caritas
5 Oct 2021
Media Release - Caritas has shifted the dial to 'severe' for four of its five environmental indicators, while climate finance for the poor has remained stubbornly at 'woefully inadequate' for seven years.
10 YEARS AGO...
4 Oct 2021
Ten years ago, a leading UK environmentalist said the time had come for New Zealand to put a price on the intrinsic value of nature.
10 YEARS AGO...
1 Oct 2021
Ten years ago, the price of carbon in New Zealand dipped under $14, driven down by fears the Greek debt crises was going destabilise the world economy.
10 YEARS AGO...
30 Sep 2021
Ten years ago, New Zealand Steel was allocated 500,000 free carbon credits - worth nearly $10 million – to cushion it from the impact of a price on carbon under the ETS. (At today's price those credits would be worth more than $30 million.)
Government commits $28.7 million to decarbonising industry
30 Sep 2021
Media Release - The Government is continuing to back businesses in their switch from fossil fuels to cleaner power to fuel their industry, with the announcement of 23 new projects that will receive government co-investment from Round Two of the Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry (GIDI) Fund. The recipients will receive $28.7 million and will match this with $54.5m of their own funding.
Commonwealth youth demand climate action
30 Sep 2021
Media Release - More than 2,000 young leaders and youth-led organisations from across the Commonwealth are urging governments to respect the needs and contributions of the world’s most vulnerable groups, in the lead up to global climate talks in Glasgow in November.
10 YEARS AGO...
29 Sep 2021
Ten years ago, a government committee recommended giving farmers carbon credits to encourage them to use nitrogen inhibitors.
Stronger NSW 2030 emissions reduction goal signals increased investment opportunity
29 Sep 2021
Media Release - The NSW Government has announced it will halve emissions from 2005 levels by 2030.
Food waste feeds climate change
29 Sep 2021
Media Release - NZ Food Waste Champions 12.3 are calling on the Government to reduce food waste as a climate change solution. On 29 September, it is International Food Waste Awareness Day.
10 YEARS AGO...
28 Sep 2021
Ten years ago, a government committee recommended leaving the egg industry out of the ETS.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council welcomes new flood data
Mon 3 Nov 2025
Media release | Hawke’s Bay Regional Council welcomes the release of the National Flood Tool and accompanying data by Earth Sciences New Zealand. This is an important contribution to understanding the impacts of climate change for New Zealand.
