News Direct: All stories
Multiple drainage and environmental outcomes from new floodgate project
5 Nov 2024
Media release | Waikato Regional Council’s three-year asset rationalisation project near the Piako River mouth has been completed, with positive outcomes for flood protection, land drainage and the environment.
Greens call for bottom trawling ban
4 Nov 2024
Media release | The Green Party is urgently calling on the Government to ban bottom trawling, following news a New Zealand bottom trawler caught 37kg of coral in international waters, prompting the suspension of all fishing in the area until 2026.
Iwi works with scientists to protect community from natural hazards
1 Nov 2024
Media release | Porirua’s Takapūwāhia community has partnered with It’s Our Fault scientists to map its exposure to natural hazards and is using the information to protect people and property from future events.
Gisborne community team up with experts to combat climate challenges
31 Oct 2024
Media release | University of Auckland researchers are working with a Gisborne iwi to tackle the pressing issues facing their remote community.
Germany and New Zealand partner to support agriculture and tackle global emissions
25 Oct 2024
Media release | New Zealand and Germany have announced the official start of a partnership aimed at supporting the agriculture sector and tackling global agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, agriculture minister Todd McClay announced today.
Use KiwiSaver for climate action, urges charity
25 Oct 2024
Media release | New Zealand charity Mindful Money is calling on Kiwis to drive climate action with their investments.
Connecting Kiwi cleantech ventures with global opportunities
24 Oct 2024
Media release | Fourteen ambitious Kiwi cleantech startups will soon chase global investment and partnership opportunities as part of the 2024 Cleantech Trek to the USA and Europe.
The money is there to meet global biodiversity targets: COP16 expectations
24 Oct 2024
Media release | Finance is the big focus at the next round of crucial UN biodiversity talks taking place in Cali, Colombia over the next two weeks.
Research sheds light on climate change education gaps
21 Oct 2024
Media release | Dr Thomas Everth is on a mission to reshape how climate change is taught in New Zealand schools, to shift society toward a more sustainable future.
Tackling nature-loss could bring major economic boost for NZ
18 Oct 2024
Media release | Protecting nature could save Aotearoa New Zealand more than $270 billion over the next 50 years, according to a major new report from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) New Zealand and EY New Zealand.
Vanuatu’s landmark climate change case advances
18 Oct 2024
Media release | A record-breaking number of states and inter-governmental organizations will make their case following a year of droughts, floods, heatwaves and storms worldwide.
Greater investment critical for the Pacific’s economic future as growth slows: World Bank
16 Oct 2024
Media release | The World Bank today launched its latest Pacific Economic Update, calling for a major boost in investment to address the region's slowing economic growth.
Sustainability in design of new Te Ngaengae Pool in Naenae
16 Oct 2024
Media release | Te Ngaengae Pool and Fitness aims to be New Zealand’s most sustainable pool when it opens in early December, through massively reduced carbon emissions and lower energy use.
Government and sector to improve Forestry ETS Registry
14 Oct 2024
Media release | Forestry Minister Todd McClay today announced the establishment of a Forestry Sector Reference Group to drive better outcomes from the Forestry Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Registry.
World on the brink of an irreversible climate disaster, scientists warn
9 Oct 2024
An international team of scientists is warning that the Earth is stepping into a critical and unpredictable new phase of the climate crisis, with environmental conditions that have never been encountered in human history.
Water is ‘canary in the coalmine’ of climate change: WMO
9 Oct 2024
Media release | The year 2023 marked the driest year in over three decades for rivers around the world, according to a new report coordinated by the UN’s World Meteorological Organization.
New research finds significant warming of Ross Sea region
8 Oct 2024
Media release | PhD candidate Eva Nielsen has created a new dataset of Antarctica’s temperature over the past 20 years analysing its trends and temperature extremes.
Incinerator will put NZ on the wrong track
8 Oct 2024
Media release | A large-scale rubbish incinerator has been included in the list of projects to go into Schedule 2 of the Coalition Government’s Fast Track Bill.
New fund to clean up old landfill and dump sites
7 Oct 2024
Media release | A new Contaminated Sites and Vulnerable Landfills Fund will help councils and landowners clean up historic landfills and other contaminated sites that are vulnerable to the effects of severe weather, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says.
Cross party consensus needed to prepare NZ for increased climate risk
3 Oct 2024
A parliamentary report on climate adaptation is an important signal of the need to urgently tackle the impact of climate change on communities and protect people lives and property, the Insurance Council of New Zealand Te Kāhui Inihua o Aotearoa (ICNZ) says.
Intense marine heatwaves disrupt fish populations and fisheries in NZ
2 Oct 2024
Marine heatwaves, where sea surface temperatures are unusually warm, can lead to increased or decreased fisheries catches, depending on their intensity.
Select committee recommendations on Resource Management Amendment Bill disappoint
1 Oct 2024
Media release | The Environmental Defence Society says proposals enable a full-blown assault on freshwater and indigenous biodiversity and take the country further off-track from meeting future climate goals.
UN General Assembly closes with growing consensus on fossil fuel phase out imperative
1 Oct 2024
Media release | The 79th United Nations General Assembly concluded with a growing global consensus on the urgent need to phase out fossil fuels.
Air pollutant trends decrease at most monitoring sites over the last eight years
30 Sep 2024
Media release | Concentrations of air pollutants decreased at many air quality monitoring sites between 2016 and 2023, according to figures released by Stats NZ.
Could vertical farming help future-proof our food needs?
27 Sep 2024
Media release | Technology and improved plant science are the keys to indoor farming contributing to global food needs, according to The University of Queensland’s Professor of Protected Cropping.
Heat, animal illness, and erosion: climate risks to NZ agriculture
26 Sep 2024
Media release | The effects of climate change on agriculture will vary around NZ, according to modelling of four greenhouse gas emission scenarios.
Meridian's Ruakākā solar farm gets consent
26 Sep 2024
Media release | Meridian Energy has been granted resource consent to build a 120 MW solar farm in Tai Tokerau Northland.
New Kiwi methane venture gets $13.5M boost
25 Sep 2024
Media release | The two key players working to provide Kiwi farmers with tools to reduce emissions are stepping up their support of a methane vaccine with multimillion-dollar funding for new company, Lucidome Bio.
Waste minimisation made easy at the click of a button
25 Sep 2024
Media release | Food waste is one of the largest items entering Taupō district’s landfill every year, but now there’s an innovative way to rescue food and save yourself money.
Making livestock feed from greenhouse gases in world-first research
24 Sep 2024
Media release | A central North Island Māori trust is partnering with geothermal experts and New Zealand scientists in a world-first project to develop livestock feed from geothermal gases.
Funding round open for greenhouse gas inventory research
24 Sep 2024
Media release | The Ministry for Primary Industries is seeking research proposals to help improve New Zealand’s reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, forestry, and other land uses.
New Zealand’s freshwater health under pressure from human activity
23 Sep 2024
Media release | The Land, Air, Water Aotearoa (LAWA) project has released updated nationwide data for rivers, lakes, groundwater, and estuaries.
Even marine animals in untouched habitats are at risk from human impacts
19 Sep 2024
Media release | A study of 21,000 marine animals finds many coastal regions are also at greater risk than previously realized.
Govt must act to avoid the worst of NIWA’s climate projections
19 Sep 2024
Media release | New climate projections from NIWA underscore how urgently climate action is needed.
NZ gets carbon credentials as CEP opens professional career pathway
18 Sep 2024
Media release | Carbon and Energy Professionals will be launching its new energy and carbon management credentials next month.
New appointments to the EPA board
18 Sep 2024
Media release | Environment Minister Penny Simmonds has announced a major refresh of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) board with four new appointments and one reappointment.
Northland Climate Resilient Communities Fund open for applications
17 Sep 2024
Media release | Northland communities are set to get a boost to support community-led initiatives that build resilience to the immediate and ongoing effects of climate change.
Govt releases Wairoa flood review findings
11 Sep 2024
Media release | The independent rapid review into the Wairoa flooding event on 26 June 2024 has been released.
ICNZ backs faster progress on adapting to climate change
10 Sep 2024
Media release | The Insurance Council of New Zealand urges prompt action on climate change adaptation, highlighting significant risks to people and property as comprehensive strategies are called for to mitigate future disasters.
PHINZ Welcomes acclaimed author Lloyd alter as conference keynote speaker
10 Sep 2024
Media release | Lloyd Alter, renowned architect and author, will address upfront carbon emissions at the Passive House Conference in Wellington, highlighting vital challenges in sustainable building practices.
Climate action tracker launches
9 Sep 2024
Media release | A new online climate impact monitor aims to demystify the action – or inaction – of Aotearoa New Zealand’s top carbon emitters.
OPINION: Trees are the answer to more resilient rural landscapes, not the threat
9 Sep 2024
Media release | There are many ways the New Zealand Farm Forestry Association (NZFFA) could respond to Ewan McGregor’s opinion piece about the threat of pines to our rural landscape.
Graduate champions climate justice in world’s highest court
6 Sep 2024
Media release | Law graduate Justin Sobion is helping to tackle one of the world’s biggest problems in the world’s highest court.
Greenpeace slams govt decision to expand seabed mining permit area
4 Sep 2024
Media release | Greenpeace says it’s "unbelievable" that wannabe seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources has been given the go-ahead to nearly quadruple the size of the area it wants to mine in the South Taranaki Bight.
Mayoral Forum calls for stronger action to meet emissions targets
30 Aug 2024
Media release | The Taranaki Mayoral Forum is very concerned that New Zealand is not on track to meet its emissions targets.
EDS’s Restoring Nature report sets out pathway to modernise the conservation system
30 Aug 2024
Media release | The Environmental Defence Society has launched a report, which sets out a comprehensive package of recommendations for a new conservation system.
New reports highlight NZ’s opportunity to boost climate finance
29 Aug 2024
Media release | Two new reports reveal how New Zealand can meet its climate finance obligations ahead of COP29.
New Zealand, China hold high-level climate change talks
29 Aug 2024
Media release | Chinese Minister of Ecology and Environment, Huang Runqiu is departing New Zealand today after the Fifth Ministerial Climate Change Dialogue between New Zealand and China.
Next steps to clean-up the East Coast
29 Aug 2024
Media release | Forestry Minister Todd McClay today announced the establishment of the ‘Tairāwhiti Forestry Action Group’ to expedite wood clean-up in Tairāwhiti and help implement best practice for forestry.
AgriZeroNZ invests extra $4m in Kiwi company developing methane-inhibiting bolus
28 Aug 2024
Media release | AgriZeroNZ is investing a further NZD $4 million in Ruminant BioTech, to accelerate the commercialisation of a methane-inhibiting bolus specifically suited to New Zealand’s pastoral farming system.
Key orange roughy population on verge of collapse, govt considers closure
Wed 9 Jul 2025
Media release - Deep Sea Conservation Coalition | New data reveals that New Zealand’s main orange roughy fishery, accounting for half of the country’s total catch, is on the brink of collapse, with one model showing it may have reached that point already, and the government’s considering closing it.
