News Direct: Media releases
Even the Suzuki Swift can’t escape Labour’s tax: National
24 Sep 2021
Media Release - Transport Minister Michael Wood needs to urgently clarify who will be exposed to his Car Tax, National’s Transport spokesperson David Bennett says.
Hutt council signs up to race to zero initiative
24 Sep 2021
Media Release - Hutt City Council has voted in favour of signing up to the Race to Zero climate initiative, joining more than 730 cities around the world that have publicly committed to reducing carbon emissions.
Climate Commission ignored climate benefits of cutting synthetic nitrogen: Greenpeace
23 Sep 2021
Media Release - A hidden report uncovered by Greenpeace shows that the Climate Change Commission ignored its own internal advice that could cut agricultural climate emissions by a third or more.
Sinking lid on hydrofluorocarbon
22 Sep 2021
Media Release - As part of moves to reduce the use of harmful greenhouse gases, the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has released its third annual decision on special permits to import hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
Clean Vehicles Bill passes first checkpoint
22 Sep 2021
Media Release - The Land Transport (Clean Vehicles) Amendment Bill will help New Zealand drive down transport emissions by cleaning up the light vehicle fleet, Transport Minister Michael Wood says.
NZ company gets Aussie grant for waste to building material plant
21 Sep 2021
Media Release - New Zealand company saveBOARD has received a A$1.74 million grant from the Australian and New South Wales Governments towards setting up a A$5 million facility that will turn packaging waste into high performance building material.
Minister must ditch Clean Vehicle Bill: National
20 Sep 2021
Media Release - The Motor Industry Association’s withdrawal of support for Labour’s Clean Vehicle Bill is yet more reason for Transport Minister Michael Wood to ditch his car tax plan, National’s Transport spokesperson David Bennett says.
Organic NZ Award winners
20 Sep 2021
Media Release - In an online event hosted by Ruud "the Bugman" Kleinpaste, six winners from across the organic sector were recognised for creating exceptional organic products that work for people, planet, wildlife, and the climate.
Refinery closure will increase barrier to low emissions transport
17 Sep 2021
Media Release - The announcement that the Marsden refinery is to be closed will increase the barrier to easy achievement of low emissions transport, says the Bioenergy Association.
Lack of action on climate stressing out young people
17 Sep 2021
Media Release - Parents for Climate Aotearoa (P4CA) with a weary heart welcome the global study into climate anxiety in children and young people. The survey illustrates the depth of anxiety many young people are feeling about climate change.
Wetlands imperiled as Govt caves to industry: Forest & Bird
16 Sep 2021
Media Release - Forest & Bird is calling out the Government for backtracking on crucial freshwater reforms and has written a letter to Environment Minister David Parker vowing to fight the changes.
Investors want climate change information
14 Sep 2021
Media Release - More than four in every five (81%) retail investors think climate related information is important to their investment decision making, with half saying companies have a responsibility to address climate change.
Organic Week @ Home
13 Sep 2021
Media Release - COVID-19 may have stopped our planned in-person events, but there are loads of fun ways you can still celebrate Organic Week at home.
National won't attend COP26
10 Sep 2021
Media Release - Covid-19 has meant that New Zealanders have had to sacrifice a great deal. They have missed funerals, weddings, births, and all manner of other special moments, National’s Climate Change spokesperson Stuart Smith says.
Global conservation leaders vote for moratorium on ocean mining
9 Sep 2021
Media Release - Voting members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress--a major global gathering on nature that brings together 1,400 members from more than 170 countries--this week passed a motion calling for a moratorium on ocean mining.
Greater Wellington welcomes $1.2 billion boost
9 Sep 2021
Media Release - Greater Wellington Regional Council has welcomed Tuesday’s announcement by Minister of Transport Hon Michael Wood of the Government’s transport funding priorities for the next three years contained in the National Land Transport Programme.
Investment in public transport is not enough: Greens
8 Sep 2021
Media Release - The Green Party welcomes the $6 billion being invested in public transport, walking and cycling through the National Land Transport Programme, as announced by the Minister of Transport today, however says it is nowhere near enough.
Coal will wreck havoc on Australian economy: UN
7 Sep 2021
Climate change will “wreak havoc” across the Australian economy if coal is not rapidly phased out, a senior UN official warned on Monday.
Indigenous peoples call for an end to "fortress conservation"
6 Sep 2021
Media Release - The world’s first Congress to decolonize conservation has ended with a series of speakers calling for an end to “fortress conservation,” and for full recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ rights.
Air quality improvements from COVID lockdowns confirmed
6 Sep 2021
Media Release - COVID-19 lockdowns brought rapid and “unprecedented” improvements in air quality in some parts of the world - but not enough to halt climate change caused by global warming, UN weather experts said on Friday.
Hamilton to spend $50 million to slash car reliance
27 Aug 2021
A startling 64% of Hamilton’s carbon emissions come from transport, and Hamilton City Council has a plan to change that.
New electric buses for Wellington
25 Aug 2021
Metlink is on track to becoming the lowest carbon emissions network in the country, as a new tranche of 10 electric vehicles (EVs) started rolling out on the road this week.
Canterbury offers NZ's first undergraduate sustainability degree
17 Aug 2021
Media Release - Business leaders are welcoming Aotearoa New Zealand’s first undergraduate sustainability degree, saying the sector is crying out for more expertise as it faces new targets and competing goals.
Auckland Council endorses fossil fuel divestment policy
13 Aug 2021
Media Release - Auckland Council's Environment and Climate Change Committee yesterday unanimously endorsed the C40 Cities Divest/Invest Declaration, reaffirming its policy of not investing in companies involved in the production of fossil fuels and committing to championing investments in the green economy
Auckland Universtiiy building project tops green ratings
13 Aug 2021
The University of Auckland’s Social Sciences Building has been awarded 93 points by the New Zealand Green Building Council achieving a 6 Green Star Design rating. This is the highest score awarded since the inception of the rating, putting the building in the ‘world leadership’ category.
Genesis to add solar power to energy portfolio
12 Aug 2021
Media Release - Genesis Energy has signalled its intent to develop solar as part its renewable generation programme.
Contact and Genesis announce long-term renewable electricity agreement
12 Aug 2021
Media Release - Contact Energy is set to supply Genesis Energy with renewable electricity for 15 years from 2025, as part of a new, long-term power purchase agreement after key terms were signed yesterday.
Growing number of Wellingtonians going by bike
11 Aug 2021
Media Release - The number of Wellingtonians commuting by bike continues to grow with the latest data showing more people than ever riding into the central city during the busy morning peak
Climate change policy farmers' number one concern
10 Aug 2021
Media Release - Asked to identify their three greatest concerns in a recent survey, farmers listed climate change policy and the ETS (chosen by 18.5% of respondents), followed by regulation and compliance costs (17.1%), and freshwater policy (11.0%).
Greater Wellington welcomes free bus proposal
9 Aug 2021
Media Release - Greater Wellington councillors welcomed strong representation from Pôneke Collective, a broad coalition of students and welfare groups seeking more equitable access to public transport, at last week's Transport Committee meeting.
Aussie Govt allows renewable energy agency to invest in fossil fuels
6 Aug 2021
Media Release - The Federal Government has damaged the integrity of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) by changing its remit so that it can invest in fossil fuels.
NZ's only climate venture fund makes first investment ...in Australia
5 Aug 2021
Media Release - Climate Venture Capital Fund, New Zealand’s only dedicated climate-change venture capital fund, has made its first investment.
Climate change with a supernatural twist
5 Aug 2021
Media Release - The Forgotten Ones is a new series of novels that imagines our children’s children’s future. Climate change has dramatically altered the entire earth and humans are on the verge of extinction. Heeding the call of a mysterious force, Maia must make her way from Aotearoa to the Arctic Circle in search of a better future.
Climate change business conference announced
4 Aug 2021
Media Release - The Sustainable Business Council (SBC) and the Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) have joined forces with the Environmental Defence Society (EDS) to take the 2021 Climate Change and Business Conference - Now to Net Zero, to a new level.
Investors sought for carbon cutting cooling technology
4 Aug 2021
Introducing Eco2Dairy; Cold Energy Technology’s latest piece of innovative cooling technology, capable of reducing New Zealand’s dairy farming carbon footprint by 263,250 tonnes of CO2e per year.
Kapiti embeds climate into decsion making
3 Aug 2021
Media Release - Kapiti Coast District Council’s adoption of a Climate Emergency Action Framework means thinking about climate change will be even more firmly embedded in all Council decisions.
Hamilton cyclists in for a smoother ride
2 Aug 2021
Media Release - People on bikes are set for a smoother ride through the city with the introduction of specialist sweeping machines, made specifically for cycle lanes.
Two new cycle bridges over Northern Motorway
2 Aug 2021
Media Release - The opening of two bridges over Auckland’s Northern Motorway is the last link of a cycling and walking route which provides a safe, active alternative for students and commuters, Transport Minister Michael Wood said yesterday.
IGCC 2021 Climate Awards entries are open
30 Jul 2021
Media Release - The Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC) is excited to announce the Climate Awards are now open for entries.
Greenpeace calls foul on AB's Ineos sponsorship
29 Jul 2021
Media Release - Greenpeace is calling foul on NZ Rugby’s decision to sign a sponsorship deal with the oil and plastic polluting petrochemical giant INEOS.
Earth overshoot day
29 Jul 2021
Media Release - It's Earth Overshoot Day again. Two years ago it was 26th July, last year, mostly due to Covid, Earth Overshoot Day was 22nd August, so globally the situation has slightly improved.
Campaign to save urban trees launched
27 Jul 2021
Media Release - A new campaign to stop the cutting down of mature trees in New Zealand’s cities has launched today.
Coal not the way forward for Southland: NGOs
23 Jul 2021
Media Release - Environmental NGOs wrote to Southland District Council yesterday expressing deep concern over the Council’s decision to grant an access arrangement to New Brighton Collieries Limited (NBCL), an overseas owned company, for coal exploration in the Ohai forestry area.
Mercedes-Benz prepares to go all-electric
23 Jul 2021
Media Release - Mercedes-Benz is getting ready to go all electric by the end of the decade, where market conditions allow. Shifting from electric-first to electric-only, the world's preeminent luxury car company is accelerating toward an emissions-free and software-driven future.
Fully renewable energy feasible for Samoa: Otago study
23 Jul 2021
Media Release - The future of Samoa’s electricity system could go green, a University of Otago study has shown.
Canterbury engineers working on carbon negative hydrogen
21 Jul 2021
Media Release - University of Canterbury engineering researchers are developing a carbon-neutral – even carbon-negative – way to create clean ‘green’ hydrogen to power our world more sustainably.
Return of the giants
21 Jul 2021
Media Release - “It's great to see the return of these forest giants,” commented Daran Ponter, Chair of Greater Wellington, as he planted the first of 300 kahikatea on the Mataihuka block at Queen Elizabeth Park. “It has long been known that these wonderful trees, such an abundant mahinga kai for Maori, once dominated this landscape.”
Govt procurement goes green
20 Jul 2021
Media Release - A new All-of-Government (AoG) office supplies contract – used by over a thousand government agencies – focuses on low-waste, sustainable products, and will deliver tangible economic and environmental outcomes, Laurence Pidcock, General Manager of New Zealand Government Procurement (NZGP, a branch within MBIE), announced today.
Proposed EU carbon tax will hurt poor countries: UN
19 Jul 2021
UN Media Release - Although a new European Union (EU) climate initiative unveiled on Wednesday could change global trade patterns to favour countries where production is relatively carbon efficient, its value in mitigating climate change will likely be limited, the UN trade and development agency, UNCTAD, has warned.
Hydrogen agreement signed with Singapore
16 Jul 2021
Media Release - The signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation on low-carbon hydrogen with Singapore signals the start of greater collaboration between the two countries as they transition towards low carbon economies, says Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods.
Cuts to climate finance put exports in jeopardy: Lawyers
23 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has halved international climate finance, a move aid organisations describe as “devastating,” and which lawyers say could put our Paris Agreement commitments and export market access at risk.
Could ‘orange’ hydrogen be NZ’s key to net-zero?
Fri 30 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand could be sitting on resources for a thriving multi-billion-dollar, low-carbon hydrogen economy, which might even be capable of creating a net reduction of carbon dioxide, according to scientists.
Fed Farmers ‘ready to go into battle’ over methane target
21 May 2025
Federated Farmers say they will never accept a 24% methane reduction target, and they are prepared to go into battle with the government over the issue.
Carbon price too low to fund carbon capture
20 May 2025
The government’s climate target to 2030 is at risk, after revelations that a carbon capture project which the government was relying on to deliver one third of its carbon reductions, might not go ahead.
While govt ‘refreshes’ fund for low carbon trucks, are transport emissions set to accelerate?
Wed 28 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has announced it is updating the Low Emissions Heavy Vehicle Fund, however cuts to funds to decarbonise transport in last week’s budget, and potential changes to road user charges, could stall transport emissions reductions.
Council delays forestry plan as national rules remain unclear
21 May 2025
Tairāwhiti’s forestry reforms are facing fresh delays, with Gisborne District Council now tying its plan changes to national direction that remains uncertain.
Kiwi cleantech companies on the world stage
27 May 2025
Six New Zealand 'cleantech' companies were in Singapore earlier this month, along with a venture capital firm and the MacDiarmid Institute, to meet investors and multinational partners.
