New Zealand: All stories
OPINION Language in a time of climate change
26 Mar 2018
Language bends and buckles under pressure of climate change, says Princeton University academic ROB NIXON. Take the adjective ‘glacial’.
Change rail rules, says trains privatiser
23 Mar 2018
One of the men behind the privatisation of New Zealand’s rail network says the rules need to be changed so that rail can help to cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The wood world's talking about the Jones boy
22 Mar 2018
The wood industry is in love with its new forestry minister.
OPINION: Empty half the Earth of its humans
22 Mar 2018
People tend to like cities, and have been congregating in them ever since the invention of agriculture, 10,000 or so years ago. That’s why we call it civilisation, explains science fiction writer KIM STANLEY ROBINSON.
Oil explorer wants credits for carbon capture
21 Mar 2018
New Zealand’s largest oil and gas exploration company wants carbon credits for capturing and storing emissions from fossil fuel production – and says it’s viable at a carbon price of just $18 a tonne.
Five billion could be short of water by 2050, says UN
21 Mar 2018
More than five billion people could suffer water shortages by 2050 due to climate change, increased demand and polluted supplies, according to a UN report.
BREAKTHROUGH: Science gets to the heart of methane
20 Mar 2018
Scientists have sequenced the genomes of the micro-organisms that make sheep and cattle emit methane.
It happened 10 years ago ...
20 Mar 2018
National Party climate spokesman Nick Smith was talking about an integrated carbon market with Australia, while his boss, then-Opposition leader John Key, was backing the Emissions Trading Scheme.
The real reasons we’re not building clean energy
20 Mar 2018
At this rate, it’s going to take nearly 400 years to transform the energy system.
Adidas has sold a million shoes made of plastic from the ocean
20 Mar 2018
Adidas chief executive Kasper Rorsted has let slip that his company last year sold one million shoes made out of ocean plastic.
Ten years on, we're back where we began
19 Mar 2018
By publisher ADELIA HALLETT | When it comes to action on climate change, we’re pretty much back to where we were 10 years ago, when Carbon News started publishing.
Cabinet talks turning off fossil fuels taps
19 Mar 2018
The Government is looking at ending oil and gas exploration.
OPINION: Why natural gas won't do the job
19 Mar 2018
Climate and energy expert Professor RALPH SIMS explains why natural gas is not a “bridging” fuel between dirtier fossil fuels and low-carbon energy. Searching for it and using it, he says, will delay New Zealand reaching its Paris Agreement emissions reduction target.
It happened 10 years ago ...
19 Mar 2018
… the Government was getting ready to plead New Zealand’s case to allow the owners of pre-1990 forests to clear them without facing a carbon penalty, BP was warning against introducing a compulsory biofuels component into the nation’s petrol and diesel supplies, Trustpower was finding a ready market for credits from its Tararua windfarm, Orcon founder Seeby Woodhouse was moving into carbon, and businesses wanted to be allowed to use credits from nuclear power plants.
Norway’s electric car demand outstrips supply
19 Mar 2018
One out of every five new cars sold in Norway is electric, and more than 50 per cent of new cars sold in 2017 were electric or plug-in hybrids.
Business leaders like the look of minister Shaw
16 Mar 2018
Climate minister James Shaw appears to be convincing business he knows what he’s doing.
NUCLEAR FUSION: Don't hold your breath
16 Mar 2018
One of the cliches of nuclear power research is that a commercial fusion reactor is only ever a few decades away – and always will be.
Seeding clouds is common ... but does it work?
16 Mar 2018
Cloud seeding has been used to influence weather conditions in in more than 50 countries worldwide. But we still don’t know whether it works.
Here's a road to zero carbon, say officials
15 Mar 2018
Meeting New Zealand’s Paris Agreement pledge from domestic emissions cuts alone would put the country on a straight line to carbon-neutrality by 2050, officials have told the Government.
RAIN OR SHINE: New solar cell captures energy from raindrops
15 Mar 2018
A solar panel that can generate electricity from falling raindrops has been invented, enabling power to flow even when skies cloud over or the sun has set.
Renault-Nissan battery aims to leapfrog competition
15 Mar 2018
The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance is aiming to take the lead in new solid-state battery technology.
Shaw hints at end to oil and gas exploration
14 Mar 2018
Climate minister James Shaw has just given the strongest hint yet that the Government might end oil and gas exploration.
Did burning coalfields cause Earth’s worst mass extinction?
14 Mar 2018
Earth has gone through five mass extinction events – scientists are worried we’re on course to trigger a sixth – and the deadliest one happened 252 million years ago.
How protons can power our future energy needs
14 Mar 2018
As the world embraces inherently variable renewable energy sources to tackle climate change, we will need a truly gargantuan amount of electrical energy storage.
Plastic pollution has now spread to rivers
13 Mar 2018
Microplastics are contaminating rivers as well as the ocean, say scientists.
Government backs circular economy with funding
13 Mar 2018
The Government is looking to fund projects that boost the circular economy.
New-look Nats put skids under green jobs
12 Mar 2018
Climate change and the environment have failed to make new Opposition leader Simon Bridges’ front bench.
Science body pressures Commonwealth leaders
12 Mar 2018
New Zealand’s top science body is joining 21 others calling on Commonwealth countries to show “bold leadership” on climate change.
Nuclear fusion on brink of being realised, say scientists
12 Mar 2018
The dream of nuclear fusion is on the brink of being realised, according to a major new US initiative that says it will put fusion power on the grid within 15 years.
How stock market could help fight climate change
12 Mar 2018
Finance experts are trying to figure out how to integrate environment, social and governance factors into investment planning by comparing returns of carbon-efficient and carbon-inefficient portfolios.
TPP ignores climate health threats, say medicos
9 Mar 2018
The just-signed Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal ignores the threat climate change poses to human health and should be urgently reviewed before New Zealand ratifies it, warns the New Zealand Medical Journal.
Climate commission's job to advise, says Upton
7 Mar 2018
The climate commission should make recommendations on the Emissions Trading Scheme and the number of international credits used to meet New Zealand’s targets, but control should stay firmly in the hands of the Government, says new Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton.
Is sustainable investing a better way to go?
7 Mar 2018
Sustainable investing might be a better way to tackle climate change than switching to renewable energy.
DYING DIESEL: Can makers woo back customers?
7 Mar 2018
Amid fears about pollution, penalties and bans, UK buyers are abandoning diesel cars in droves.
Minister aware of risk in delaying price cap rise
6 Mar 2018
The Government knows delaying lifting the carbon price cap could cost taxpayers money, but says it is unlikely to move until next year.
Ministry eyes emissions deals with businesses
5 Mar 2018
The Ministry for the Environment is looking to form direct partnerships with businesses to cut emissions out of the New Zealand economy.
Climate change passion rides a bike
2 Mar 2018
By publisher ADELIA HALLETT | Yesterday, a young woman told an audience that included two Cabinet ministers that she was suffering from depression because of climate change.
What's next for getting energy from the sun?
2 Mar 2018
The fall in costs that has driven solar’s rapid growth is slowing - but scientists are exploring the next generation of materials that can harness more energy from the sun.
Battered ecosystems almost never recover
2 Mar 2018
Ecosystems almost never recover completely from large-scale destruction — even when they're actively restored, says a team of international researchers.
Nuclear waste mountains just keep on growing
2 Mar 2018
Some politicians still claim atomic energy is the answer to climate change while leaving the problem of nuclear waste to our descendants.
Z aims for A-plus in transition to new energy
28 Feb 2018
Mike Bennetts is determined his company, Z Energy, will not have a Kodak moment.
Fiat-Chrysler intends to ditch diesel cars
28 Feb 2018
Car maker Fiat-Chrysler has signalled that it is getting ready to stop making diesel cars.
Energy storage leap could slash e-car charging times
28 Feb 2018
Researchers have claimed a breakthrough in energy storage technology that could enable electric cars to be driven as far as petrol and diesel vehicles, and recharge in minutes rather than hours.
Green accounts point finger at primary industries
27 Feb 2018
Primary industries contribute nearly two-thirds of the country’s greenhouse gases but account for less than 8 per cent of economic production, new figures show.
Biofuels need backing of the nation, says Scion
27 Feb 2018
New Zealand could run its heavy vehicles on locally produced low-carbon biofuels – but only if the country decides collectively to act.
OPINION: Biofuels not easy, but worth the effort
27 Feb 2018
Biofuels, liquid and gaseous, will have a role to play in moving towards net zero greenhouse gas emissions by around mid-century in both New Zealand and globally, says Professor Ralph Sims.
Energy minister to get the word on biofuels
26 Feb 2018
Energy minister Megan Woods today will be told how the country can use biofuels to cut its burgeoning transport emissions.
Foresters like the look of Billion Trees scheme
26 Feb 2018
Forest owners say they are starting to think the Government is serious about forestry.
Science being denied swamp kauri secrets
26 Feb 2018
Scientists fear secret excavation of ancient kauri logs from swamps is hampering their ability to predict future climate change.
What Day Zero means to Cape Town
26 Feb 2018
Day Zero in Cape Town is when most of the city’s water taps will be switched off.
Green Party calls for national electrification plan
Mon 20 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Green Party is calling for a national plan to electrify homes, transport and industry using renewable energy, to reduce fossil fuel dependence in response to the Middle East crisis.
Going concern status flags depth of Methanex NZ's gas crisis
Tue 21 Apr 2026
Methanex's New Zealand operation is relying on financial support from its Canadian parent to remain a going concern after a second consecutive year of asset impairments left the business with negative equity.
Fonterra admits ‘100% grass-fed’ claim breached law in greenwashing row
2 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Fonterra has admitted its “100% New Zealand grass-fed” claims on Anchor butter were misleading and breached the law, settling a case brought by Greenpeace Aotearoa over packaging used between December 2023 and April 2025.
Climate pollution static but NZ still on track for first emissions budget, says MfE
Fri 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’s latest push to roll out more EV chargers is a good thing – but can it go the distance?
14 Apr 2026
A $50 million plan to expand New Zealand’s public electric vehicle (EV) charging network marks another step toward a lower-emissions transport system.
Wilding conifers continue to plague Southland
Fri 17 Apr 2026
By Matthew Rosenberg, Local Democracy Reporter | Fast-spreading conifer trees are causing headaches in Southland as inconsistent funding continues to hinder control efforts.
Victorian Hydrogen announces Southland urea fertiliser project using coal
Wed 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.
