New Zealand: All stories
France looks to solar power ‘prosumers’
19 Oct 2017
France plans to more than double its solar power capacity in the next 10 years and make it easier for citizens to become energy independent.
Emissions register ready to take on water trading
18 Oct 2017
New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Register is ready to trade in other “environmental commodities” such as water.
Worldwide demand for petrol likely to reach peak by 2030
18 Oct 2017
World petrol demand will peak within 13 years thanks to the impact of electric cars and more efficient engines, energy experts have predicted.
Agrifood mergers bad for farmers, warn experts
18 Oct 2017
Mergers in the agrifood sector squeeze farmers’ income and consolidate current models of food production, aggravating environmental and social fallouts, according to experts.
Thunderstorms set to grow stronger
18 Oct 2017
Thunderstorms are set to become more intense throughout the tropics and subtropics this century as a result of climate change, according to new research.
The tide has turned globally, analyst tells politicians
17 Oct 2017
The global shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy will continue regardless of political action from politicians such as Donald Trump and Tony Abbott, a senior ratings analyst says.
Coal misinformation is distorting the facts
17 Oct 2017
A recent story in the global media on 621 plants being built globally was played up in various media – but the figure is way off the mark.
Big brands promise 100% sustainable cotton by 2025
17 Oct 2017
Major clothing and textile companies, including Burberry, Adidas, Timberland, and Levi’s have pledged to use 100 per cent sustainable cotton by 2025.
Foreign credits bad call, warns ex-climate envoy
16 Oct 2017
Spending up to $20 billion on buying foreign carbon credits will be a “severe imposition” on the economy and will delay New Zealand’s decarbonisation, warns our former climate ambassador.
New aircraft biofuels plan would 'destroy rainforests'
16 Oct 2017
A new plan to accelerate production of biofuels for passenger planes has drawn stinging criticism from environmentalists who argue that most of the world’s rainforests might have to be cleared to produce the necessary crops.
Officials vow to step up work on climate change
13 Oct 2017
New Zealand might not have an elected government just now, but officials are promising to step up on climate change.
Is your Auckland rooftop suitable for solar?
13 Oct 2017
Got a roof in Auckland? A new computer tool will help you to figure out how many solar panels will fit on it and the economics of installing the system.
Fossil fuels win billions in public money after Paris pact
13 Oct 2017
Billions of dollars of public money was sunk in new fossil fuel projects by the world’s major development banks in the year after the Paris climate change deal was agreed, according to campaigners.
UK and Canada lay down coal power challenge
13 Oct 2017
The UK and Canada challenge other nations to join them in committing to end coal power generation, saying “we are doing our part”.
SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY: Many uses of captured CO2
13 Oct 2017
When you get into bed tonight, curling up on your memory foam mattress and fluffy pillows, you could be helping to reduce climate change.
You can put a price on a tree (even though it's priceless)
13 Oct 2017
What is something worth? How do you put a dollar value on something like a river, a forest or a reef?
MEMO MPs: The country needs a climate commission
12 Oct 2017
Politicians negotiating to form a new government have again been told that action on climate change is a priority for business and society.
NZ all talk on farm emissions, says UK climate chief
12 Oct 2017
New Zealand is not playing the leading role in research into reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture that it says it is, says the head of the United Kingdom’s Climate Committee.
'Carbon sucking' technology a must by 2030s
12 Oct 2017
Large-scale projects to suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere will be needed by the 2030s to hold the line against climate change, scientists have said.
BLOWN AWAY: It could be one wind farm to rule them all
12 Oct 2017
The entire world could be powered by one deep-sea wind farm stretching across the North Atlantic.
Why National should lead on climate commission
11 Oct 2017
The National Party should support a climate commission, says a former Conservative British Cabinet minister.
Westpac backs climate commission and budget
11 Oct 2017
Westpac supports New Zealand adopting a United Kingdom-style climate commission and budget setting.
EY finds smart investors dodging carbon exposure
11 Oct 2017
Two-thirds of the investors surveyed by international accountancy company EY have already changed their investments because of carbon exposure.
Big banks slow to track emissions portfolios
11 Oct 2017
The World Bank is aiming to put 28 per cent of its funding into climate-related projects by 2020. But it does not track the greenhouse gas emissions of its portfolio, let alone have a target to reduce them.
FIRE FACT: Heat goes on the East Coast
10 Oct 2017
A large swathe of the East Coast will be at risk of fire for at least half of the year by the end of the century, a conference in Auckland has heard.
Toyota urges NZ to get out of big-emitting cars
10 Oct 2017
New Zealanders are buying bigger cars, damaging the country’s chances of cutting greenhouse gas emissions, say Toyota New Zealand chief Alistair Davis.
Jobs, tax and politics ... three ways e-cars will change us
10 Oct 2017
Vehicle manufacturers, the oil industry and governments are starting to wake up to the disruption that electric cars could bring about.
Six Nobel prizes – what’s the fascination with the fruit fly?
10 Oct 2017
Drosophila share 60 per cent of human DNA, making them perfect for research that has led to vital strides in treating many ills. Now, scientists in the field have won yet another Nobel.
Climatecoin lines up the carbon markets
9 Oct 2017
Blockchain – the technology developed by cryptocurrency pioneer Bitcoin to knock financial intermediaries out of transactions – has the carbon markets in its sights.
Emissions from warming soils could trigger disaster
9 Oct 2017
Warming soils are releasing more carbon into the atmosphere than previously thought, suggesting a potentially disastrous feedback mechanism.
Feeding grain to farm animals to hit $1tn a year
9 Oct 2017
The global practice of feeding human foods, such as grain and soya, to farm animals will cost us $1.32 trillion a year by 2050, according to environmental campaigners.
My company's carbon footprint is the size of a small country
9 Oct 2017
Global businesses are, quite rightly, under scrutiny for what they are doing to tackle challenges such as climate change and poverty, writes STEPHEN BADGER, chairman of Mars Inc.
NZ cuts climate aid to Pacific, says report
6 Oct 2017
New Zealand is being accused of cutting climate finance to the Pacific.
SHINING EXAMPLE: Solar power fastest-growing energy source
6 Oct 2017
Solar power was the fastest-growing source of new energy worldwide last year, outstripping the growth in all other forms of power generation for the first time.
Ford to cut costs and back trucks and electric cars
6 Oct 2017
Ford plans to slash $14 billion in costs over the next five years and shift capital investment away from sedans and internal combustion engines to develop more trucks and electric and hybrid cars.
Stormy outlook for insurance-linked securities
6 Oct 2017
Recent extreme weather events highlight the significant changes have taken place in the insurance and reinsurance sectors to cope with the mounting exposure of private and public sectors to disaster risk.
Why we need a carbon price of $100 ... or more
5 Oct 2017
Carbon prices of $100 a tonne - and possibly as high as $225 – are being foreshadowed in a new report.
WATCHDOG WARNS: Act now or face 'great risk'
5 Oct 2017
New Zealand will be stuck with high-emitting technologies if it doesn’t move to cut emissions soon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment is warning.
Factory farming is a threat to all life on the planet
5 Oct 2017
The world desperately needs joined-up action on industrial farming if it is to avoid catastrophic impacts on life on earth, according to the head of one of the world’s most highly regarded animal campaign groups.
Why eating grass-fed beef isn’t going to help fight climate
5 Oct 2017
Beef gets a bad press, environmentally speaking. We’re bombarded with reports of its high carbon footprint accompanied by images of belching cows and devastated rainforests.
Plant pines on public land, says Bluegreens chief
4 Oct 2017
The head of the National Party’s Bluegreens policy advisory group says pine trees should be planted on Department of Conservation land to offset New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions.
How we can meet food demand and still hit 1.5deg target
4 Oct 2017
Carbon emissions from agriculture can be significantly cut while still meeting the food demands of the world’s growing population, a new study says.
FASHION FUTURE: Polyester will just keep on keeping on
4 Oct 2017
Scientists in Hong Kong have developed new technology that enables polyester to be harvested from unwanted textiles and recycled into new clothes.
Dairy group backs big climate change targets
3 Oct 2017
A dairy industry group supports carbon budgeting and the concept of a climate commission, and says New Zealand should be carbon neutral.
It's a big task keeping aircraft running in a warming world
3 Oct 2017
Climate change is forcing airport planners to rethink plane and runway design, since many of them are susceptible to excessive heat and at risk of sea level rise from coasts and rivers.
How electric cars can be recharged for free
3 Oct 2017
Electric car owners in the UK will be paid for letting an energy company use their vehicle’s battery.
E-vehicles could lead to more use of fossil fuels
2 Oct 2017
New Zealand will have to use fossil fuel-generated electricity to charge electric cars if it’s not careful, Canterbury electricity distribution company Orion is warning.
NZ safe from global animal emissions discovery
2 Oct 2017
New research showing the impact of methane from agriculture has been under-estimated doesn’t affect New Zealand greenhouse gas measurements.
Livestock emit more methane than we thought
2 Oct 2017
Global emissions of methane from livestock are larger than previously thought, scientists have said.
The Plutocene is waiting ... and it isn't pretty
2 Oct 2017
Beyond the Anthropocene – the geological epoch marked by humankind’s fingerprint on the planet – lies an even more hostile era of our own making.
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With New Zealand's $1.3 billion international climate finance commitment set to end with no clarity on what follows, the Auditor-General says oversight of that funding remains patchy and long-term outcomes are unclear.
NZ hydrogen regulation to catch up with the world
18 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The government has announced a regulatory reset for New Zealand’s emerging clean tech hydrogen sector.
State-owned farmer drives profit growth with emissions reductions
19 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Government-owned Landcorp, trading as Pāmu, is one-third of the way to meeting its 2031 emissions reduction targets, with five years left to run to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30.3% against 2021 emissions.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transport pollution was the biggest contributor to an increase in New Zealand’s consumption-based emissions in 2023, with emissions from household travel up 12%, and consumption-based emissions totalling 58.3 million tonnes – up 1.6% from the previous year.
NZ could become ‘dumping ground’ for dirty vehicles: Commissioner
16 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Simon Upton, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, has warned the Government that its changes to the clean car standard could turn the country into a dumping ground for high emitting cars, making future emissions budgets harder to achieve.
Uncertainty eroding confidence in forestry sector
5 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Warnings are mounting that tree planting is set to plunge to “very close to zero”, as new Ministry for Primary Industries data shows ETS registration applications falling sharply as confidence in forestry declines.
Investors must support positive climate-tech
28 Nov 2025
OPINION: We need better leadership than the current ‘climate opportunism’ that is rife in the Beehive, and we need to back a marketplace that will make it happen, writes Rob Campbell.
