New Zealand: All stories
NZ Post takes out sustainability award
1 Dec 2017
Working with the Red Cross has won New Zealand Post the top prize in the Sustainable Business Network awards this year.
How much CO2 will the world need to remove from the air?
1 Dec 2017
Scientists increasingly agree that the world might need negative emissions to prevent catastrophic warming.
Big businesses combine to deliver hybrid e-jet
1 Dec 2017
A partnership between Rolls-Royce, Airbus and Siemens aims to commission a hybrid electric aircraft prototype by 2020.
How artificial intelligence will make government obsolete
1 Dec 2017
Amazon, Microsoft and Google are among those in a race to hire artificial intelligence researchers to advance their efforts on autonomous vehicles, medical diagnostics and a range of other ventures.
Climate commission might have carbon price role
30 Nov 2017
The climate commission – one of the Government’s promises for its first 100 days in office – is likely to play a role in setting carbon prices, the new climate minister says.
WASTE SIZE: Stella McCartney makes fashion industry stand
30 Nov 2017
Clothes must be designed differently, worn for longer and recycled as much as possible to stop the global fashion industry consuming a quarter of the world’s annual carbon budget by 2050.
One in six new cars will be electric by 2025
30 Nov 2017
Almost every sixth car sold in the world will be electric by 2025 ... and those cars are more likely to be emblazoned with Tesla's logo than BMW's.
New report has dire climate-change warnings
29 Nov 2017
As many as one in six species faces extinction as a result of climate change, scientists are warning in a new report.
Capt Cook's karaka leaves hold clues to our changing climate
29 Nov 2017
Karaka leaves gathered by naturalists on board HM Bark Endeavour nearly 250 years ago are helping today’s researchers to understand climate change.
Shell doubles up on green spending and vows change
29 Nov 2017
Shell has doubled its spending on clean power and bowed to shareholder pressure by promising to halve the carbon footprint of the energy it sells by 2050.
Melting glaciers could mess up deep-sea chemistry
29 Nov 2017
Melting glaciers might be making ocean water more acidic, an unexpected finding that's given scientists new cause for concern.
NASA’s new airless titanium tyres are almost indestructible
29 Nov 2017
NASA engineers have just unveiled a super-elastic car tyre constructed from nickel titanium that could see the end of punctures.
Solar-powered jets come a step closer
29 Nov 2017
Scientists are closer to making solar-powered jets a reality. They now know how to make jet fuel out of air, sunlight and water.
Force firms to report carbon, say energy leaders
28 Nov 2017
The Government is being told to make carbon reporting mandatory for publicly listed companies and to hold public-sector executives responsible for carbon performance.
The trouble with bitcoin and big data is the huge energy bill
28 Nov 2017
The power consumed by internet giants’ massive server farms and the mining of cryptocurrency are growing into a massive environmental headache.
Let's reuse the bad plastics and encourage the good
28 Nov 2017
Plastics have a bad name, mainly for two reasons: most are made from petroleum and they end up as litter in the environment. But both of these are avoidable.
Geo-engineering might do more harm than good
28 Nov 2017
Geo-engineering might be possible – but so far it doesn’t look practical. Yet another study sees dangers in the technofix.
Govt on track to keep KiwiRail trains electric
27 Nov 2017
The Government is in talks to keep electric locomotives on the main trunk line.
Green bonds reach $100 billion milestone
27 Nov 2017
The latest Climate Bonds Initiative analysis shows that green bond issuances in 2017 have reached the significant $100 billion benchmark.
LIZARD LINK: Here's a new way to explain climate impacts
27 Nov 2017
Lizards can shed light on the development of ecological niches and how the changing climate may affect the natural world.
November shapes up as record dry month
24 Nov 2017
Parts of New Zealand are on track for the driest November on record.
Two global reports slam NZ's poor climate record
23 Nov 2017
New climate minister James Shaw might have wowed the world with his rhetoric at international climate talks last week, but it’s on the policies of his predecessor that New Zealand is still being judged.
Dairying sees green as the new colour of business
22 Nov 2017
Climate change and other environmental risks now rank higher than economic issues in the minds of business and political leaders, according to a new report by New Zealand’s dairy industry.
AirNZ eyes paying landowners to plant trees
22 Nov 2017
Air New Zealand wants to set up a private afforestation scheme under the Emissions Trading Scheme to offset some of its greenhouse gas emissions.
Te Kuha coal mine first test for new minister
22 Nov 2017
Deciding whether to let a new opencast coal mine go ahead on the West Coast will be the first real test of the new government’s conservation policy, says an anti-coal mining lobby group.
Mexico about to generate world's cheapest solar power
22 Nov 2017
Mexico is on track to generate the world’s cheapest solar power — with prices as low as 1.77c a kilowatt hour.
SERIOUS SCIENCE: Soon it will be too late
21 Nov 2017
New Zealand scientists are among more than 15,000 warning humans they have precious little time left to change their ways and avoid environmental and social disaster.
Scientists aim to fight climate change with super plants
21 Nov 2017
A team of scientists is wondering if plants can protect us from climate change.
Musk unveils electric truck ... and a surprise sports car
20 Nov 2017
Elon Musk has unveiled Tesla’s first electric semi-truck at an event in Los Angeles that also included the surprise reveal of a new Tesla sports car.
Farming organically could cut gas emissions
17 Nov 2017
Converting land from conventional agriculture to organic production could reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the run-off of excess nitrogen from fertilisers, and cut pesticide use.
We're prisoners of the old way, says solar flight pioneer
17 Nov 2017
The visionary innovator who flew 40,000km in a solar-fuelled plane has urged companies to pursue revolutionary ideas as the only way to fight climate change.
The allure (and perils) of hydropower
17 Nov 2017
Damming rivers may seem like a clean and easy solution for energy-hungry countries. But the devil is in the details.
It's high time for a global agreement on minerals
16 Nov 2017
The Paris Agreement has created a global framework for managing carbon, but nothing similar exists for minerals.
Fonterra intends to get rid of coal ... later
15 Nov 2017
Fonterra says it is turning its back on coal as part of a drive towards being carbon-neutral by 2050.
Down on the farm, data's in the driving seat
15 Nov 2017
Last week, Fonterra’s environmental manager, FRANCESCA EGGLETON, told a gathering at the COP23 climate talks in Bonn how the world’s largest dairy producer is using data to reduce its environmental footprint.
Shaw might clear our name over dodgy credits
14 Nov 2017
New Zealand might yet come good on the issue of dodgy carbon credits.
Livestock emissions must be cut, say scientists
13 Nov 2017
Livestock emissions will have to be cut if the world is to keep warming down to Paris Agreement levels, two top New Zealand scientists are warning.
Mining giant about to go coal-free
13 Nov 2017
Just five years ago it would have been almost unthinkable that one of the world’s biggest mining companies would not dig any coal. It’s now likely to become a reality.
‘War on coal’ goes global with $50m fund
13 Nov 2017
A billionaire’s campaign has seen half of US coal plants close in six years. Now he is targeting Europe and beyond to fight climate change and air pollution.
Carbon pricing essential, says Energy Minister
10 Nov 2017
The new energy minister expects carbon to be priced into all energy projects.
Contact Energy likes what it's doing with green bonds
10 Nov 2017
Contact Energy is getting a lot of attention for its pioneering green borrowing programme, certified by Climate Bonds Initiatives and launched in mid-August.
POWER PLAY: 100% renewable in reach by 2050
9 Nov 2017
Researchers say a world running on 100 per cent renewable electricity is attainable by mid-century, or even earlier.
TREE TALK: Why we need a better forest philosophy
9 Nov 2017
On November 6, 1217, Henry III’s Charter of the Forest gave ordinary English people back their traditional rights to use royal hunting grounds for livestock grazing and collecting firewood.
Winter shrinking, say scientists
8 Nov 2017
New Zealand's winters are a month shorter than they were 80 years ago, NIWA scientists say.
Get behind Zero Carbon Act, Morgan tells Nats
8 Nov 2017
The National Party should offer cross-party support for the Zero Carbon Act, providing the country with stable climate-change policy, says Gareth Morgan’s The Opportunities Party.
Polish grab for carbon-market cash
8 Nov 2017
A Polish bid to siphon off up to €29bn of EU carbon market money for ageing coal plants has been slapped down in a backroom statement by the UK, France, Germany and four other countries.
Climate change brings truffles to Wales
8 Nov 2017
An expensive Mediterranean black truffle has been cultivated in the UK for the first time, the farthest north that the species has been found.
Five reasons not to spray the bugs this summer
8 Nov 2017
The weather is getting warmer, and gardens are coming alive with bees, flies, butterflies, dragonflies, praying mantises, beetles, millipedes, centipedes, and spiders.
Bishops urge Church to divest from Exxon because of climate change
8 Nov 2017
The Church of England should "show moral leadership" and immediately sell its investments in the oil giant ExxonMobil, according to a group of bishops and other clergy.
New Zealand feeling the impacts of the hot year - scientist
7 Nov 2017
Evidence that this year will be one of the hottest on record is alarming, says one of New Zealand’s leading climate experts.
Local govt shake-up risks weakened environmental outcomes – Commissioner
Fri 27 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s push to simplify local government is "deeply flawed" and has been launched without a clear understanding of which functions must remain regional, according to the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
Govt plan to encourage new energy investment won’t cut costs for ordinary Kiwis
Thu 26 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | While gentailers and major energy users have welcomed the Government’s plan to leverage public sector demand to drive new energy projects, an expert says it is unlikely to reduce prices for ordinary people.
Govt's solar on farms initiative to cut costs, boost resilience
17 Feb 2026
Farms across Aotearoa will begin installing solar panels and battery systems as part of a government-backed demonstration programme designed to test whether on-farm renewable energy can reduce electricity costs and improve energy security for the food and fibre sector.
Annual emissions fell to lowest in 15 years in Sept 2025
5 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions fell to their lowest annual total in the year to September 2025 since records began 2010, according to Statistics New Zealand data published this morning.
Air NZ joins Marsden Point SAF project
Today 12:30pm
By Pattrick Smellie | Air New Zealand has quietly added its name to a consortium exploring the viability of green hydrogen production for sustainable aviation fuel at Channel Infrastructure’s Marsden Point energy hub.
Tairāwhiti needs proper Govt support to heal the land – not empty announcements for political optics
24 Feb 2026
OPINION: The Government’s answer to Tairāwhiti’s severe erosion crisis – that the region apply for modest, contestable funding rounds – while rejecting the region's own land transition business case, leaves our long-term resilience hanging in the balance, writes Manu Caddie.
Kiwi startup takes on global plastic pollution
12 Feb 2026
A New Zealand startup is launching what it says is the world’s first plastic-free effervescent drink tablet, with the ambitious aim of eliminating bottled beverages to reduce global plastic pollution.
