New Zealand: All stories
PALMER PRESCRIPTION: Climate needs constitution
12 Sep 2017
If Sir Geoffrey Palmer had had his way, New Zealand would have already cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent.
Business group pushes for social impacts action
12 Sep 2017
The Government should take environmental and social impacts into account when it is letting contracts, Business New Zealand says.
Nats vow to 'turbo-charge' farming grants
12 Sep 2017
National is promising to almost triple the money it allocates to the Sustainable Farming Fund if it is returned to power.
It’s here, it’s happening, it's time to stand up
12 Sep 2017
By BILL McKIBBEN | Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, flash fires, droughts: all of them tell us one thing – we need to stand up to the fossil fuel industry and fast.
Blame these 90 companies for climate crisis, says report
12 Sep 2017
More than a quarter of sea level rise and about half the warming from 1880 to 2010 can be traced back to just 90 corporations, says a new report.
Coalition candidates want to rid us of ETS
11 Sep 2017
Two of the parties that could be involved in any centre-left coalition after the election want to scrap the Emissions Trading Scheme.
What Morgan would have said ... if he'd had the chance
11 Sep 2017
The refusal by TVNZ to include The Opportunities Party in televised election debates does the public a disservice.
THE COUNT: English stays silent
11 Sep 2017
Week 12 of The Count ... and Prime Minister Bill English is still in the starting blocks.
Mercedes ready to show its first hydrogen SUV
11 Sep 2017
Mercedes-Benz will unveil its first production-ready hydrogen car on Wednesday at the Frankfurt motor show.
FUEL FACT: We're burning more oil than ever
8 Sep 2017
New Zealand is burning more oil than ever, despite pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Swiss pay heavy price for intensive farming
8 Sep 2017
Intensive agriculture has gradually dried out Switzerland's ponds, and soils are no longer able to handle violent rains, creating increased flooding and mud slides.
WAR AND WARMING: A great waterway comes under threat
8 Sep 2017
Hydrologists and climate scientists have just calculated the future of one of the world’s most celebrated waterways, the River Jordan. Their conclusion is that the outlook is poor − and getting poorer.
Jaguar Land Rover to go electric or hybrid from 2020
8 Sep 2017
Jaguar Land Rover is the latest large carmaker to say it will stop launching new models solely powered by internal combustion engines.
High land prices key blocker to forest planting
7 Sep 2017
New Zealand won’t get more carbon-sequestering forests until land prices fall.
We need to get involved, says Maori candidate
7 Sep 2017
Maori need to get involved in fighting climate change, says Maori Party Kelston candidate Cinnamon Whitlock.
WATER WARNING: The world is drinking microplastic fibres
7 Sep 2017
Microplastic contamination has been found in tap water in countries around the world, leading to calls from scientists for urgent research on the implications for health.
Refrigerant Recovery earns praise
7 Sep 2017
A business initiative that safely disposes of climate-damaging gases from the refrigeration and air conditioning industries has had its accreditation as a product stewardship scheme extended.
CLIMATE CASE: National happy the way things are
6 Sep 2017
National is taking a business-as-usual approach to climate policy, warning that Labour and the Greens would go too far if they got into government.
Cruise ships have done nothing about pollution, report claims
6 Sep 2017
Cruise ships have done virtually nothing to reduce their pollution over the past year, with some still emitting as much particulate matter as a million cars a day, according to a new report.
Tesla begins production of solar roof tiles
6 Sep 2017
Tesla has launched large-scale production of its glass solar roof tiles at its Buffalo plant.
NZ backs global carbon markets cooperation
5 Sep 2017
New Zealand has signed a statement calling for renewed co-operation on carbon markets.
Greens want high-end wood products industry
5 Sep 2017
The Green Party wants a regional research institute to develop high-value wood products as part of a strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
GAS GUZZLERS: Methanotrophs show their muscle
5 Sep 2017
The soil bacteria that help to keep methane emissions under control are tougher than scientists thought, opening new possibilities for converting greenhouse gases to fuels.
Leaked report lifts lid on coastal property risks
4 Sep 2017
A climate change report the Government didn’t want public yet has been released by the Green Party.
THE COUNT: Peters outpaces Ardern
4 Sep 2017
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has pulled ahead of Labour leader Jacinda Ardern in The Count, but the Greens’ James Shaw is looking unassailable.
BLACK-OUT: What was ministry advice on Kiwirail?
1 Sep 2017
Heavily redacted documents give little clue what advice the Ministry for the Environment gave the Government on the scrapping of KiwiRail's electric engines.
In an era of dire climate records the US and South Asia floods won't be the last
1 Sep 2017
From the US to India and China, human impact on the climate is likely to have made droughts and storms more severe – and the trend is only set to continue.
It's time for cities to ready for bigger rainfall
1 Sep 2017
With rainfall amounts on the rise globally, it’s crucial to examine how cities can retrofit buildings to alleviate flood damage and deal with stormwater in a more sustainable manner.
Europe rolls out tougher car emissions tests
1 Sep 2017
New on-road car emissions testing comes into force in the European Union tomorrow as regulators strive to prevent a repeat of Volkswagen’s diesel emissions scandal.
Biofuel breakthroughs bring negative emissions closer
1 Sep 2017
If we are to have any real chance of avoiding catastrophic climate change, it is not enough to reduce our emissions; we must put the process into reverse.
Foresters hope next government will vote for trees
31 Aug 2017
Forest owners are hoping next month’s general election will lead to more forestry-friendly government policies – especially if New Zealand First is in the driving seat.
Business body names sustainability award finalists
31 Aug 2017
Finalists in this year’s Sustainable Business Network awards have just been announced.
BMW to build all-electric version of the Mini Cooper
31 Aug 2017
BMW has confirmed that it will release a full-electric version of the iconic Mini Cooper by 2019.
CLIMATE REPORT: What is the Government hiding?
30 Aug 2017
The Government’s refusal to release a report on the impacts of climate change suggests it might contain something politically damaging, says constitutional law expert and former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer.
NZ backs global climate research project
30 Aug 2017
New Zealand is supporting a new $400,000 scholarship programme to build global expertise on climate change and food security.
Poultry plant earns applause for water use
30 Aug 2017
Australasia’s biggest poultry company has been recognised for the sustainable way it manages water use at a New Zealand plant.
What the parties say about climate change
29 Aug 2017
Three-and-a-bit weeks out from the general election, what do we know about the parties’ approach to climate change?
Wind, solar and water could be powerhouses by 2050
29 Aug 2017
More than 70 per cent of the countries in the world could run entirely on energy created by wind, water and solar by 2050, according to scientists.
What links Hurricane Harvey and climate change?
29 Aug 2017
The unprecedented amount of rainfall accompanying Hurricane Harvey immediately raised the question whether and to what extent climate change is to blame.
Climate change no big worry, says Prime Minister
28 Aug 2017
Prime Minister Bill English says climate change is not a major concern for most New Zealanders.
THE COUNT: James Shaw bounds ahead
28 Aug 2017
Green Party leader James Shaw has extended his lead in The Count, our tally of how important our political leaders think climate change is.
Phase-out of fossil fuels can be painless
28 Aug 2017
A pollution-free world driven by renewable energy is possible, say scientists with a plan for a fossil fuel phase-out for 139 countries.
Carbon capture has failed ... but here's what we could do
28 Aug 2017
For years, optimists have talked up carbon capture and storage as an essential part of taking emissions out of electricity generation.
Driverless cars could see rural sprawl of humankind
28 Aug 2017
Self-driving cars will change how we live, in all sorts of ways. But they won’t just affect humans – the coming revolution in autonomous transport has significant implications for wildlife as well.
EDITORIAL: Honestly, it just doesn't make sense
25 Aug 2017
By publisher ADELIA HALLETT | A plan to lift the speed limit on some roads to 110 kilometres an hour is the latest example of New Zealand’s lack of joined-up thinking on climate change.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS 1: Climate change
25 Aug 2017
What will the political parties vying to run our country do about climate change?
IN THEIR OWN WORDS 2: Renewable energy.
25 Aug 2017
What will the political parties vying to run our country do about renewable energy?
BLUE GOLD: E-cars mean the world is going crazy for cobalt
25 Aug 2017
Niche metal cobalt - a key component in the new breed of e-car batteries - is leaving bigger names like copper and lithium in its dust and triggering an international hunt for new deposits.
Who said the warming target should be 2deg?
25 Aug 2017
If you read or listen to almost any article about climate change, it’s likely the story refers in some way to the “2 degrees Celsius limit.”
Climate-savvy customers making presence felt
24 Aug 2017
Most New Zealand companies are already being affected by customer demands for environmental sustainability - or expect to feel an impact.
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.
