New Zealand: All stories
New biomaterial could replace plastic laminates
27 Sep 2017
Researchers from Penn State University have developed a compostable and economical alternative to plastic laminates in packaging.
Dyson to invest billions in 'radically different' e-car
27 Sep 2017
British inventor Sir James Dyson has announced plans to build an electric car that will be “radically different” from current models and go on sale in 2020.
Productivity probe has got it wrong, say lawyers
26 Sep 2017
The Productivity Commission is under-estimating the role the Resource Management Act can play in cutting New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, the Auckland District Law Society says.
On a parched planet, nations look to the clouds
26 Sep 2017
To cope with worsening heat and drought, countries from the United States to China are turning to “cloud seeding” to boost rainfall.
Assumed safety of pesticide use is false, says top scientist
26 Sep 2017
Damning assessment by one of the UK’s chief scientific advisers says global regulations have ignored the impacts of dosing whole landscapes and must change.
SHEAR CRUELTY: Forget fur, is it time to stop wearing wool?
26 Sep 2017
Animal rights charity Peta is best known for its naked anti-fur stunts, but these days it is more worried about wool.
WINSTON'S THE WORD: What NZ First leader wants
25 Sep 2017
A party which has vowed to get rid of the Emissions Trading Scheme now holds the balance of power in New Zealand’s Parliament.
Electric cars could be biggest disruption since the iPhone
25 Sep 2017
It’s been 10 years since Apple unleashed a surge of innovation that upended the mobile phone industry. Electric cars could be about to pull the same trick on Big Oil.
More countries eye turning waste into energy
25 Sep 2017
Countries with large quantities of waste from forestry, manure or straw from farms are now looking for economic ways to turn them into forms of renewable energy.
Evian launches carbon-neutral bottling plant
25 Sep 2017
Evian has introduced its first carbon-neutral bottling facility as part of the company’s plans to become 100 per cent carbon neutral by 2020.
Furious farmers should get with the programme
22 Sep 2017
Political protests this week over fart taxes and water charges are at odds with research showing the agricultural sector knows it has to pay for its pollution.
Dining with mining in the House of the Lord
22 Sep 2017
The mining industry possibly got more than it bargained for when it decided to hold its annual dinner in Christchurch’s Cardboard Cathedral this month – a climate change debate with the Anglican Church.
Better 'use by' labels, less food waste
22 Sep 2017
Simplifying "sell by" dates should help to reduce food waste, which releases greenhouse gases as it rots in landfills. The move could save people money, too.
OPTIMISM OUT: We need new ways to talk climate change
22 Sep 2017
The extreme weather of the past months is a game-changer: surely now the world is ready to talk about climate change as a civilisation-collapsing catastrophe.
GREEN IS GO: Investors seek good businesses
21 Sep 2017
Institutional investors in New Zealand and Australia want to put more money into good green businesses – if they can find them.
Big Business makes commitment to electric vehicles
21 Sep 2017
A coalition of global corporations has launched a global campaign to accelerate the shift to electric vehicles.
San Miguel pulls plug on bottled water business
21 Sep 2017
Asian beverage giant San Miguel Corporation announced that it will soon discontinue its bottled water business as part of its strategy to limit plastic waste.
First step is cut domestic emissions, says report
20 Sep 2017
New Zealand could meet a large chunk of its Paris Agreement emissions reduction target through cuts in emissions at home, a new report says.
Nat turns up to debate and makes lone stand
20 Sep 2017
All political parties except National told an audience in Auckland last night that they rank climate change as the biggest issue they face.
Cash shortfall stops electricity reaching world’s poor
20 Sep 2017
Finance for electrification of developing countries is flowing at less than half the rate needed to achieve the global goal of universal access by 2030.
TAX OR TRADE?: It doesn't make much difference
19 Sep 2017
Ditching the Emissions Trading Scheme in favour of a carbon tax will not solve New Zealand’s emissions woes, a new report says.
With political will, the world can get to 1.5deg
19 Sep 2017
Global warming can be held to 1.5deg if there is the political will, new research published today shows.
Climate debate tonight - but Nats might give it a miss
19 Sep 2017
The National Party is looking like a no-show for a climate debate in Auckland tonight.
UN shipping chief hails progress on carbon emissions
19 Sep 2017
Countries are nearing agreement on how to tackle shipping’s carbon footprint, UN shipping chief Kitack Lim has told an industry conference, but resistance to a binding cap remains.
THE COUNT: English stays silent on climate
18 Sep 2017
With less than one week left in the election campaign, Prime Minister Bill English has yet to mention climate change in any of his formal speeches or statements.
United Future backs emissions trading
18 Sep 2017
United Future’s new leader says he supports the Emissions Trading Scheme, the Zero Carbon Act and wants New Zealand to be carbon netural by 2050.
Energy forecast sees global emissions growing
18 Sep 2017
Worldwide emissions of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels could grow 16 per cent by the year 2040 from the levels of 2015, the year by which the Paris Agreement intended to reverse the trend.
Silence rules as Frankfurt shows off electric cars
18 Sep 2017
When Angela Merkel addressed the Frankfurt motor show, it was not to a backdrop of revving engines but an exhibition of noiseless electric Golfs, South Korean hybrids and Japanese fuel-cell cars.
Coal's a danger - even when sitting around doing nothing
18 Sep 2017
Even when sitting in uncovered piles, coal can pose dangers to human health.
ELECTION UPDATE: Where parties stand on climate
15 Sep 2017
What does next weekend’s general election mean for climate change?
Climate change threatens Te Puke kiwifruit
15 Sep 2017
The most commonly grown variety of kiwifruit around Te Puke will not be commercially viable in the area by the end of the century, say scientists.
POO POWER: Welcome to the new economy of excrement
15 Sep 2017
Entrepreneurs are finding profits turning human waste into fertiliser, fuel and even food.
Climate-change baddies doing business in NZ
14 Sep 2017
Companies operating in New Zealand have been named as some of the most obstructive to global action on climate change.
More than 320,000 sign climate action plan
14 Sep 2017
A climate action plan that includes a fund to relocate people dispossessed by climate change now has the support of more than 320,000 people.
How to make air conditioners 20% more efficient
14 Sep 2017
Specially designed fluid-filled roof panels can help to make air conditioning significantly more efficient, according to new research.
NANOMATERIALS: Massive problems, small solutions
14 Sep 2017
The list of environmental problems that the world faces may be huge, but some strategies for solving them are remarkably small.
We could do environmental rights, says Little
13 Sep 2017
Environmental rights could be enshrined in the Bill of Rights, if not in a constitution, under a Labour government.
Climate-change deniers stupid, says Pope
13 Sep 2017
Pope Francis has slammed climate change doubters as 'stupid' in the wake of the Caribbean hurricanes.
Silicon fires up renewable energy revolution
13 Sep 2017
Large blocks of silicon storing wind and solar power as heat are the latest innovation in the battle to replace all fossil fuels with renewable energy.
Does Irma mean we need a new measure of hurricane strength?
13 Sep 2017
Hurricane strength is measured on the Saffir–Simpson scale, ranging from one (the lowest) to five (the highest) After Irma, is it time to introduce a category six?
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.
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.
