New Zealand: All stories
EDITORIAL: Media missing the message
18 Aug 2017
By publisher ADELIA HALLETT | “Climate change is the biggest story on any editor’s news-list right now,” claims a story in the Spinoff this week.
Climate change isn't our biggest environmental problem
18 Aug 2017
Our core ecological problem is not climate change. It is overshoot, of which global warming is a symptom
Hyundai confirms e-cars will be core business
18 Aug 2017
Hyundai has confirmed it is placing electric vehicles at the centre of its product strategy — one that includes plans for a premium long-distance electric car as it seeks to catch up to Tesla and other rivals.
Our climate change policy a mess, says former PM
17 Aug 2017
New Zealand’s climate change policy is an “unholy mess” that won’t be fixed if the Cabinet doesn’t want it to be, says former prime minister and constitutional expert Sir Geoffrey Palmer.
Every degree of warming counts for crop harvests
17 Aug 2017
The world can expect 3 per cent to 7 per cent less yield for each degree rise in temperature.
Nation's best tell MPs how to do climate change
16 Aug 2017
Eminent New Zealanders backed by 60 NGOs will tell MPs today what they should do about climate change.
Super fund goes 40% low-carbon
16 Aug 2017
Forty per cent of the New Zealand Super Fund is now low-carbon.
Social media can help keep tabs on ecosystems
16 Aug 2017
Social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram could be a rich source of free information for scientists monitoring the health of coral reefs and other environmental assets.
FREE CREDITS: And the winner is NZ Steel
15 Aug 2017
New Zealand Steel is once again the big winner in the Government’s allocation of free carbon credits to industrial emitters.
Company gets $55,000 to fill rubbish bins
15 Aug 2017
The Government is giving $55,000 to a Tauranga company to develop an online waste-reduction workshop.
Government changes mind and pushes for e-cars
14 Aug 2017
The Government is promising to make a third of its car fleet electric by 2021 – despite saying last year that cash-strapped government departments couldn’t afford to replace petrol cars, let alone buy more expensive electric cars.
THE COUNT: Gareth and Jacinda on the board
14 Aug 2017
Three leaders scored points last week in The Count - Carbon News’ tally of the number of times the leaders of political party’s mention climate change in their formal speeches and statements as they seek to become our next prime minister.
Massive El Niño sent greenhouse gas emissions soaring
14 Aug 2017
The monster El Niño weather pattern of 2014–16 caused tropical forests to burp up three billion tonnes of carbon, according to a new analysis.
Crazy climate records from 2016 you might know
14 Aug 2017
Last year was the hottest on record with heat-trapping greenhouse gases hitting their highest concentration ever, surpassing 400 parts per million for the first time in nearly a million years.
GASES ARE GO: Our emissions on the rise again
11 Aug 2017
New Zealand’s reported greenhouse gas emissions are on the rise again, new figures show.
How to turn $1 into $3: Plant the waterways
11 Aug 2017
Every dollar spent on planting New Zealand’s waterways would pay returns of at least $3.
E-CAR QUERY: What do we do with the dead batteries?
11 Aug 2017
Carmakers, recyclers and tech start-ups are working to solve the question of how to deal with lithium-ion batteries when they wear out.
Emissions group to probe lack of carbon cap
10 Aug 2017
New Zealand’s lack of a carbon cap is one of the issues on the table for the Productivity Commission.
Nature deserves legal rights, say Greens
10 Aug 2017
A Green government would give nature legal recognition.
EDS CONFERENCE: Water, water everywhere
10 Aug 2017
It was freshwater at 10 paces on the first day of the Environmental Defence Society’s Tipping Points conference yesterday, with both National and Labour releasing their policies.
Fund wants to see 5283ha of new forest
10 Aug 2017
The Government’s reinstated Afforestation Grants Scheme will fund 5283 hectares of new forest this year.
To stop climate change, should we aim to dim the sky?
10 Aug 2017
Solar geoengineering is a controversial process to reduce heat. Some researchers say it might be humanity's last line of defense to stop greenhouse gas emissions.
Emissions group might branch into ETS
9 Aug 2017
The Productivity Commission could recommend changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Sustainable Farming Fund grants open
9 Aug 2017
Applications for the latest round of Sustainable Farming Fund grants are open.
Tesla drivers claim record of 1078 km on one charge
9 Aug 2017
Five members of the Italian Tesla owners club claim to have set a new distance record, travelling 1078 kilometres on a single charge in a Tesla Model S.
Graham's Globe must survive, says Labour
8 Aug 2017
Labour’s climate spokesperson says the work of the cross-party Globe group on climate change must continue, even if founder Kennedy Graham is out of Parliament.
Stand by, Wellington, worsening weather on the way
8 Aug 2017
More floods in Wellington, more droughts in Wairarapa, more hot days in both places and no frosts in the Tararua Ranges - that’s the picture painted in a new climate change report.
Foresters greet environmental standards move
8 Aug 2017
The introduction of a national environmental standard for plantation forestry is vitally needed, forest owners say.
Fossil fuel subsidies are a staggering $5 trillion a year
8 Aug 2017
A new study finds 6.5 per cent of global GDP goes to subsidising dirty fossil fuels. That's more than $5 trillion a year.
MORGAN MESSAGE: Use ETS profits to fix rental homes
7 Aug 2017
Profits from a rejigged Emissions Trading Scheme would be used to insulate and improve heating in rental housing under a Gareth Morgan-influenced government.
THE COUNT: Jacinda has little effect
7 Aug 2017
New Labour Party leader Jacinda Ardern has mentioned climate change a couple of times in passing, but the greatest issue facing humanity has yet to make it into her formal speeches and statements.
Solar most popular form of new electricity generation
7 Aug 2017
Solar has become the world’s favourite new type of electricity generation.
Nuclear revival looks set to falter
7 Aug 2017
Hopes of a nuclear revival to combat climate change have been dashed as another prestige project runs into trouble.
Most want us to show leadership on climate change
4 Aug 2017
Most New Zealanders think the country should be a leader on climate change, with just 8 per cent saying the country should “do a Trump” and pull out of the Paris Agreement, a new survey shows.
Should we tap undersea methane hydrates for energy?
4 Aug 2017
Turning big, frozen deposits of methane buried under the seafloor into fuel for our cars and homes is coming closer to reality.
Roads could be covered with 'tunnels' to absorb pollution
4 Aug 2017
Major roads could be turned into tunnels covered with pollution-absorbing material in an effort to cut emission fumes and improve air quality.
Using forests to manage carbon still a heated debate
4 Aug 2017
The best way of managing trees and forests for climate change and accounting for contributions of forests and forestry activities in carbon budgets remains hotly contested.
PICKY PROBLEM: What makes a carbon forest?
3 Aug 2017
The regeneration of vast areas of carbon-storing native forests is being hampered by “pickiness” over the definition of carbon forests.
Now Tesla wants to unite batteries and offshore wind
3 Aug 2017
Tesla and wind farm developer Deepwater Wind are teaming up to create the world's largest project that combines an offshore wind farm with large-scale electricity storage.
Foresters fine, but the ETS has some problems
2 Aug 2017
The forestry sector has behaved rationally in response to the Emissions Trading Scheme - but the scheme itself hasn’t always been rational, a new analysis shows.
More investors will spurn fossil fuels
2 Aug 2017
Oil and gas shares offer diminishing returns, and more investors will spurn fossil fuels, though finding a new home for their money is not easy.
WONDER WEED: Feed the fish kelp and help to fix climate
2 Aug 2017
Seaweed farms buffer the ocean’s growing acidity and provide ideal conditions for the cultivation of a variety of shellfish.
ETS changes of little help, say foresters
1 Aug 2017
The Government’s latest changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme will do nothing to get more trees in the ground, the forestry sector says.
Do petrol and diesel bans mean the death of biofuels?
1 Aug 2017
If cars running on fossil fuels will be substituted by electric cars, it could imply that all liquid transport fuels will be eliminated.
THE COUNT: At last, a leader talks climate policy
31 Jul 2017
Seven weeks out from the general election, we’ve finally got a political leader talking climate change policy – and it’s Winston Peters.
Plants might be wising up faster than humans
31 Jul 2017
Vegetation is adapting to soak up more CO2 and use less water.
Saving peatlands could help to save the planet
31 Jul 2017
New research hopes to reveal the role threatened bogs could play in the climate change story.
CLIMATE BUDGET: We're not ready, says Bennett
28 Jul 2017
New Zealand isn’t ready for a climate budget, says climate minister Paula Bennett.
We need expert climate advice, says commissioner
27 Jul 2017
New Zealand should adopt a UK-style Climate Change Commission and all political parties should support it, says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
ETS CHANGES: Good news and bad news
27 Jul 2017
The latest changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme have met with mixed reactions.
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.
