New Zealand: All stories
Farms can grow production … and cut emissions
3 Apr 2017
Substantial reductions in the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions at a South Canterbury farm show environmental gains can be made hand in hand with a farm’s growth, government scientists say.
SUFFERING STUTTGART: Car's birthplace reaches a crossroads
3 Apr 2017
The city where the automobile was born has the dirtiest air in Germany – and a global drive to electric vehicles threatens its future.
It's time to chase a Green Ribbon Award
3 Apr 2017
Nominations for this year’s Green Ribbon Awards are open.
EDITORIAL: What are we without our special things?
31 Mar 2017
By publisher ADELIA HALLETT | Thirty years ago today, New Zealand was on the verge of a breakthrough in environmental management.
SOLAR SURGE: Renewable energy sets new record
31 Mar 2017
Global renewable energy capacity increased by 161GW last year, setting a new deployment record for the sector.
Dead Sea drill shows unprecedented drought
31 Mar 2017
Far below the Dead Sea, between Israel, Jordan and Palestinian territory, researchers have found evidence of a drought that has no precedent in human experience.
Indian oil majors prepare for e-vehicle boom
31 Mar 2017
India’s oil majors are eyeing up the lithium-ion battery market in preparation for an electric-vehicle boom.
Officials have mid-year date with ETS changes
30 Mar 2017
Officials will report to the Government in the middle of the year on the next round of changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme.
How an energy icon bet on nuclear power - and lost
30 Mar 2017
Westinghouse, once synonymous with America’s industrial might, wagered its future on nuclear power ... and lost.
Soil microbes hold key to climate puzzle
30 Mar 2017
Climate scientists puzzled by the traffic of carbon between soil and air might have to think more deeply about the role played by soil microbes − the planet’s smallest inhabitants.
Why the bike is good for moving more than people
30 Mar 2017
Better infrastructure for transporting people by bike is great. But cycle freight could free up roads and transform cities and towns, too.
Farmers join in as landowners return to planting
29 Mar 2017
Landowners are planting forests again – and farmers looking to offset emissions appear to be among them.
Upton favourite for Beehive climate watchdog post
29 Mar 2017
Former environment minister Simon Upton – who last week delivered a major report critical of New Zealand’s environmental performance – is likely to be the next Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
Green chemistry key to improving sustainability
29 Mar 2017
The development and evolution of the chemical industry is directly responsible for many of the technological advancements that have emerged since the late 19th century.
A ‘cold economy’ could bring environmental benefits
29 Mar 2017
The ability to keep things cold is a pillar of modern society – demand is booming worldwide to deliver air conditioning, data centre cooling and transport refrigeration, particularly in emerging economies.
Quiet revolution cuts energy consumption
29 Mar 2017
Energy efficiency is a subject unlikely to grab the headlines, but there is a quiet revolution under way that is changing the electricity industry and helping to save the planet from climate change.
NZ and China shake on Asia-Pacific carbon market
28 Mar 2017
New Zealand and China are to work together on developing an Asia-Pacific carbon market, and will double-team over the way agriculture is treated in international climate negotiations.
Some emissions rise ... some emissions fall
28 Mar 2017
New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions from energy fell overall in the December quarter – but the rising use of liquid fossil fuels means emissions from transport are climbing.
'Poor losers' report out of step, says solar company
28 Mar 2017
A report showing widespread uptake of solar energy will push power costs up for the poorest New Zealanders is out of step with international findings, says a solar energy company.
US scientists go big with solar geoengineering
28 Mar 2017
US scientists are set to send aerosol injections 20km up into the earth’s stratosphere in the world’s biggest solar geoengineering programme to date, to study the potential of a future tech-fix for global warming.
Recycled water could be key to sustainable development
28 Mar 2017
By 2025, absolute water scarcity will be a daily reality for an estimated 1.8 billion people.
Polluting of rivers must be stopped, says OECD
27 Mar 2017
Pollution of waterways by agriculture must be tackled to protect the world’s fresh water, the OECD is warning.
Solar panels could cost the poor, says report
27 Mar 2017
Mass uptake of solar panels and electric vehicles could make New Zealand’s poorest worse off, says a new report.
COW QUESTION: California gets to grips with farm emissions
27 Mar 2017
California has adopted strict rules for the control of methane, including how to reduce emissions from the state's 1.4 million dairy cows.
Flight-path changes could cut jets' effect on climate
27 Mar 2017
Small tweaks to flight paths could reduce the effects that aircraft have on climate by as much as 10 per cent, a new study shows.
Science links China pollution haze and climate change
27 Mar 2017
The future for China is likely to become increasingly unclear – and lurking behind the obscured outlook in the nation’s capital is the spectre of climate change.
Warming world shrinks prospects for mammals
27 Mar 2017
Scientists in the US have proved it yet again that, in a rapidly warming world, mammals face a diminished future.
Labour/Greens promise sustainability stand
24 Mar 2017
The Labour and Green parties have agreed to a set of budget responsibility rules that includes environmental and social sustainability as well as financial responsibility.
NET-ZERO REPORT: We can do more, says bioenergy industry
24 Mar 2017
A cross-party report on how New Zealand can get to net-zero emissions in the second half of the century ignores some immediate opportunities, the Bioenergy Association says.
Toyota wants to get with the programme
24 Mar 2017
Toyota New Zealand wants to work with the Government on cutting New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement.
CARBON FIBRE: The wonder material with a dirty secret
24 Mar 2017
Carbon fibre is increasingly celebrated as a wonder material for the clean economy.
Moore’s Law for carbon could beat global warming
24 Mar 2017
A plan to halve carbon emissions every decade, while green energy continues to double every five years, provides a simple but rigorous roadmap to tackle climate change, scientists say.
London taxis go green with electric factory
24 Mar 2017
London’s iconic black cabs are going green with the opening of a £300 million electric vehicle manufacturing plant.
Europe poised for total ban on bee-harming pesticides
24 Mar 2017
The world’s most widely used insecticides would be banned from all fields across Europe under draft regulations from the European commission.
Govt MPs vote down 'good idea' sustainability bill
23 Mar 2017
A bill to include sustainability measures in public finance reporting has been voted down – despite Government MPs saying they supported the sentiment.
Coal in freefall as new plants dive by two-thirds
23 Mar 2017
The amount of new coal power being built around the world fell by nearly two-thirds last year, prompting campaigners to claim the polluting fossil fuel is in freefall.
European cities want 10 million smart streetlamps
23 Mar 2017
Local governments around Europe paid €7.6 billion to light public streets in 2015. But their bills could be cut down by up to 70 per cent if local governments are willing to shell out extra funds to install new lighting.
Climate change on pace to kill an Ice Age remnant
23 Mar 2017
Humans are in the process of changing the planet in a way that hasn’t happened in 2.6 million years.
Grassland lab raises the alarm on species loss
23 Mar 2017
Scientists in California who turned a patch of natural grassland into a laboratory have established a subtle link between flowering times and the mix of species in an ecosystem – indicating that global warming could change planetary biology and disrupt ecosystems in hitherto unsuspected ways.
Norway must put oil ventures to ‘climate test’
23 Mar 2017
Norway has some of the most ambitious emissions policies in the world, but is opening oil fields that cannot pay back in a safe climate future.
FAMILY FEUD: Princess Anne backs GM crops and livestock
23 Mar 2017
Princess Anne has strongly backed genetically modified crops, saying she would grow them on her own land and that GM livestock would be a “bonus”.
Minister hints at cross-party work on climate change
22 Mar 2017
New Zealand has received the strongest indication yet of cross-party agreement on climate change, with climate minister and deputy prime minister Paula Bennett saying she can work with a new far-reaching report on how the country can be carbon-neutral.
Peak oil? Sooner than you think
22 Mar 2017
Once peak oil is finally reached – whenever that is – demand will begin to drop thereafter, perhaps precipitously.
EDITORIAL COMMENT: We cannot continue on this path
21 Mar 2017
Two reports out today signal a sea-change for New Zealand. One says the New Zealand’s economy is reaching its environmental limits. The other says New Zealand cannot meet its Paris Agreement emissions reduction targets without changing land use.
OECD REPORT: We need price on agricultural emissions
21 Mar 2017
The OECD says New Zealand needs to put a price on greenhouse gases from the agricultural sector.
NET-ZERO REPORT: Pastoral farming must change
21 Mar 2017
New Zealand cannot cut greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement and keep farming the way it is now.
South Australian energy plan signals storage revolution
21 Mar 2017
Australia's largest battery storage technology will be built in South Australia to warehouse renewable energy, providing more affordable and reliable electricity, along with jobs and investment.
US signs up for work on drought-resistant crops
21 Mar 2017
Scientists' efforts to develop new crops able to resist climate change, droughts and other shocks have been boosted by the United States joining an international seeds treaty.
Environment reports cast eye over NZ efforts
20 Mar 2017
Two major environmental reports and a new sustainability law are on the agenda this week.
Wind turbine manufacturer needs more capital
20 Mar 2017
Windflow Technology, the unprofitable wind turbine manufacturer, has widened its first-half loss and says it needs new injections of capital.
‘Pick up the phone’ on climate change action, Hipkins urges Luxon
Tue 9 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should reach out to the Labour Party if he wants get a political deal on methane reductions and the Paris agreement rather than his two coalition partners, Labour leader Chris Hipkins says.
Meridian reports worst earnings in a decade
3 Sep 2025
Meridian Energy has posted its weakest result in 10 years, with earnings hit by a combination of droughts, low wind and declining gas supply.
International scientists slam NZ govt's proposed approach to methane
13 Aug 2025
New Zealand's proposed approach to methane emissions has again been attacked by international climate scientists, with a new study saying the attempt to redefine climate target-setting by livestock-exporting countries undermines the transition to a sustainable and equitable food system
Vector hits emissions reduction goal five years early
Fri 5 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | Auckland lines company Vector has met its 2030 emissions reduction reduction target five years early, more than halving its direct emissions, and crediting innovation and a laser-focus for its success in a hard-to-abate sector.
NZ needs to be part of a regional SAF strategy: Z, Air NZ
Tue 9 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand needs to be part of a regional strategic approach to sourcing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with domestic production less the aim than ensuring access to the fuel from one of a number of strategically positioned bio-refineries around the world.
Kawerau's new hope: Plan to replace coal with pine ramps up
Mon 8 Sep 2025
By Diane McCarthy, Local Democracy Reporter | Construction on a $300 million wood pellet plant in the Eastern Bay of Plenty is expected to start next month, with hopes it could cut the use of coal in New Zealand.
XRB consults on delaying climate reporting requirements
Thu 4 Sep 2025
The External Reporting Board is proposing a further two years relief for companies to adopt anticipated financial impacts reporting and scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions reporting and assurance.
