New Zealand: All stories
Wildlife faces climate survival and breeding problems
11 Jul 2017
Climate change could cast a dark shadow over the bees of Europe, with global warming posing sex problems for the sea turtles of the Atlantic.
CLIMATE COST: Disaster damage bill tops $150 million
10 Jul 2017
Climate-related disasters have cost New Zealand more than $150 million this year.
EMA boots climate change off priority list
10 Jul 2017
Climate change policy is not a priority for the Employers and Manufacturers’ Association in this election.
THE COUNT: Greens leaders say something
10 Jul 2017
The public statements of world leaders might have been focused on climate change over the past week, but that doesn’t mean it has been on the agenda for New Zealand’s political leaders.
The world is on the brink of an electric-car revolution
10 Jul 2017
The internal combustion engine had a good run. It has helped propel cars — and thus humanity — forward for more than 100 years.
It's not just cars ... ports are going electric, too
10 Jul 2017
Led by the Port of San Diego, California’s dockyards are moving away from diesel machinery and plugging in.
Marine 'rats and cockroaches' thrive in our dying oceans
10 Jul 2017
Beneath the waves, swelling levels of carbon dioxide could be boosting some species to ecological dominance while dooming others.
Young Kiwi voices lead the climate change chorus
7 Jul 2017
By publisher ADELIA HALLETT | Two political actions this week give us some hope that New Zealand might one day get the leadership it needs to survive and prosper in a carbon-constrained world.
France to ban sales of petrol and diesel cars by 2040
7 Jul 2017
France will end sales of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040 as part of an ambitious plan to meet its targets under the Paris climate accord.
Hopes of mild climate change dashed by new research
7 Jul 2017
Hopes that the world’s huge carbon emissions might not drive temperatures up to dangerous levels have been dashed by new research.
Climate more sensitive to CO2 than records suggest
7 Jul 2017
One of the key questions about climate change is the strength of the greenhouse effect.
This is how climate change will shift the world's cities
7 Jul 2017
Summers are already warmer than they used to be, and could get dramatically hotter by century’s end - a problem that will be felt most acutely in cities.
Environment officials to get new science advice
6 Jul 2017
The Ministry for the Environment is to get a new science adviser.
Volvo to make only electric or hybrid cars from 2019
6 Jul 2017
All new cars launched by Volvo from 2019 onward will be partially or completely battery-powered, in what the company called a “historic end” to building models that only have an internal combustion engine.
Drivers top consumers of palm oil in Europe
6 Jul 2017
As millions of Europeans hit the road this month for a summer break, most won’t know they’re driving on palm oil.
IT'S OFFICIAL: Ministers get the word on ETS changes
5 Jul 2017
Official advice on changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme has made its way from officials to ministers.
Political uncertainty the enemy of carbon markets
4 Jul 2017
Lack of political certainty is damaging the effectiveness of carbon markets, says new research.
Amazon dams plan is set to cost the Earth
4 Jul 2017
It’s one thing to harness a river. It’s quite another to build a series of Amazon dams and control the life of the planet’s richest habitat.
Air on board cruise ships could be worse than in polluted cities
4 Jul 2017
Some public areas on cruise ships could be more polluted than the world’s worst-affected cities, a new investigation reveals.
YOUNG NATS: Climate change bigger than politics
3 Jul 2017
The National Party’s youth arm supports legislation to make New Zealand carbon-neutral by 2050, saying climate change is “bigger than politics”.
THE COUNT: Who said what ... or not
3 Jul 2017
Climate change wasn’t on the agenda for public statements by any of our political leaders last week.
Corporates stepping up to save the planet
3 Jul 2017
As US president Donald Trump reneges on climate change commitments, progressive businesses are implementing the measures themselves.
Half-a-degree makes all the difference, say scientists
3 Jul 2017
HALF-A-DEGREE of warming made a big difference to the type of weather Earth experienced in the past, scientists say.
LIFT-OFF: Hydrogen fuel reaches trial stage
3 Jul 2017
Using surplus electricity from renewables to make hydrogen fuel is starting a new era for all forms of heavy transport.
Disclosure must for all businesses, says Bloomberg
30 Jun 2017
All businesses – including banks - are being told to start disclosing their carbon exposure as soon as possible.
It's nonsense to say fracking can be made safe
30 Jun 2017
research can help to produce guidelines to reduce the risks associated with fracking, but ultimately it makes no sense to talk of fracking being entirely safe.
Motu researchers win international praise
30 Jun 2017
New Zealand’s Motu Research has been named one of the 10 best climate policy think-tanks in the world.
Why destroying mangroves would be a mistake
30 Jun 2017
Destroying the world's mangroves could mean an extra seven million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year, scientists say.
Boaty McBoatface has been busy down under
30 Jun 2017
Boaty McBoatface has gathered 'unprecedented data' from its first expedition to Antarctica, scientists say.
Government snubs MP's climate change motion
29 Jun 2017
The Government is refusing to support a motion acknowledging that a third of the world’s population is now exposed to deadly heatwaves because of climate change.
State should show the way, says bioenergy group
29 Jun 2017
The Government needs to put its new energy efficiency strategy into place – and State-owned operations are the place to start, says the Bioenergy Assocation.
NZ team has high hopes for hybrid-electric aircraft
29 Jun 2017
Wellington researchers hope their technology will help to build the first hybrid-electric jet plane.
Fossil lobbies threaten to scupper renewables in South Africa
29 Jun 2017
South African power utility Eskom recently repeated that it will not conclude supply contracts with the developers of new renewable energy power stations.
Closing nuclear plants threatens climate targets
29 Jun 2017
Closing nuclear plants in Europe and North America from 2020 threatens global plans to cut carbon emissions unless governments build new nuclear plants or expand the use of renewables.
Cutting emissions would slow growth, officials claim
28 Jun 2017
The Government is dealing with criticism of its industrial emissions target by turning it into a bottom line instead of a goal.
Science splits ranks over fossil fuel phase-out
28 Jun 2017
US academics are arguing with ferocity about how to achieve a fossil fuel phase out. But, for now, the debate is entirely academic.
Minister in dark on coal climate question
27 Jun 2017
The Department of Conservation has not raised with its minister the climate implications of coal mining, despite being involved in a proposal to allow mining on conservation land on the Buller Plateau.
MPs to get the heatwave message
27 Jun 2017
Parliament will be asked tomorrow to note that up to a third of the world’s population is now exposed to deadly heatwaves as a result of climate change.
Energy major talks of falling fossil fuel demand
27 Jun 2017
One of the world’s biggest energy companies sees problems ahead with falling fossil fuel demand and huge growth in renewables.
Ocean levels on the rise ... and quickly
27 Jun 2017
Seas are rising faster, prompting scientists to warn that coastal adaptation plans should be put in place urgently.
Organic farming might not cut climate risk
27 Jun 2017
Organic farming does not always benefit the environment in the ways people expect, and might not avert climate change effects, scientists say.
THE COUNT: How important is climate change to the politicians who would be PM?
26 Jun 2017
Carbon News is keeping count of the number of times political leaders talk in the lead-up to the September 23 general election about the biggest issue the world faces.
Federated Famers warns of consequences
26 Jun 2017
Federated Farmers is warning politicians of “consequences” if agricultural emissions are brought into the Emissions Trading Scheme before other countries put a carbon price on farming.
Renewable energy no longer niche investment
26 Jun 2017
Institutional investors remain eager to put money to work on renewable energy projects even as US President Donald Trump has vowed to revive their chief competitor: coal.
Panasonic joins push to put solar on car roofs
26 Jun 2017
Panasonic has started producing a 180-watt array of solar cells that can be put on the roof of a vehicle.
Not so much coal about ... but we're burning more
23 Jun 2017
New Zealand’s coal consumption is climbing.
Soil scientists back putting carbon in the ground
23 Jun 2017
Carbon sequestration in soil has the potential to enhance food security and mitigate climate change, says an international team of soil experts.
Top banks still lend billions to extract fossil fuels
23 Jun 2017
Some of the world’s top banks are continuing to lend tens of billions for extracting the most carbon-intensive fossil fuels, according to a report of top lenders.
Renewables investment by 2040 will be in the trillions
23 Jun 2017
More than $10 trillion will be invested in new power generation capacity by 2040, of which nearly three-quarters will be in renewables.
SUCKER PUNCH: Plant pulls CO2 directly from the air
23 Jun 2017
On the roof of a waste incinerator outside Zurich, a Swiss firm has built the world’s first commercial plant to suck CO2 directly from the air.
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.
