New Zealand: All stories
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.
Britain sets 2040 for ban on diesel and petrol cars
27 Jul 2017
Britain will ban all new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2040 amid fears that rising levels of nitrogen oxide pose a major risk to public health.
Google enters race for nuclear fusion technology
27 Jul 2017
Google and a leading US fusion company have developed a new computer algorithm that significantly speeds up progress toward clean, limitless energy.
Govt acts on auctioning and international units
26 Jul 2017
The $25 price cap is staying for now, but the importation of international units will be restricted when the New Zealand carbon market opens to the world again, the Government has just announced.
Wet weekend rewrites the record books
25 Jul 2017
Climate records continue to tumble this year, with Oamaru last weekend notching up its wettest day on record.
Bunker down, El Nino summers will get worse
25 Jul 2017
Climate change will mean more extreme El Niño summers – the weather pattern that causes droughts in the east of New Zealand and storms in the west.
It pays off to pay landowners to keep trees
25 Jul 2017
Paying landowners not to cut down trees is cheaper than the carbon-related costs the destruction of the forests would cause, new research shows.
Public doesn't need scientific climate consensus
25 Jul 2017
Climate change campaigns that focus on correcting public beliefs about scientific consensus are likely to backfire and undermine policy efforts, according to an expert commentary.
It's not easy building electric cars
25 Jul 2017
Despite Tesla’s success, the high risks of mass-producing an electric car from scratch haven’t changed all that much.
Environment officials quiet on new coal mines
24 Jul 2017
The Ministry for the Environment has given the Government no advice on the climate implications of developing 13 new coal mines.
THE COUNT: Floods fail to excite party leaders
24 Jul 2017
Climate change wasn’t on the lips of New Zealand’s political leaders last week, despite serious flooding in Canterbury and Otago and financial warnings from the world’s first professor of the economics of disasters.
Coastal home owners could pay huge price
21 Jul 2017
Threats from climate change-induced sea-level rise and storms are not reflected in the market value of coastal New Zealand property, putting many people at risk of financial disaster.
Busy ministry delays work on emissions planning
20 Jul 2017
Planning to cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions in line with the country’s Paris Agreement commitments has been delayed because of the Ministry for the Environment’s heavy workload, confidential papers show.
Climate-related damage bill climbs to $174 million
19 Jul 2017
This year’s bill for climate-related disasters in New Zealand has climbed to $174.7 million.
European car makers plead with China to slow down
19 Jul 2017
Faced with China’s unwavering plan to accelerate the introduction of electric and hybrid cars, European manufacturers have joined forces with other global producers to plead with Beijing for a ‘less ambitious’ roadmap.
US utilities giving people cash for clean cars
19 Jul 2017
Carmakers, regulators, legislators and utilities are increasingly working together to boost sales of electric vehicles
Free footy tickets lure oil workers to renewables
19 Jul 2017
Redundant North Sea energy workers are being offered free football tickets to build revolutionary new electricity storage systems.
Officials work to cut shocking vehicle emissions
18 Jul 2017
Officials will put a plan to cut New Zealand’s appalling transport emissions to the Government before the end of the year.
Gases are changing the atmosphere ... and rapidly
18 Jul 2017
Humanity’s grand experiment in the atmosphere continues, and a new report documents just how far it has gone.
Livestock mega farms booming in Britain
18 Jul 2017
Nearly every county in England has at least one industrial-scale livestock farm, with close to 800 US-style mega farms operating across the UK, new research reveals.
Some biofuels worse than fossil fuels, warns report
18 Jul 2017
Biofuel use needs to increase to help to fight climate change as liquid fuels will be needed by aircraft and ships for many decades to come, finds a new report requested by the UK government.
Greens put case for billion-dollar growth fund
17 Jul 2017
A billion-dollar Green Infrastructure Fund and New Zealand at net-zero emissions by 2050 will be priorities for the Green Party in government.
Auckland could face a Japan-like climate
17 Jul 2017
Summer in Auckland could, by the end of the century, be as hot as summer in Yokohama is now, a new report says.
THE COUNT: James Shaw takes Greens into the lead
17 Jul 2017
It’s runs on the board this week for two leaders in The Count, our weekly tally of public statements about climate change by party leaders in the lead-up to the general election.
TOO HOT TO FLY: Increasing heat might ground planes
17 Jul 2017
As temperatures rise it may become too hot to fly, with aircraft likelier to be grounded, and more passengers more likely to lose their seats.
Next design step is bringing the weather indoors
17 Jul 2017
A building’s primary purpose may be to keep the weather out, but most do such an effective job of this that they also inadvertently deprive us of contact with two key requirements for our well-being and effectiveness: nature and change.
Wood-for-coal switch would save us millions
14 Jul 2017
Using wood instead of coal to provide industrial heat would cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions by 460,000 tonnes and save more than $11 million a year in carbon credits, a new report says.
ARKS OF THE APOCALYPSE: Science digs in to save our stuff
14 Jul 2017
All around the world, scientists are building repositories of everything from seeds to ice to mammal milk — racing to preserve a natural order that is fast disappearing.
Green groups slam Coke's recycled plastic scheme
14 Jul 2017
Coca-Cola's plan to reduce the millions of plastic bottles that end up in the world’s oceans every day has been criticised by environmental groups as unambitious PR spin.
Shoppers can pick their own kai at the supermarket farm
14 Jul 2017
A German startup intends to distribute smart vertical farming systems to supermarkets, providing customers with the option to hand-pick fresh vegetables and herbs.
Net-zero worthy target, says cross-party group
13 Jul 2017
The pan-political Globe climate group says cutting New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050 is worth serious discussion.
Global database gives more power to scientists
13 Jul 2017
Climate scientists will be able to more accurately study Earth’s temperature changes, thanks to a global database.
Earth's sixth mass extinction event under way
13 Jul 2017
A “biological annihilation” of wildlife in recent decades means a sixth mass extinction in Earth’s history is under way and is more severe than previously feared.
Pacific Islands call for fossil fuel phase-out, NZ hangs back
Today 11:00am
By Liz Kivi | Pacific Islands nations have launched a landmark declaration for a Fossil Fuel Free Pacific, calling for a Fossil Fuel Treaty and urgent phase-out of fossil fuels, however New Zealand isn’t rushing to join the call.
Going concern status flags depth of Methanex NZ's gas crisis
Tue 21 Apr 2026
Methanex's New Zealand operation is relying on financial support from its Canadian parent to remain a going concern after a second consecutive year of asset impairments left the business with negative equity.
Fonterra admits ‘100% grass-fed’ claim breached law in greenwashing row
2 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Fonterra has admitted its “100% New Zealand grass-fed” claims on Anchor butter were misleading and breached the law, settling a case brought by Greenpeace Aotearoa over packaging used between December 2023 and April 2025.
Climate pollution static but NZ still on track for first emissions budget, says MfE
Fri 17 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand is still on track to meet its first emissions budget, according to the Ministry for the Environment, despite the pace of emissions reductions slowing to a standstill.
NZ’s latest push to roll out more EV chargers is a good thing – but can it go the distance?
14 Apr 2026
A $50 million plan to expand New Zealand’s public electric vehicle (EV) charging network marks another step toward a lower-emissions transport system.
Wilding conifers continue to plague Southland
Fri 17 Apr 2026
By Matthew Rosenberg, Local Democracy Reporter | Fast-spreading conifer trees are causing headaches in Southland as inconsistent funding continues to hinder control efforts.
Victorian Hydrogen announces Southland urea fertiliser project using coal
Wed 22 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Australian-based Victorian Hydrogen has announced it is developing a new 1.5 million-tonne-a-year urea fertiliser operation in Southland, which it will apply for under fast-track legislation.
