New Zealand: All stories
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.
China kickstarting coal boom in Pakistan
20 Mar 2017
In a region of Pakistan besieged by drought, and blessed with solar potential, China is funding the expansion of huge new coal projects.
Humans cause up to 70% of sea-ice loss
20 Mar 2017
Scientists have calculated that at least 30 per cent and perhaps one half of the decline in Arctic summer sea ice could be attributed to natural causes – changes of ocean and atmospheric circulation that happen according to some long-term cycle.
Windfarms commercial director to run company
20 Mar 2017
NZ Windfarms says its new commercial director, John Worth, will assume full responsibility for the company's daily operations, taking over from acting chief executive Stuart Bauld.
Companies queue to supply Air NZ with biofuels
17 Mar 2017
Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia say they now have a shortlist of companies to supply them with biofuels.
Businesses face increasing risk from pollution
17 Mar 2017
New Zealand businesses are increasingly at risk from pollution and contamination, says an insurance expert.
Phosphorous is vital ... and we're running out
17 Mar 2017
All life needs phosphorus and agricultural yields are improved when phosphorus is added to growing plants and the diet of livestock. But there is a problem.
PLANES v POLLUTION: A new-look for Heathrow
17 Mar 2017
Britain and Europe’s largest airport is not the most obvious target for an eco-friendly rebranding. Yet Heathrow Airport recently unveiled a new sustainability strategy.
Scotland goes big with offshore wind farm
17 Mar 2017
The Scottish government has approved planning consent for one of the world’s largest floating offshore wind farms.
Whanganui's new status huge call for the environment
16 Mar 2017
The Whanganui River has become entity in its own right – a move potentially of huge environmental significance.
There's nothing like a healthy diet to beat climate change
16 Mar 2017
Scientists have worked out how to combat climate change and improve human health, one mouthful at a time.
Biofuels mix could see end of chemtrails in the sky
16 Mar 2017
Mixing biofuels into aviation gas cuts chemtrails, new research shows.
THE DECOUPLING DELUSION: Rethinking growth and sustainability
16 Mar 2017
Our economy and society ultimately depend on natural resources: land, water, material (such as metals) and energy. But some scientists have recognised that there are hard limits to the amount of these resources we can use.
Government offers new money for electric cars
15 Mar 2017
The second round of Government funding for projects to get more electric vehicles on New Zealand’s roads opens today.
Smaller forests get financial helping hand
15 Mar 2017
Landowners wanting to plant small-to-medium-sized new forests might be able to get some government funding to help them.
SPINNING SAILS: Ancient idea to be given a new airing
15 Mar 2017
An ocean-going tanker is to be fitted with a type of “spinning sail” invented almost a century ago in a step that could lead to more environmentally friendly tankers worldwide.
Private capital must play big part in climate adaptation
14 Mar 2017
Governments will need private capital to deal with the multi-billion-dollar challenges of adapting to climate change, says a report out today.
While governments dither, companies do the job
14 Mar 2017
Businesses and cities are taking up the slack left by government policy, aligning environmental goals with climate science.
Boaty McBoatface heads off to work in the southern seas
14 Mar 2017
A small yellow robot submarine, called Boaty McBoatface after a competition to name a new polar research ship backfired, is being sent on its first Antarctic mission.
Scientists track down travelling droughts
14 Mar 2017
The biggest and worst droughts might not stay fixed in one place but can travel thousands of kilometres from their origin, according to a new study.
Organic farming matters - just not in the way you think
13 Mar 2017
Organically produced food looks good and tastes good ... but can it feed the world?
Science is getting closer to sun-powered cars
13 Mar 2017
Scientists are developing a practical method to convert water and sunshine into fuel — a key step in someday powering cars with the sun.
Morganists want new approach to controls on farming
10 Mar 2017
The Opportunities Party would put a cap on New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, get rid of the $25 carbon price cap and free credits for heavy emitters and bring some agricultural emissions into the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Baring Head records show CO2 on the rise
10 Mar 2017
Atmospheric carbon dioxide in the Southern Hemisphere continues to rise, with testing at Wellington’s Baring Head now consistently recording around 401 parts per million.
Forests still key to mitigating climate change
10 Mar 2017
Researchers have reminded the world’s governments that forests will play a vital role in mitigating the effects of climate change – provided policies are robustly pursued and reported with transparency.
CRUISE CONTROL: Choppy seas for sustainable ocean travel
10 Mar 2017
Not many of the 25 million people enjoying the sea breeze on a cruise ship this year are likely to think about the air pollutants being emitted from the vessel.
The Opportunities Party wants us carbon neutral by 2050
9 Mar 2017
Pressure is mounting for New Zealand to make deep emissions cuts by the second half of the century, despite the country’s official target being to only halve emissions by 2050.
Global solar leaps 50% thanks to US and China
9 Mar 2017
The amount of solar power added worldwide soared by 50 per cent last year because of a sun rush in the US and China.
Chinese city plans to pump water from Russia
9 Mar 2017
China is reportedly considering plans to build a 1000km pipeline to pump water all the way from Siberia to its drought-stricken northwest.
Magic tricks in the forest can make carbon emissions vanish
9 Mar 2017
Countries are free to manage their forests as they choose, but reducing them to a tool of light-fingered carbon accounting can leave world deprived of vital carbon sinks.
Energy needs broader view, says new minister
8 Mar 2017
New Zealand needs to broaden use of renewable energy beyond the electricity generation, says the new energy minister - but she expects fossil fuels to stay in the mix.
Climate change climbs the party ranks
8 Mar 2017
Climate change has made it to the top echelons of New Zealand’s two major political parties.
Minister defends action on water standards
8 Mar 2017
Environmental debates in Parliament yesterday stayed with the issue of the moment – fresh water.
Back us and we'll build more plants, says Z biofuel
7 Mar 2017
New Zealand’s largest liquid-fuel retailer says it could build another six biodiesel plants – if it gets the right support.
Aviation industry acts to reduce aircraft emissions
7 Mar 2017
The aviation industry is the first sector to introduce a global design standard on emissions.
That was summer ... and that's the way it's going to be
7 Mar 2017
Summer gave New Zealand a taste of life under climate change, according to latest climate records.
UK emissions at lowest level since 19th century
7 Mar 2017
The UK’s carbon dioxide emissions have fallen to their lowest level since the 19th century as coal use continues to plummet.
Scientists in NZ eye fish and climate world first
7 Mar 2017
The effects of climate change on fish are being studied in a world-first trial at Niwa’s Bream Bay marine science centre.
Self-powering buoy reports from southern seas
7 Mar 2017
The country’s first hybrid energy-powered water monitoring buoy has been launched by Meridian Energy and the Cawthron Institute.
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.
