New Zealand: All stories
Why some of our glaciers are growing
17 Feb 2017
New research explains why some of New Zealand’s glaciers have been growing, despite the impacts of climate change.
How your life could change without fossil fuels
17 Feb 2017
Here is a vision of the future in a warming world without fossil fuels:
Birds caught in climate-change traps
17 Feb 2017
Climate change may be about to set a trap for African penguins and send them foraging for food in places that the fish have departed, according to satellite trackers.
US marks record year for solar power
17 Feb 2017
The US solar market last year nearly doubled its annual record, installing 14,626MW of solar PV, representing a whopping 95 per cent growth increase over 2015.
Levi’s to go all the way with 100% recycled cotton
17 Feb 2017
The world’s oldest jeans brand has announced plans to become the first in the fashion industry to make all of its products from 100 per cent recycled cotton by 2025.
Treasury wants a word about carbon exposure
16 Feb 2017
A little of Treasury’s thinking on how to protect the economy from carbon exposure has been revealed – including a hint that it wants to talk to the business community.
Stop fossil fuels subsidies, say major investors
16 Feb 2017
A group of investors and insurers who manage $US2.8 trillion have called on the G20 to end public funding for coal, oil and gas by 2020.
How plastic got into our fish
16 Feb 2017
Scientists at Ghent University in Belgium recently calculated that shellfish lovers are eating up to 11,000 plastic fragments in their seafood each year.
Volvo aims at first all-electric vehicle in 2019
16 Feb 2017
Volvo has announced that its first all-electric vehicle is coming in 2019 with battery packs up to 100 kilowatt hours.
University report slams Government energy policies
15 Feb 2017
The Government’s energy policies take a battering in new research from Otago University.
Pressure group takes coal case to court
15 Feb 2017
Development of a new open-cast coal mine near Westport is being challenged in court.
Introducing the terrifying maths of the Anthropocene
15 Feb 2017
Here are some surprising facts about humans’ effect on planet Earth. We have made enough concrete to create an exact replica of Earth 2mm thick. We have produced enough plastic to wrap Earth in clingfilm. We are creating “technofossils”, a new term for congealed human-made materials – plastics and concretes – that will be around for tens of millions of years.
Cafe chain converts waste coffee into renewable fuel
15 Feb 2017
Cafe chain Caffè Nero has revealed how it recycles coffee grounds from 122 of its London stores to make low-carbon fuel.
Forced divesting could be costly, warns Treasury
14 Feb 2017
TREASURY says that forcing government agencies to divest from unethical funds could be expensive.
Climate change research gets $2 million boost
14 Feb 2017
The Deep South National Science Challenge has announced funding totalling about $2 million for five new research projects to help New Zealanders to better understand their future climate.
Norway saves skiing with climate-friendly snow
14 Feb 2017
Ski resorts all over the world are increasingly turning to expensive snow-making machines as the climate warms. This method uses so much fuel that it contributes to global warming.
EDITORIAL: Numbers show the game is up
13 Feb 2017
By editor ADELIA HALLETT | Try these numbers: Humans are causing the climate to change at 170 times the natural rate. Our “carbon budget” to keep warming below 1.5deg will be used up in five years. New Zealand’s per person emissions work out to 18 tonnes a year each – nine times higher than the global allowance.
OPINION: Just another attempt to spread confusion
13 Feb 2017
Senior climate scientist PROFESSOR JAMES RENWICK goes looking for the facts in the latest so-called scandal about climate change.
European trains go down renewable route
13 Feb 2017
Renewable energy is helping to power increasing numbers of the world’s road vehicles. Now several European countries are exploring the potential for using renewables to fuel their trains.
ROBO BEES: Mini-drones could help out with pollination duties
13 Feb 2017
Mini-drones sporting horsehair coated in a sticky gel could one day take the pressure off beleaguered bee populations by transporting pollen from plant to plant.
Taste of the future ... turning food waste into flour
13 Feb 2017
Flour from food waste? Establishing a business doing just that has earned a pair of entrepreneurs recognition as a Good Food pioneer – and a year’s business mentoring.
Forest bonds seen as way for long-term green investment
10 Feb 2017
A world-leading environmental impact bond scheme could channel substantial private investment into planting vast areas of native and exotic forests in New Zealand.
Should we build on green spaces to ease housing crises?
10 Feb 2017
In Auckland, plans to build houses on the Pt England Reserve - home of endangered New Zealand dotterels - is highlighting the tension between housing people and nature. But it's not the only city grappling with the issue of building on its reserves.
Methane emissions higher than feared, say scientists
10 Feb 2017
Global methane emissions from oil production between 1980 and 2012 were far higher than previously thought – in some cases, as much as double the amount previously estimated, according to a new scientific study.
How mini-farms can achieve maxi-production
10 Feb 2017
Tiny, biointensive operations show smallholder farmers from around the world how they can grow far more food than conventional approaches.
EU must end coal by 2030 to meet Paris goals
10 Feb 2017
To hold global warming below 2deg, the 28-state EU bloc needs to smash dependence on coalby the end of next decade.
Relying on foreign credits dangerous, say officials
9 Feb 2017
New Zealand cannot rely on international carbon credits to meet its emissions reductions targets after 2030, officials have told the Government, warning that credits could be expensive and in short supply.
Norway spearheads Europe's electric vehicle surge
9 Feb 2017
Oslo, Norway’s capital, like most of the Scandinavian country’s cities and towns, boasts bus-lane access for electric vehicles, recharging stations aplenty, privileged parking, and toll-free travel for electric cars.
Climate change can move mountains
9 Feb 2017
A warming climate will fundamentally change the chemistry of mountain soils by shifting the balance of nutrients, visibly disrupting fragile, high-elevation ecosystems of grasses, flowers and trees within decades.
We need an environment offsets market, says TOP
8 Feb 2017
New Zealand needs a strong market in environmental offsets, says Gareth Morgan’s The Opportunities Party.
UK plans to get rid of diesel vehicles ... and soon
8 Feb 2017
A scheme that would see the scrapping of diesel cars could be introduced in just months as part of a plan to lower emissions and improve air quality across the UK.
US sees electric vehicle sales soar
8 Feb 2017
Following a 5 per cent decline in sales from 2014 to 2015, US electric vehicle sales jumped by 37 per cent in 2016.
Scientists call for unravelling of basic climate change
8 Feb 2017
A group of distinguished climate scientists has called for a massive international co-operation to understand absolutely basic climate change.
Seawater puts a dent in delta rice production
8 Feb 2017
Urgent action is being called for to prevent salt intrusion causing severe damage to rice production and loss of drinking water in Bangladesh and Vietnam.
Polyol levy plan attracts three submissions
7 Feb 2017
Three people have made submissions on Government plans to put a carbon charge on imported goods containing polyol.
Tourism can make the world cleaner and greener
7 Feb 2017
OPINION | Tourism can be a force for good – depending how you do it, say World Tourism Organisation director-general TALEB RIFAI, United Nations Environment executive-director ERIK SOLHEIM and UNFCCC head PATRICIA ESPINOSA.
Miners again free to flatten mountaintops
7 Feb 2017
Blowing up mountaintops to strip them of coal just got easier, as Congressional lawmakers killed a freshly issued Obama administration rule that protected streams from mining waste.
Flights to slip under radar of EU emissions limits
7 Feb 2017
International flights in and out of the European Union could be exempted from emissions limits for at least another four years to give the United Nations time to implement a global system to curb pollution from planes.
Include farming in ETS, says former climate envoy
3 Feb 2017
Our former climate ambassador says that agriculture should be brought into the Emissions Trading Scheme – even if it is treated differently.
US opens door to NZ ecolabelled manufacturers
3 Feb 2017
Kiwi paint and floor-covering manufacturers licensed by Environmental Choice New Zealand will find it easier to crack markets in the United States markets this year.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY: Can waste solve the waste problem?
3 Feb 2017
OPINION | Aurecon's manufacturing market director Tim Plenderleith takes a glimpse at the future of manufacturing in a resource-constrained world.
Wind turbines again head for the home straight
3 Feb 2017
A new type of small wind turbine for home electricity generation, intended to match the popularity and potential of solar power, is being developed in Europe.
E-cars and cheap solar could sink fossil fuels by 2020
3 Feb 2017
Falling costs of electric vehicles and solar panels could halt worldwide growth in demand for oil and coal by 2020, a new report has suggested.
Authority set to hear solar panel 'tax' case
2 Feb 2017
The action of Hawke’s Bay lines company Unison Network in imposing a “tax” on customers who also use electricity from solar panels is to go before the Electricity Authority.
Energy leaders to hear the word from grid godfather
2 Feb 2017
The man known as the Godfather of the Smart Grid is coming to New Zealand.
Hydropower can be more environmentally friendly
2 Feb 2017
Hydropower provides 85 per cent of the world’s renewable electricity, but comes with a hefty environmental price tag.
EU hails clean energy 'year of delivery'
2 Feb 2017
The European Union is on track to meet its renewable energy, energy efficiency, and greenhouse gas emission targets for 2020 following a 'year of delivery' across the renewables sector.
Linking carbon market would be a clever move
1 Feb 2017
New Zealand could cut the cost of meeting its international emissions reductions targets by linking its carbon market to emerging markets in Asia.
When the heat is on, we need city-wide plans to keep cool
1 Feb 2017
On top of another record hot year globally, and as heatwaves become more frequent and intense, our cities are making us even hotter.
Small-scale hydro makes a big difference
1 Feb 2017
It’s hard to appreciate the difference electricity makes to your life, unless you’ve ever had to live entirely without it.
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.
