New Zealand: All stories
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.
Let's talk about emissions, fuels firm tells public
6 Mar 2017
A company whose products are responsible for 9 per cent of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions is asking the public what it can do to reduce them.
Auckland welcomes e-cars to special lanes
6 Mar 2017
From today, electric vehicles are allowed in priority lanes on Auckland’s roads – but only for two weeks.
Water and soil muddy thinking on carbon budgets
6 Mar 2017
Climate scientists, struggling with the enduring problem of the carbon budget, may have to think again as a result of new research findings.
WARM WORLD: It's hotter than we thought down there
6 Mar 2017
How hot are Earth's scorching insides? A sweltering 1410degC, a new study finds.
Beijing looks to replace entire taxi fleet with electric vehicles
6 Mar 2017
Beijing officials have hatched plans to replace all of the city's 70,000 gas-powered taxicabs with electric vehicles to try to improve the China capital's notorious pollution issues.
America’s ‘hidden subsidies’ worth $170b a year
6 Mar 2017
Donald Trump wants to restrict or even abolish the US Environmental Protection Agency. In particular, he is proposing to dramatically limit the federal agency’s power to regulate carbon dioxide emissions.
KiwiRail puts $4.5b tag on electrifying network
3 Mar 2017
Electrifying the entire North Island rail network would cost more than $4.5 billion, says KiwiRail.
Tesla's China sales triple to more than $1billion
3 Mar 2017
Tesla’s revenue from China last year tripled to more than $1 billion, indicating better traction in the market Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has predicted could eventually become the company’s biggest.
CRUMBS! A loaf of bread takes it out of the environment
3 Mar 2017
What does a staple food such as bread have to do with global warming?
ENERGY REPORT: Great ideas but they're not happening
2 Mar 2017
New Zealand’s own scientists’ advice – that the country must move urgently to a low-carbon energy system – has been endorsed by the International Energy Agency, albeit in a sanitised way.
Local govt shake-up risks weakened environmental outcomes – Commissioner
Fri 27 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s push to simplify local government is "deeply flawed" and has been launched without a clear understanding of which functions must remain regional, according to the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
Govt plan to encourage new energy investment won’t cut costs for ordinary Kiwis
Thu 26 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | While gentailers and major energy users have welcomed the Government’s plan to leverage public sector demand to drive new energy projects, an expert says it is unlikely to reduce prices for ordinary people.
Govt's solar on farms initiative to cut costs, boost resilience
17 Feb 2026
Farms across Aotearoa will begin installing solar panels and battery systems as part of a government-backed demonstration programme designed to test whether on-farm renewable energy can reduce electricity costs and improve energy security for the food and fibre sector.
Annual emissions fell to lowest in 15 years in Sept 2025
5 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions fell to their lowest annual total in the year to September 2025 since records began 2010, according to Statistics New Zealand data published this morning.
Air NZ joins Marsden Point SAF project
Today 12:30pm
By Pattrick Smellie | Air New Zealand has quietly added its name to a consortium exploring the viability of green hydrogen production for sustainable aviation fuel at Channel Infrastructure’s Marsden Point energy hub.
Tairāwhiti needs proper Govt support to heal the land – not empty announcements for political optics
24 Feb 2026
OPINION: The Government’s answer to Tairāwhiti’s severe erosion crisis – that the region apply for modest, contestable funding rounds – while rejecting the region's own land transition business case, leaves our long-term resilience hanging in the balance, writes Manu Caddie.
Kiwi startup takes on global plastic pollution
12 Feb 2026
A New Zealand startup is launching what it says is the world’s first plastic-free effervescent drink tablet, with the ambitious aim of eliminating bottled beverages to reduce global plastic pollution.
