New Zealand: All stories
America’s farmers face uncertain future
7 Apr 2017
Spare a thought for the farmers of America: climate change is going to make their lives more difficult.
Green HQ gets green light
7 Apr 2017
In a case of gamekeeper-turned-poacher, New Zealand’s Green Building Council has improved the environmental performance of its own office.
Europe votes to take action on palm oil
7 Apr 2017
The European Parliament this week adopted a resolution calling the European Commission to phase out the use of biofuels based on vegetable oils by 2020, and to establish a single certification scheme to guarantee only sustainably produced palm oil enters the EU market.
Politicians go face-to-face with environment facts
6 Apr 2017
The state of New Zealand’s environment is on the agenda for the country’s politicians today.
Just four years left of the 1.5deg carbon budget
6 Apr 2017
Four years of current emissions would be enough to blow what’s left of the carbon budget for a good chance of keeping global temperature rise to 1.5deg.
We're heading for the warmest climate in half-a-billion years
6 Apr 2017
Unabated fossil fuel use has the potential to push the Earth’s climate into a state not seen in at least half a billion years, according to a study published in Nature Communications.
Europe vows no new coal-fired plants from 2020
6 Apr 2017
Europe’s energy utilities have rung a death knell for coal, with a historic pledge that no new coal-fired plants will be built in the EU after 2020.
Healthy soil is the real key to feeding the world
6 Apr 2017
One of the biggest modern myths about agriculture is that organic farming is inherently sustainable. It can be, but it isn’t necessarily.
Tesla leaves 100 years of Ford car-marketing in its dust
6 Apr 2017
Elon Musk’s electric car company has been valued at $49 billion, leaving the 100-year-old Ford motor manufacturer lagging behind.
March of Myrtle rust could mean trouble for trees
5 Apr 2017
Myrtle rust – a fungus disease that could kill native and commercial trees – is in New Zealand.
Students put divestment pressure on Auckland uni
5 Apr 2017
Auckland University’s refusal to divest from fossil-fuel investments is making it the target of student action again.
Beehive busy with changes to RMA
5 Apr 2017
Debate on changes to the Resource Management Act will continue in Parliament today.
Vital groundwater being depleted faster than ever
5 Apr 2017
China, the world’s most populous country, doubled within just 10 years its use of irreplaceable groundwater from underground reservoirs that are replenished more slowly than they are drained.
Europe expects diesels to disappear ... and quickly
5 Apr 2017
Diesel vehicles will disappear from roads much faster than expected, according to the European Union’s industry commissioner.
Renewables cut Europe's carbon emissions by 10%
5 Apr 2017
A surge in the use of wind and solar energy helped Europe to cut its fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by about 10 per cent in 2015.
Govt's green-growth plans won't cut it, warns OECD
4 Apr 2017
The Government’s plans to grow agricultural exports and tourism will not help to decarbonise New Zealand’s economy and could hinder foreign investment, says the OECD.
Soon we could be driving on eggshells and tomato skins
4 Apr 2017
Researchers from Ohio State University have found a way to recycle food waste, specifically eggshells and tomato skin, into car tyres, replacing carbon black, a petroleum-based filler used in creating tyres.
Carbon law could make Paris promise a reality
4 Apr 2017
By 2020, fossil fuels will no longer be subsidised by the taxpayer, anywhere in the world. And by then, carbon dioxide emissions worldwide will have started to fall.
There’s another climate change story ... and it starts with water
4 Apr 2017
In this time of reckless US action, it’s crucial to shift the narrative beyond despair over fossil fuels and look at water as a primary tool of climate control.
SIMON UPTON: Credits, caps and cross-party deals
3 Apr 2017
The man likely to be the next Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment says there might not be enough international carbon credits available to meet New Zealand’s Paris Agreement targets.
Farms can grow production … and cut emissions
3 Apr 2017
Substantial reductions in the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions at a South Canterbury farm show environmental gains can be made hand in hand with a farm’s growth, government scientists say.
SUFFERING STUTTGART: Car's birthplace reaches a crossroads
3 Apr 2017
The city where the automobile was born has the dirtiest air in Germany – and a global drive to electric vehicles threatens its future.
It's time to chase a Green Ribbon Award
3 Apr 2017
Nominations for this year’s Green Ribbon Awards are open.
EDITORIAL: What are we without our special things?
31 Mar 2017
By publisher ADELIA HALLETT | Thirty years ago today, New Zealand was on the verge of a breakthrough in environmental management.
SOLAR SURGE: Renewable energy sets new record
31 Mar 2017
Global renewable energy capacity increased by 161GW last year, setting a new deployment record for the sector.
Dead Sea drill shows unprecedented drought
31 Mar 2017
Far below the Dead Sea, between Israel, Jordan and Palestinian territory, researchers have found evidence of a drought that has no precedent in human experience.
Indian oil majors prepare for e-vehicle boom
31 Mar 2017
India’s oil majors are eyeing up the lithium-ion battery market in preparation for an electric-vehicle boom.
Officials have mid-year date with ETS changes
30 Mar 2017
Officials will report to the Government in the middle of the year on the next round of changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme.
How an energy icon bet on nuclear power - and lost
30 Mar 2017
Westinghouse, once synonymous with America’s industrial might, wagered its future on nuclear power ... and lost.
Soil microbes hold key to climate puzzle
30 Mar 2017
Climate scientists puzzled by the traffic of carbon between soil and air might have to think more deeply about the role played by soil microbes − the planet’s smallest inhabitants.
Why the bike is good for moving more than people
30 Mar 2017
Better infrastructure for transporting people by bike is great. But cycle freight could free up roads and transform cities and towns, too.
Farmers join in as landowners return to planting
29 Mar 2017
Landowners are planting forests again – and farmers looking to offset emissions appear to be among them.
Upton favourite for Beehive climate watchdog post
29 Mar 2017
Former environment minister Simon Upton – who last week delivered a major report critical of New Zealand’s environmental performance – is likely to be the next Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
Green chemistry key to improving sustainability
29 Mar 2017
The development and evolution of the chemical industry is directly responsible for many of the technological advancements that have emerged since the late 19th century.
A ‘cold economy’ could bring environmental benefits
29 Mar 2017
The ability to keep things cold is a pillar of modern society – demand is booming worldwide to deliver air conditioning, data centre cooling and transport refrigeration, particularly in emerging economies.
Quiet revolution cuts energy consumption
29 Mar 2017
Energy efficiency is a subject unlikely to grab the headlines, but there is a quiet revolution under way that is changing the electricity industry and helping to save the planet from climate change.
NZ and China shake on Asia-Pacific carbon market
28 Mar 2017
New Zealand and China are to work together on developing an Asia-Pacific carbon market, and will double-team over the way agriculture is treated in international climate negotiations.
Some emissions rise ... some emissions fall
28 Mar 2017
New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions from energy fell overall in the December quarter – but the rising use of liquid fossil fuels means emissions from transport are climbing.
'Poor losers' report out of step, says solar company
28 Mar 2017
A report showing widespread uptake of solar energy will push power costs up for the poorest New Zealanders is out of step with international findings, says a solar energy company.
US scientists go big with solar geoengineering
28 Mar 2017
US scientists are set to send aerosol injections 20km up into the earth’s stratosphere in the world’s biggest solar geoengineering programme to date, to study the potential of a future tech-fix for global warming.
Recycled water could be key to sustainable development
28 Mar 2017
By 2025, absolute water scarcity will be a daily reality for an estimated 1.8 billion people.
Polluting of rivers must be stopped, says OECD
27 Mar 2017
Pollution of waterways by agriculture must be tackled to protect the world’s fresh water, the OECD is warning.
Solar panels could cost the poor, says report
27 Mar 2017
Mass uptake of solar panels and electric vehicles could make New Zealand’s poorest worse off, says a new report.
COW QUESTION: California gets to grips with farm emissions
27 Mar 2017
California has adopted strict rules for the control of methane, including how to reduce emissions from the state's 1.4 million dairy cows.
Flight-path changes could cut jets' effect on climate
27 Mar 2017
Small tweaks to flight paths could reduce the effects that aircraft have on climate by as much as 10 per cent, a new study shows.
Science links China pollution haze and climate change
27 Mar 2017
The future for China is likely to become increasingly unclear – and lurking behind the obscured outlook in the nation’s capital is the spectre of climate change.
Warming world shrinks prospects for mammals
27 Mar 2017
Scientists in the US have proved it yet again that, in a rapidly warming world, mammals face a diminished future.
Labour/Greens promise sustainability stand
24 Mar 2017
The Labour and Green parties have agreed to a set of budget responsibility rules that includes environmental and social sustainability as well as financial responsibility.
NET-ZERO REPORT: We can do more, says bioenergy industry
24 Mar 2017
A cross-party report on how New Zealand can get to net-zero emissions in the second half of the century ignores some immediate opportunities, the Bioenergy Association says.
Toyota wants to get with the programme
24 Mar 2017
Toyota New Zealand wants to work with the Government on cutting New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement.
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.
