New Zealand: All stories
Heat shows need to adapt livestock management
2 Mar 2017
During the recent heatwave in New South Wales, which saw record-breaking temperatures for two days in a row, 40 dairy cows died in Shoalhaven, a city just south of Sydney.
China coal use fell again in 2016
2 Mar 2017
China’s coal consumption fell in 2016 – the third year in a row the world’s biggest polluter has cut back its use of the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel.
Germany’s e-car plan might increase emissions
2 Mar 2017
Germany has ambitious plans for both electric cars and renewable energy. But it can’t deliver both.
Our environment image at risk, says global agency
1 Mar 2017
New Zealand risks damaging its clean-and-green reputation by failing to cut its greenhouse gas emissions, the International Energy Agency warns.
Poison algal blooms in our waterways will worsen
1 Mar 2017
Climate change will mean more poisonous algal blooms in New Zealand’s rivers and lakes, a scientist is warning.
Flight to greener aviation fuel has hit turbulence
1 Mar 2017
When it comes to reducing carbon emissions, one of the biggest hurdles is the world’s addiction to flying.
Liquid hydrogen could fuel future air travel
1 Mar 2017
Liquid hydrogen might be the solution to the thorny problem of sustainable air travel.
Creative technology can turn a profit on food waste
1 Mar 2017
Creative businesses aim to get food that would otherwise be wasted into the hands of those who can use it.
E-cars make up 37% of Norway vehicle sales
1 Mar 2017
Plug-in electric vehicles made up 37 per cent of Norway’s new-car sales last month.
Environment law agents lack money to do their job
28 Feb 2017
Agencies charged with enforcing New Zealand’s environmental laws don’t have the money to do the job, and often have conflicted interests.
Government pension scheme begins ditching oil and gas
28 Feb 2017
A UK pension scheme with more than four million members is shifting almost 10 per cent of its investments into a new climate change fund designed to move people’s money out of fossil fuels and into renewable energy.
EU’s clean energy package gets national support
28 Feb 2017
EU energy ministers have backed the third version of the 28-country bloc’s clean energy package, praising its focus on renewables, energy efficiency and consumers.
CLIMATE CASE: We need to know more ... and urgently
27 Feb 2017
New Zealand urgently needs to understand the likely impacts of climate change on the economy, environment and society, says a new government paper.
Europe takes tough line on shipping emissions
27 Feb 2017
The European Parliament has lost patience with shipping industry inaction over climate change and has outlined plans to include vessels in its Emissions Trading System.
Battery storage industry to fight Australian bans
27 Feb 2017
The world’s biggest battery manufacturers say they will fight Australia's proposed new guidelines and recommendations that could ban battery storage units from inside homes and garages.
Six states propose new electric vehicle fees
27 Feb 2017
Six US states have proposed legislation this year that would add to the cost of owning an electric vehicle, worrying clean energy advocates who say owning emissions-free vehicles should be incentivised rather than taxed.
How a Danish island did zero carbon in less than 10 years
27 Feb 2017
The Danish island of Samso's energy makeover took less than a decade and was spurred on by local commitment.
Treasury gives official nod to natural capital
24 Feb 2017
Treasury is, for the first time, including New Zealand’s natural capital in its long-term thinking – including the value of the country’s clean-green brand.
UK tidal project could spark global revolution
24 Feb 2017
Ambitious plans have been drawn up for a network of “tidal lagoons” around the UK coast that could provide up to a quarter of the country’s electricity – and there is potential to roll out the technology in many parts of the world.
Railway stations across India to go solar
24 Feb 2017
India’s railways – the leading consumer of power – are to become the nation’s largest producer of solar energy.
This is what 4 million solar panels look like from space
24 Feb 2017
On the Tibetan Plateau in eastern China, four million solar panels silently soak up the sun as part of the Longyangxia Dam Solar Park. It’s the largest solar farm in the world, spreading over 10 square miles of the high desert landscape.
Farmers want action on land use and tree planting
23 Feb 2017
Farmers want research into alternative land uses to help them to cope with climate change, and greater incentives to plant carbon-storing trees on their farms.
The age of the giant battery is almost upon us
23 Feb 2017
The idea that giant batteries might someday revolutionise electrical grids has long enthralled clean-power advocates and environmentalists. Now it’s attracting bankers with the money to make it happen.
Aerosol study looks at great unknown in climate science
23 Feb 2017
Australian scientists are studying air pollution and cloud formation in Antarctica in an effort to understand how non-carbon aerosolised particles impact on global temperatures.
Melbourne streets become living transport lab
23 Feb 2017
Integrated transport has long been the holy grail of transport engineering. Now, a project set up north of Melbourne’s CBD aims to make it a reality.
Solar energy powers sustainable solutions
23 Feb 2017
Every mouthful of food eaten by virtually every creature on Earth depends ultimately on the sun.
Government eyes land-use changes to cut emissions
22 Feb 2017
The Government is looking at changing some current land uses – including forestry and farming – to cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions.
RAISING THE STEAKS: Startup crowdfunds sustainable beef
22 Feb 2017
Seattle start-up Cow Crowd works directly with ranchers across the US, cutting out the middleman and giving farmers an alternative to selling calves to factory farms.
Buying green doesn’t necessarily make you green
22 Feb 2017
Company bosses need to walk-the-walk when it comes to greening their business with technology, with new research finding that just buying green IT, doesn’t make you green.
Govt could end up in court over energy plan, warns campaigner
21 Feb 2017
The Government risks court action over its latest energy efficiency strategy, says energy campaigner Jeanette Fitzsimons.
FEARS FOR FISH: Our oceans are running out of oxygen
21 Feb 2017
The depletion of oxygen in our oceans threatens future fish stocks and risks altering the habitat and behaviour of marine life, scientists have warned, after a new study found oceanic oxygen levels had fallen by 2 per cent in 50 years.
How India subsidises electricity only for the rich
21 Feb 2017
While more than 20 per cent of India’s population has no access to electricity, the richest 40 per cent of the population gets highly subsidised power.
London to charge polluting vehicles
21 Feb 2017
Older, more polluting cars will have to pay an extra £10 ($NZ17) charge to drive in central London’s congestion charge zone, the city’s mayor has said.
Small businesses dragging the energy chain
20 Feb 2017
New Zealand’s small businesses are lagging behind in adopting energy efficiency measures that could save them significant amounts of money – even though most say that their energy costs are significant, a new study shows.
Bennett talks 'range of issues' with China climate envoy
20 Feb 2017
New Zealand and China have held their first ministerial meeting under the bilateral carbon agreement.
Mexico City, parched and sinking, faces a water crisis
20 Feb 2017
Climate change is threatening to push a crowded capital toward a breaking point.
Canada’s glacial ice loss raises sea level
20 Feb 2017
Glaciers on Canada’s Queen Elizabeth Islands are melting at an ever faster rate. Between 2005 and 2015, ice loss accelerated massively from three billion tonnes a year to 30 billion, according to new research.
Scientists study ocean absorption of human pollution
20 Feb 2017
Knowing the rate at which the oceans absorb carbon pollution is a key to understanding how fast climate change will occur.
Inaction means public could lose faith in climate leaders
17 Feb 2017
New Zealand’s “limited and largely ineffectual actions” on climate change risk undermining public confidence in our policy makers, say the authors of the latest Public Perceptions of the Environment report to be released today.
Greens toss bouquet to Bennett, but ...
17 Feb 2017
Climate minister and deputy prime minister Paula Bennett has received a bouquet for her action on climate change from an unexpected quarter – Green MP Kennedy Graham.
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.
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.
