New Zealand: All stories
Companies using yeast to wean us off fossil fuels
2 Nov 2016
For more than a century, oil has ruled the chemical landscape. But some companies are betting that yeast might be able to push petroleum to the side.
Chile’s freemarket water scheme brings conflict
2 Nov 2016
Is water a basic human right or something with an inherent economic value? The answer to this question has led to decades of conflict in Chile.
LETTER: Stern Report 10 years later
2 Nov 2016
INTELLIGENCE for the carbon market, eh? - as you claim in today’s (Carbon News Oct 31) bit headed “Stern Words”.
Govt wants to break new ground for tree planting
1 Nov 2016
The Government says it’s working on new ways to get more native and exotic trees in the ground.
New carbon farming technology could drive up farm profits
1 Nov 2016
A new technology that measures the precise level of carbon in soil could drive an Australian boom in carbon farming.
Musk muscles in on old-style domestic energy systems
1 Nov 2016
Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk has unveiled the latest elements of his plan to lead a global push to 100 per cent renewable energy -- a solar roof shingle and the second generation of his home battery storage offerings.
Iceland turning up the heat on thermal energy production
1 Nov 2016
Iceland is about to tap into water as hot as lava. Several kilometres below ground, a drilling rig named Thor will soon penetrate the area around a magma chamber, where molten rock from the inner Earth heats up water that has seeped through the seafloor.
Changing rainfall patterns threaten food production
1 Nov 2016
Rainfall patterns will have changed so drastically by the end of this century that agriculture, forestry and fishing will all be seriously affected, warns the UN’s latest State of Food and Agriculture report.
Are priority measures for e-cars really a good idea?
1 Nov 2016
With as many as 40,000 premature deaths linked to air pollution each year, five UK cities are considering a novel approach to reduce emissions.
Rural capital gains tax could work, says report
31 Oct 2016
A capital gains tax on rural land and letting farmers sell future carbon credits when they plant trees could help New Zealand to cut agricultural emissions, a new paper says.
UN to deliver climate plan for shipping in 2023
31 Oct 2016
The UN’s shipping body will produce a strategy to curb greenhouse gases by 2023, over 170 countries agreed at talks in London.
Electric floor sparks power from footfalls
31 Oct 2016
US scientists have found a new way to generate energy at home: the tribo-electric floor. Tread on it and it will convert the kinetic energy of a footstep into a current of electricity.
SICK SEAS: Our seafood industry under threat
28 Oct 2016
New Zealand's seafood industry is threatened by an increasingly acidic ocean caused by climate change, a new report is warning.
New EECA chief has busy background
28 Oct 2016
The new chief executive of the Government’s energy efficiency agency has a background in commercial law, policy making and disaster recovery.
Scientist calls for crackdown on methane gas leaks
28 Oct 2016
A leading authority on the effects of methane in the atmosphere has called for a new drive to cut gas leaks from pipelines and wells.
$2.5b carbon bill hanging over heads of Treelords iwi
27 Oct 2016
The Maori owners of land under the Southern Hemisphere’s largest plantation forest face a potential carbon liability of nearly $2.5 billion – yet have received credits for just a fraction of the carbon stored in the trees.
Students make critical nitrogen-pasture link
27 Oct 2016
TIMING COULD BE everything when it comes to getting the best results out of fertilisers in the dairy industry.
Scientist wins honour for dairying work
27 Oct 2016
A scientist who has led pioneering research on nitrate leaching and nitrous oxide emissions from intensive dairying has been made a fellow of New Zealand’s Royal Society.
Half of added electricity capacity was renewable in 2015
27 Oct 2016
According to the International Energy Agency, 50 per cent of global net electricity generation capacity added in 2015 was renewable.
Paris withdraws plans for carbon tax on coal
27 Oct 2016
Pressure from the miners’ and energy workers’ union CGT has forced the French government to back down on extending the carbon tax to coal-fired power stations.
Netherlands to increase forests by a quarter
27 Oct 2016
To slash the Netherlands' carbon footprint, the Dutch are going on a tree-planting binge.
US faces megadroughts and superstorms
27 Oct 2016
Climate change makes it at least three times more likely that tropical superstorms such as Hurricane Sandy will hit north-eastern cities in the US in coming decades.
NGAI TAHU: We're giving away our forest benefits
26 Oct 2016
Ngai Tahu wants existing native forests included in the Emissions Trading Scheme, saying Maori are being forced to donate to the country the climate benefits of their forests.
UN faces deadlock over shipping climate plans
26 Oct 2016
Countries remain split on a framework for tackling the climate impact from shipping after two days of UN-backed talks in London.
Renewables poised for rapid growth worldwide
26 Oct 2016
About 500,000 solar panels are installed each day worldwide. In China, two wind turbines are built every hour.
Adelaide blackout draws attention to battery storage
26 Oct 2016
Battery storage is still many years away from preventing massive blackouts such as the one that hit South Australia last month, according to a senior utility figure.
India’s solar power set to outshine coal
26 Oct 2016
India wants to provide its entire population with electricity and lift millions out of poverty, but in order to prevent the world overheating it also needs to switch away from fossil fuels.
Connected cars could be big energy savers ... or not
26 Oct 2016
Connected cars and trucks are intended to make driving safer and easier. The chances of success all come down to humans.
Energy efficiency makes impact on carbon emissions
25 Oct 2016
Improved energy efficiency is helping New Zealand to cut thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions, as well as saving millions of dollars a year, the Government energy efficiency agency reports.
Corporate climate risk is all about turning a profit
25 Oct 2016
Risk has become a central construct for how businesses should respond to climate change.
Clinton says clean energy economy will create millions of jobs. Can it?
25 Oct 2016
Job growth is a prime topic in the US presidential race, but Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have very different takes on the role clean energy could play in creating employment.
Why you may never need to buy your child a bike again
25 Oct 2016
Imagine Project sets out to cut waste in the industry by renting rather than selling bikes, which can then be returned and refurbished when the child outgrows them.
There's a new corporate standard on sustainability
25 Oct 2016
Non-profit organisation Global Reporting Initiative has launched the first global sustainability reporting standard that uses a “common language” for companies to disclose non-financial information.
Border tax could cut emissions, says NZ economist
21 Oct 2016
The US, China and the European Union should bring in border taxes on carbon emissions contained in imported products not already taxed in their countries of origin, according to a former New Zealand cabinet minister.
Diesel use boosts national gas emissions
21 Oct 2016
New Zealanders are producing more greenhouse gas emissions from the use of diesel, according to new figures.
Exxon says world needs oil of five Saudis
21 Oct 2016
Global demand for energy will grow 25 per cent in the next 25 years and countries will guzzle oil five times the size of Saudi Arabia’s reserves, predicts Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson.
Saudis say oil industry must do its bit
21 Oct 2016
Oil companies must cut their carbon footprints to play a part in meeting the Paris Agreement on climate change, says Saudi Arabia oil chief Khalid Al-Falih.
Meet the US companies with the most solar
21 Oct 2016
Target is now the US. company that produces the most solar power at its facilities, beating out Walmart for the first time, and heading off Prologis, Apple, Costco, Kohl’s, and IKEA.
Millions worth of free credits sit in private accounts
20 Oct 2016
Non-forestry carbon credits worth more than $350 million – many of them given by taxpayers to large industrial emitters – are sitting in private carbon accounts.
NO WORRIES: Science will fix emissions, says PM
20 Oct 2016
PRIME MINISTER John Key says New Zealand can cut greenhouse gas emissions while increasing agricultural production, despite advice to the contrary.
Farm emissions report gets nods of approval
20 Oct 2016
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Jan Wright’s report on agricultural greenhouse gas emissions is being well received.
Big Oil might be emerging stronger than ever
20 Oct 2016
After a heart-stopping plunge in the price of crude over the last two years, along with slashed dividends and the elimination of tens of thousands of jobs, the biggest oil companies are proving surprisingly adept at again pumping profits, as well as oil, out of the ground.
Secret ingredient lures bees into making more food
20 Oct 2016
A plant virus has developed the trick of attracting bees to the plants it has attacked to make sure they produce plenty of seed.
WATCHDOG WISHLIST: How we can ease farm emissions
19 Oct 2016
Vast increases in native and exotic forests, bringing nitrogen fertiliser and some large farms into the Emissions Trading Scheme, and fast-tracking development of a methane vaccine.
Watchdog's farm emissions report out later today
19 Oct 2016
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Jan Wright’s long-awaited report on agricultural greenhouse gas emissions will be released today.
National electric vehicle fleet grows to 2000
19 Oct 2016
New Zealand now has more than 2000 electric vehicles – twice as many as at the start of the year.
Ontario wants to cap bottled water industry
19 Oct 2016
The Ontario government has proposed a two-year moratorium on the creation or expansion of bottled water operations fed by groundwater in the Canadian province.
Trees do their job much better than we thought
19 Oct 2016
The pre-industrial atmosphere contained more particles, and so brighter clouds, than we previously thought.
Paris promises could cost country $70 billion
18 Oct 2016
MEETING New Zealand’s Paris pledge could cost more than $70 billion and see carbon hit $300 a tonne if the country doesn’t have access to international carbon markets.
Nuclear fusion record big boost for clean energy
18 Oct 2016
A nuclear fusion world record has been set in the US, marking another step on the long road toward the unlocking of limitless clean energy.
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
Tue 3 Mar 2026
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.
