New Zealand: All stories
Argentina to launch landmark renewables programme
4 Jul 2016
Argentina will launch an innovative renewable energy programme on August 22 with a public auction to buy 1000 MW of renewable energy.
What do you do with 162 million tonnes of manure?
4 Jul 2016
Americans' access to cheap meat comes at a cost: Millions of tonnes of manure and toxic pollutants which threaten some of the nation's most important waterways.
Treasury willing to set up sea-level watchdog group
1 Jul 2016
Treasury has told the Government it is willing to look at setting up a working group on the economic and fiscal impacts of sea-level rise from climate change.
Here's the weather report ... and it's not good
1 Jul 2016
Droughts, floods, storms, cyclones – the latest official predictions of the likely impacts of climate change on New Zealand make alarming reading.
BIKEBAHN: Germany building world’s biggest bicycle highway
1 Jul 2016
With the rise of popularity of e-bikes, Germany is building the world’s biggest bicycle “autobahn” of 62-miles, connecting 10 cities.
Brexit hot air causes climate project problems
1 Jul 2016
The shock waves felt round the world at the UK’s decision in a referendum to leave the European Union will have unexpected consequences for some major projects linked to climate change.
Ozone hole appears to be healing, scientists say
1 Jul 2016
The vast hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica appears to be healing, scientists say, putting the world on track to eventually remedy one of the biggest environmental concerns of the 1980s and 90s.
WEAK WORDS: We need clear advice, says watchdog
30 Jun 2016
New Zealand’s top environmental watchdog says that officials should be issuing clear warnings and advice about the implications of climate change.
Bill and I haven't talked sea level, admits Bennett
30 Jun 2016
Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett says she has not asked Finance Minister Bill English to set up a working group to assess the economic impacts of rising sea levels, as recommended by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
Gases tracker tells a tale
30 Jun 2016
Want to get a handle on the nature of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions? Have a look at the Ministry for the Environment’s new emissions tracker.
TRASH TO TREASURE: Mining waste can be mined again
30 Jun 2016
Mines typically follow a set path from prospecting, to development, to extraction and finally closure as the finite resources are exhausted. But does that really need to be the end of the mine’s productive life?
Why electric cars need to boost market share
30 Jun 2016
Electric vehicles will need to increase their combined market share to 16 per cent by 2020 to achieve the aggressive fuel economy standards set by regulators, according to new research by the World Energy Council.
Politicians not helping, says climate academic
29 Jun 2016
Carbon dioxide emissions are rising faster than ever – and political claims that population growth is causing it don’t help, says one of New Zealand’s leading climate scientists.
Government makes energy-use facts available
29 Jun 2016
Three years’ worth of information on New Zealand’s energy use is now available to the public.
How China can harness wind of change
29 Jun 2016
Strategically siting wind turbines where their energy can most easily be fed into the national grid could help to meet more than a quarter of China’s massive electricity demand.
Oakland votes to ban coal shipments
29 Jun 2016
Officials in Oakland, California, have effectively ended proposals to open a new coal export terminal by voting to ban the transport and storage of the fossil fuel within city limits.
Siemens freezes UK wind power investment
29 Jun 2016
Siemens is putting new wind power investment plans in the UK on hold due to uncertainty caused by last week’s Brexit vote.
Rolls-Royce sets 2020 for crewless cargo ships
28 Jun 2016
Massive crewless cargo ships plying the world's oceans may sound far-fetched, but Rolls-Royce has been working on the idea for a number of years and now says it expects the first remotely controlled vessels to be in operation by 2020.
Wind and solar have won – it’s too late for the rest
28 Jun 2016
Across the world, solar photovoltaics and wind are the dominant clean energy technologies. This dominance is likely to become overwhelming over the next few years, preventing other clean energy from growing much.
Germany agrees to ban fracking
28 Jun 2016
German politicians have approved a law that bans fracking, ending years of dispute over the controversial technology to release oil and gas locked deep underground.
Sweden tests world’s first electric road
27 Jun 2016
Sweden just opened a test electric road of two kilometres, which allows electric vehicles to connect to an overhead system similar to light rail.
How science can strengthen endangered plants
27 Jun 2016
As the human population swells – and in the face of a changing and unpredictable climate – the demand for natural resources increases. This leads to distressing rates of deforestation to prepare land for agriculture, medicinal and forestry products. Related to this is an alarming reduction in species worldwide.
Berlin pulls out of fossil fuels
27 Jun 2016
Berlin’s parliament has voted to pull its money out of coal, gas and oil companies.
EMISSIONS EDICT: Time to act, says Toyota chief
24 Jun 2016
New Zealand businesses should now be asking how they are going to cut emissions in line with the country’s international pledges – even if those commitments are not yet going far enough, says Toyota New Zealand managing director Alistair Davis.
A brief history of fossil-fuelled climate denial
24 Jun 2016
The fossil fuel industry has spent many millions of dollars on confusing the public about climate change. But the role of vested interests in climate science denial is only half the picture.
The trouble with concrete ...
24 Jun 2016
By itself, concrete is a very durable construction material. The magnificent Pantheon in Rome, the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome, is in excellent condition after nearly 1900 years.
COAL PART 6: Infographic, the state of coal
24 Jun 2016
Coal played a vital role in the Industrial Revolution and continues to fuel some of the world’s largest economies. This is the sixth in a series looks at coal’s past, present and uncertain future.
The race is on to feed a warming world
24 Jun 2016
Scientists warn that plant breeders will need to accelerate development schedules if they are to ensure the ever-growing population can be fed as global temperatures rise
Solar could meet 13% of global power by 2030
24 Jun 2016
The global share of electricity generated from solar power could leap from 2 per cent in 2016 to 13 per cent by the end of the next decade as falling costs drive investments around the world.
Officials tell why we need a carbon price floor
23 Jun 2016
A carbon price floor would be challenging but would give businesses certainty and guarantee foresters a price that made planting trees worthwhile, officials told the Government.
EU smashes 2020 emissions target six years early
23 Jun 2016
The European Union soared past its 2020 carbon cutting goal six years early, according to just-released European Environment Agency data.
Can robots cut farming’s carbon footprint?
23 Jun 2016
Drones, satellites and weed-killing lasers could slash the energy used to grow crops, say experts.
COAL PART 5: China’s future is up in the air
23 Jun 2016
As the world moves to combat climate change, it’s increasingly doubtful that coal will continue to be a viable energy source, because of its high greenhouse gas emissions. Part 5 of a series.
The case for overhead charging of EVs
23 Jun 2016
IDTechEx chair Dr Peter Harrop makes a case for overhead charging for electric vehicles:
Cars buck downward trend of EU carbon emissions
23 Jun 2016
Road transport has bucked a downward trend in European greenhouse gas emissions, growing by 17 per cent between 1990 and 2014, at the same time that emissions from other sectors fell by almost a quarter.
BMW beats Tesla to LAPD electric car contract
23 Jun 2016
German automaker BMW has beaten California-based Tesla Motors by winning a contract to supply the Los Angeles Police Department with 100 electric cars.
PUMP SLUMP: True carbon cost would punish petrol
22 Jun 2016
Pricing the true cost of carbon pollution into fossil fuels would push retail petrol prices up 42 cents a litre, making electric vehicles far more attractive, according to a new report.
NZ unlikely to use banked credits, says minister
22 Jun 2016
The Government is unlikely to use New Zealand’s banked carbon credits to make-good on hot-air credits we have already surrendered internationally, a Parliamentary select committee has heard.
Experts offer help to victims of solar charge
22 Jun 2016
Greenpeace has pooled its renewable energy and legal experts to create a solar hot desk to help people affected by New Zealand’s first charge for using solar energy.
Engineers build tower to power-up phones
22 Jun 2016
Engineers from WelTec’s School of Engineering and the School of Creative Industries have designed and built a solar-powered cell-phone charging tower.
COAL PART 4: Carbon capture unlikely to be the saviour
22 Jun 2016
Coal played a vital role in the Industrial Revolution and continues to fuel some of the world’s largest economies. This series looks at coal’s past, present and uncertain future.
Using CO2 could improve fracking efficiency
22 Jun 2016
Adding carbon dioxide instead of water to fracking fluids could help to fight climate change – and improve fracking efficiency, scientists say.
Bennett vows to hold carbon price at $25
21 Jun 2016
New Zealand’s carbon price cap will not rise above $25 for a long time – but neither will it go down, Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett has told a select committee.
What do you do with your old solar panels?
21 Jun 2016
Disposing of old photovoltaic panels is going to be a big business, a new report says.
China set for 25% of electricity from wind by 2030
21 Jun 2016
China is on track to generate more than a quarter of its electricity from wind power by 2030, and the figure could rise to nearly a third with power sector reforms, a new study has found.
Fonterra nod pleases bioenergy industry
20 Jun 2016
The approval for Fonterra to build a new milk-drying plant that will be partially fuelled by wood is a step forward for the diary giant, says the Bioenergy Association.
Portal holds our plantation forest facts
20 Jun 2016
Information about the environmental and social performance of New Zealand’s plantation forests – including their ability to sequester carbon from the atmosphere – is now available online.
Energy minister is electrifying
20 Jun 2016
Transport, Energy and Associate Climate Change Minister Simon Bridges is putting his money where his mouth is – he’s buying an electric car.
Battery miracle will transform power generation
20 Jun 2016
Low-cost, high-performance electric batteries are a game changer for the two key clean energy sectors: power generation and transportation.
Should China save its last wild river?
20 Jun 2016
With global temperatures rising, can China afford to protect its rivers and forgo an alternative to the coal-fired plants responsible for much of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions?
Growth, energy and climate in focus at Trans-Tasman bilateral talks
Fri 5 Sep 2025
Trans-Tasman climate cooperation was one of the themes at the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum, with senior government officials and business leaders from both sides of the ditch meeting in Canberra this week.
Meridian reports worst earnings in a decade
Wed 3 Sep 2025
Meridian Energy has posted its weakest result in 10 years, with earnings hit by a combination of droughts, low wind and declining gas supply.
International scientists slam NZ govt's proposed approach to methane
13 Aug 2025
New Zealand's proposed approach to methane emissions has again been attacked by international climate scientists, with a new study saying the attempt to redefine climate target-setting by livestock-exporting countries undermines the transition to a sustainable and equitable food system
Vector hits emissions reduction goal five years early
Fri 5 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | Auckland lines company Vector has met its 2030 emissions reduction reduction target five years early, more than halving its direct emissions, and crediting innovation and a laser-focus for its success in a hard-to-abate sector.
Air NZ declares surprisingly low SAF prices
Wed 3 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Air New Zealand is able to source sustainable aviation fuel at between 1.5 and 2.5 times the price of conventional fossil fuels used for flying, all sourced from the US.
Forest carbon stores massive blind spot - study
Thu 4 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Aotearoa New Zealand’s planted forests hold significant deep soil organic carbon — with over half of it stored below 30 cm, and much of it over 1,000 years old.
XRB consults on delaying climate reporting requirements
Thu 4 Sep 2025
The External Reporting Board is proposing a further two years relief for companies to adopt anticipated financial impacts reporting and scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions reporting and assurance.
