New Zealand: All stories
Hopes rise for solution to forest-split problem
7 Nov 2016
The door is slightly open for the Government to reconsider the contentious pre-1990/post-1989 forestry split under the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Morgan's party will stand firm on climate
7 Nov 2016
Gareth Morgan’s new political party will have a strong focus on climate.
Politicians feel the heat from rising temperatures
7 Nov 2016
Voters who feel good about life – whether it is to do with their job, their marriage or even the success of their sports team – are more likely to support their politicians.
Mercedes-Benz enters US energy storage market
7 Nov 2016
Mercedes-Benz is launching a new company to sell stationary storage of all sizes to the US market.
US designates e-vehicle charging corridors
7 Nov 2016
The US government is designating 48 electric vehicle charging corridors along 25,000 miles of major highways as a way to cut greenhouse gas emissions and make it easier for drivers to switch to electric cars.
NZ wins praise for work in global carbon markets
4 Nov 2016
New Zealand is showing “true leadership” on the development of global carbon markets, a new report says.
EDITORIAL: Welcome to the real world that's Paris
4 Nov 2016
It's Paris Day – the day the Paris Agreement comes into force.
Why geo-engineering is unlikely to save the world
4 Nov 2016
The global watchdog responsible for protecting the world’s wealth of species, the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity, has looked at the hopes for reining in climate change through geo-engineering.
Government getting serious about forestry
3 Nov 2016
The climate ministers are seriously considering the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s afforestation proposals, it was revealed yesterday.
New energy strategy on way, says minister
3 Nov 2016
The Government's new energy strategy is about to be released and is likely to contain aspirational targets to convert the heat and transport sectors to renewable energy sources.
PAY DAY: Bioenergy switch brings in business
3 Nov 2016
An eight-year investment in bioenergy is finally paying off with customers for an Invercargill laundry company.
Big Oil joins climate push with clean-energy fund
3 Nov 2016
Top oil companies including Saudi Aramco and Shell are joining forces to create an investment fund to develop technologies to promote renewable energy.
California ups e-car rebate for the not-so-rich
3 Nov 2016
California recently tweaked its green car incentive programme so more benefits are available for lower-income households and high-income earners are excluded from getting the rebates.
German vice-chancellor attacks China’s e-car targets
3 Nov 2016
Germany has criticised a Chinese proposal that would set a minimum quota for sales of electric vehicles.
Offshore wind could swell 650% by 2030
3 Nov 2016
Offshore wind capacity could grow by more than 650 per cent in the next 15 years, according to new research.
Subsidy crunch cuts funding for Asia clean energy
3 Nov 2016
THE GREEN-ENERGY industry is starting to feel the impact of an efficiency drive sweeping Asia, where governments from China to Japan are scaling back subsidies to constrain a boom in installations.
Is the Government cooking the forestry books?
2 Nov 2016
The Government is being accused of attempting to cook the books by changing the way in which carbon stored in trees is accounted for.
You can't do it alone, bioenergy body hears
2 Nov 2016
No country has made the move to low-carbon bioenergy without strong governmental support, the New Zealand Bioenergy Association has been told.
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.
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.
