New Zealand: All stories
Minister wants a clean-tech 'second revolution'
4 Oct 2016
The environment minister wants a “second revolution” in clean technologies to reduce the use of synthetic gases that cause climate warming.
10 things you should know about climate change
4 Oct 2016
No 7: The tropics are expanding toward us.
What on earth is happening to Antarctica’s sea ice?
4 Oct 2016
This year continues to be a momentous one for the climate, on track to be the new hottest year on record.
Greenland up in the air over melting ice sheets
4 Oct 2016
Greenland is going up in the world. As the biggest lump of ice in the northern hemisphere melts ever more swiftly, so the bedrock of the enormous island is rising in response to this weight loss at rates of up to 12mm a year.
Propaganda masks global climate warnings
4 Oct 2016
A rise in world temperatures of 1.5deg degrees can no longer be avoided, according to the world’s leading climate scientists, who say that the majority of people have yet to wake up to the stark realities and dangers of climate change.
Airline emissions deal could boost offset bills
3 Oct 2016
A new global market-based measure for aviation emissions could see New Zealand having to offset 3 million tonnes of greenhouse gases a year.
We've pumped out an extra 500,000 tonnes of gases
3 Oct 2016
Last year’s jump in New Zealand's fossil-fuel consumption from transport probably put an extra 500,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, an expert says.
UN close to landmark deal on aircraft emissions
3 Oct 2016
A UN negotiation is inching towards a landmark deal to curb emissions from airplanes, although environmental groups have warned that the plan will not go far enough to help slow climate change.
10 things you should know about climate change
3 Oct 2016
No 6: Two hundred million people live within one vertical metre of present-day sea-level, and current estimates about future sea-level rise might be on the low side.
Nation still dining out on fossil fuels, report shows
30 Sep 2016
New Zealanders continue to guzzle fossil fuels, with 76 per cent of the country’s energy last year coming from oil, gas and coal, Government figures show.
Ten things you should know about climate change ...
30 Sep 2016
No 5: Why are scientists are so sure that the warming is human-induced?
Every future Prius might be a plug-in hybrid
30 Sep 2016
Toyota is considering making every future Prius a plug-in hybrid.
Farewell to green movement's prince of permaculture
30 Sep 2016
Permaculture pioneer Bill Mollison, who died last weekend, was one of the true heroes of the modern environmental movement.
Rising emissions mean NZ will miss Paris targets
29 Sep 2016
New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions are set to double between 1990 and 2030 – and even with a carbon price of $50 a tonne, we could still be short of our Paris Agreement pledge by 143 million tonnes.
Failing RMA needs better tools, says environment report
29 Sep 2016
Greater use of market instruments could be good for the environment, says a new report on the Resource Management Act.
Ten things you should know about climate change …
29 Sep 2016
No 4: The poles are warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet.
China vows cuts at home, but grows coal abroad
29 Sep 2016
Chinese companies and banks are continuing to drive global coal expansion, as state owned companies backed by state loans build coal-fired power plants across the world.
Govt learns we can't cut emissions and sell more milk
28 Sep 2016
The Government knows its economic strategy of increasing agricultural exports cannot go on if New Zealand is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a confidential paper shows.
Food supply fears spark China's global land grab
28 Sep 2016
China is protecting itself against future food supply problems caused by climate change by buying or leasing large tracts of land in Africa and South America, a leading UK climate scientist says.
Ten things you should know about climate change …
28 Sep 2016
No 3: The year 2015 was the warmest on record, but the last record cold year was more than a century ago, in 1909.
Farming mega-mergers threaten food security
28 Sep 2016
Proposed new deals would put the majority of seeds, chemicals and GM traits in the hands of three companies, deepening poverty for small-scale farmers.
Voluntary actions have role, says carbon certifier
27 Sep 2016
Voluntary carbon credits can help to meet New Zealand’s Paris Agreement target, Parliament has been told.
Are we finally about to get an aviation emissions deal?
27 Sep 2016
Delegates from more than 190 nations today will begin an 11-day meeting in Montreal to determine the final form of a scheme to reduce greenhouse emissions from the aviation industry.
Ten things you should know about climate change …
27 Sep 2016
No 2: Ninety-three per cent of the heat from humans’ global warming has gone into the ocean, along with 25 per cent of the carbon dioxide.
Burning existing fossil fuels will break the Paris bank
27 Sep 2016
Burning all the carbon in existing coal mines and developed oil and gas fields will push the world past the Paris Agreement climate limit.
Name your price at market stacked with waste food
27 Sep 2016
Customers pay what they like at the first waste food supermarket to open in the UK.
Scientists find better way to run gas turbines
27 Sep 2016
Molybdenum silicides can improve the efficiency of turbine blades in ultra-high-temperature combustion systems, researchers at Kyoto University have found.
SCIENCE AT WORK: Measuring the meltwater
27 Sep 2016
During the past decade, American scientist Joel Harper has spent nearly a year of his life on the Greenland ice sheet to study how meltwater impacts the movement of the ice.
France bans plastic plates, cups, cutlery
27 Sep 2016
France has become the world’s first country to pass a law banning plastic plates, cups and utensils unless they contain a large proportion of compostable or biologically sourced materials.
Why NZ doesn't need foreign carbon credits
26 Sep 2016
New Zealand could meet its Paris Agreement pledge without using foreign carbon credits and develop a $6 billion industry at the same time, says the Bioenergy Association.
Ten things you should know about climate change …
26 Sep 2016
No 1: New Zealand has the longest carbon dioxide record in the Southern Hemisphere.
US students pressure Auckland to divest
26 Sep 2016
Auckland University is now under pressure from students at US university Yale to get out of fossil-fuel investments.
Polluted rivers become deadly threat to millions
26 Sep 2016
More than half the rivers of Asia, Africa and Latin America have become more dangerous in the past 20 years, with steep rises in organic and pathogen pollution.
China to slow green growth after boom
26 Sep 2016
After installing more wind and solar farms than anywhere else on the planet, China is ratcheting back the pace of growth in an industry that’s helped lower the costs of green energy worldwide.
Sometimes the research doesn't do the job
26 Sep 2016
Research has shown that models used by economists to calculate the effects of climate change policies can produce polar opposite recommendations.
Why we might have trouble phasing out HFCs
23 Sep 2016
New Zealand is among more than 100 countries calling for an early phase-out of use of the potent greenhouse gas hydroflourocarbon – which could be a challenge, because this country’s use of it appears to be rising.
NZ will join aviation emissions agreement
23 Sep 2016
New Zealand will join an international market-based system to reduce aviation emissions, the Government has just announced.
Soil carbon storage not the fix we thought
23 Sep 2016
Hopes that large amounts of planet-warming carbon dioxide could be buried in soils appear to be grossly misplaced, with new research finding that the ground will soak up far less carbon over the coming century than previously thought.
What we can do about threats to our food security and feed nine billion people
23 Sep 2016
Can we really feed nine billion people? That’s the estimated global population in the year 2050.
Dire climate impacts go unheeded
23 Sep 2016
The social and economic impacts of climate change have already begun to take their toll – but most people do not yet know this.
Solar behemoth arises in China
23 Sep 2016
A massive 2-gigawatt solar project is under development in China's Ningxia region. The $2.34 billion project will need about six million panels and will likely be the world's largest solar farm.
Asia eyes renewable energy super grid
23 Sep 2016
Entrepreneurs in China, Russia, Japan and South Korea have signed a memorandum of understanding which sets out plans to create an Asian renewable energy super grid.
NZ mulls over stand on aviation emissions
22 Sep 2016
New Zealand is considering its position on international plans to reduce the aviation industry’s impact on the climate.
No way, Nick, you can't claim credit for the ETS
22 Sep 2016
The Government is doing it again – claiming to have introduced the Emissions Trading Scheme when it actually voted against it.
Emissions targets need all-electric cars
22 Sep 2016
A new study says that achieving limits on temperature rise agreed at last year’s Paris climate conference will require a massive switch to zero emissions electric-powered vehicles, coupled with the development of a completely decarbonised power sector.
Tokyo wants self-drive cars for 2020 Olympics
22 Sep 2016
Tokyo aims to introduce self-driving vehicles by the time the Olympic Games are staged there in 2020.
Study sees carbon price reaching $60 by 2030
21 Sep 2016
Carbon could be $60 a tonne by 2030, boosting renewables and fuelling a drive toward energy efficiency, a new report shows.
CARMAGEDDON | Let's face it, cars always were a dumb idea
21 Sep 2016
It was a mistake – a monumental, world-class mistake. Cars for everyone was one of the most stupid promises politicians ever made.
Native American pipeline resistance is about climate justice
21 Sep 2016
Over the past months, hundreds of indigenous persons and their allies have gathered near the crossing of the Missouri and Cannon Ball rivers in the ancestral territories of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.
New patent boosts CO2 capture hopes
21 Sep 2016
A technology that could in theory catch 90 per cent of carbon dioxide from coal-fired power stations has been patented by US government scientists.
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.
