New Zealand: All stories
Bye-bye bike, Postman Pat will soon drive a Paxster
3 Jun 2016
New Zealand Post’s first electric vans have arrived.
VW to make big electric-car commitment
3 Jun 2016
Volkswagen is reportedly considering building its own battery factory as part of a large commitment to electric cars. The company is targeting sales of one million electric cars within 10 years.
Volvo concept trucks cut fuel by a third
3 Jun 2016
A Volvo project, which already has returned fuel cuts of 30 per cent, ultimately aims to double long-haul truck efficiency through aerodynamic and other fuel-saving features.
Chile has so much solar energy it's giving it away
3 Jun 2016
Chile’s solar industry has expanded so quickly that it’s giving electricity away for free.
SOUTHERN COMFORT: Southland sets the new-energy style
2 Jun 2016
New Zealand needs regional emissions reduction targets as well as a national target, our southern- most region says.
Energy solutions need leaders, money and ideas
2 Jun 2016
Solving the energy trilemma requires policy leadership and investment in new technologies, world energy leaders are being told.
Entrepreneurs join green-growth organisation
2 Jun 2016
Internationally successful entrepreneurs Victoria Ransom and Katherine Corich are new trustees for the business-led green growth organisation Pure Advantage.
Dams could be backup for melted glacier water
2 Jun 2016
Building dams at the bottom of disappearing glaciers to capture the runoff from melting mountain snow will be needed later this century to prevent widespread water shortages in the summer months.
Renewable energy smashes global records
2 Jun 2016
An upsurge in new wind, solar and hydro plants and capacity saw renewable energy smash global records last year, according to a report on new supply.
German leader agrees to put brakes on green energy
2 Jun 2016
German chancellor Angela Merkel has hammered out a deal with state premiers on the latest reform to Germany’s renewable energy law aimed at curbing the costs and controlling the speed of the roll-out of green power sources.
Could baking-soda sponge mop up carbon emissions?
2 Jun 2016
Scientists in California are testing sponges made with the key ingredient of baking soda as a way of capturing carbon emissions.
CLIMATE CO-OP: Welcome to Coalition of the Willing
1 Jun 2016
The announcement yesterday of a formal working relationship between the Labour and Green parties is a potential turning-point in New Zealand’s battle to adapt to climate change.
YES! We have ideas ... lots of them
1 Jun 2016
The organisers of yesterday’s Yes We Can! seminar on how to transition the New Zealand energy system to a low-carbon future have got a good problem – too many ideas.
Farm trust chief ends 10 years at helm
1 Jun 2016
New Zealand Farm Environment Trust general manager David Natzke is stepping down after a decade at the helm.
Southern long-fin eels to go it alone
1 Jun 2016
Management of at-risk native long-fin eels in the South Island is to be separated from management of their short-fin cousins.
New York to cut emissions by 100%
1 Jun 2016
Lawmakers in New York have introduced a bill aimed at cutting the state's greenhouse gas emissions by 100 per cent by 2050.
How we can slash emissions from industrial buildings
31 May 2016
New Zealand could cut greenhouse gas emissions by nearly a million tonnes a year by 2030 through better energy management in commercial buildings, says the Energy Management Association.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: We're being taught not to waste it
31 May 2016
New Zealanders are about to get lessons in how not to waste food.
Diplomat takes on agriculture emissions job
31 May 2016
New Zealand’s Ambassador to Argentina has got a new job – selling the importance of finding ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.
Funding round opens for emissions research
31 May 2016
The fourth round of the funding for research to cut agricultural greenhouse gas emissions is open.
Norway commits to zero deforestation
31 May 2016
Norway has become the first country in the world to commit to zero deforestation.
Forests to cover 25% of China in eco project
31 May 2016
Nearly one quarter of China will be covered in forest by 2020 if the country implements its "eco-civilization" project.
How fracking can contribute to climate change
31 May 2016
Leakage of natural gas from drilling and pipework means more methane is entering the atmosphere.
OFF TARGET: Carbon over-shoot could cost billions
30 May 2016
Officials warned the Government that New Zealand was at risk of over-shooting its 2030 emissions reduction target by 150 million tonnes – due largely to subsidies to emitters and a stockpile of privately held carbon units.
Public signals support for scrapping of 1:2 subsidy
30 May 2016
Scrapping the one-for-two carbon subsidy has widespread support, if submissions on the current review of the Emissions Trading Scheme are anything to go by.
Catholic Bishops back agriculture in ETS
30 May 2016
An agency of New Zealand’s Catholic Bishops says agriculture must be brought into the Emissions Trading Scheme.
More work still needed on ETS, say foresters
30 May 2016
Phasing out the one-for-two carbon subsidy is a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done to get the Emissions Trading Scheme working - including bringing agriculture in - says the Wood Council.
Consultants reply to Solarcity crticism of report
30 May 2016
Last week, solar energy company Solarcity criticised a report by Concept Consulting, which said switching to electric vehicles would do more to cut greenhouse gas emissions in New Zealand than installing solar panels on roofs would do. Today, Concept Consulting director SIMON COATES replies:
Exxon chief: Ending oil production not acceptable
30 May 2016
Rex Tillerson, the boss of oil giant ExxonMobil, said cutting oil production was “not acceptable for humanity” as he fought off shareholders’ and activists’ attempts to force the company to fully acknowledge the impact of climate change on the environment and Exxon’s future profits.
Why energy crops have been a major flop with farmers
30 May 2016
Whatever happened to energy crops? A decade ago, the UK authorities confidently expected farmers to devote swaths of land to growing the likes of short-rotation willow and poplar and perennial grasses.
Nanotechnology can help us to grow more food
30 May 2016
With the world’s population expected to exceed nine billion by 2050, scientists are working to develop new ways to meet rising global demand for food, energy and water without increasing the strain on natural resources.
Trump: First on fossil fuels, last on climate change
30 May 2016
Donald Trump has vowed that if elected president he would dismantle the Paris global treaty and maximise the production of coal, oil and natural gas.
Government to snaffle 1:2 subsidy revenue
27 May 2016
Revenue from the scrapping of the one-for-two subsidy will not be earmarked to fund emissions-reduction policies.
What they said ...
27 May 2016
Budget – what they said on the removal of the one-for-two carbon subsidy:
$100m water package fails to impress scientists
27 May 2016
The Government's $100 million package to clean up water ways will do little while pollution is allowed to continue, scientists say.
World of clean energy soaks up 8 million workers
27 May 2016
More than 8.1 million people worldwide are now employed by the renewable energy industry – a 5 per cent increase from last year.
Exxon rejects shareholder climate demands
27 May 2016
Following the recommendation of the ExxonMobil board of directors, shareholders voted against six resolutions that would have addressed climate change at the company's annual shareholder meeting in Dallas yesterday.
Farming’s dirty needs have a deadly effect
27 May 2016
Farming is a dirty business – so dirty now that, according to new research, air pollution from agriculture in the form of fine particles of lung-choking dust outweighs all other human sources of that kind of pollution.
PORK TALK: UN expert calls for tax on meat production
27 May 2016
Governments should tax meat production in order to stem the global rise in consumption and the environmental damage that goes with it, according to a UN expert.
Where's my solar-powered phone?
27 May 2016
There are solar-powered streetlights and parking meters, but no smart phones yet. Scientific American investigates why.
BUDGET 2016: One-for-two goes but price cap stays
26 May 2016
The one-for-two subsidy to emitters will be phased out from January, but the $25 price cap and the allocation of free credits to trade-exposed heavy emitters are staying, the Government has just announced in the Budget.
Carbon prices jump after Budget breakthrough
26 May 2016
Carbon prices jumped this afternoon on confirmation that the one-for-two subsidy is to be phased out, and could reach $20 by the end of the year.
NATS' 19%: Bennett blames population growth
26 May 2016
New Zealand’s net greenhouse gas emissions have gone up 19 per cent under the National Government – and Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett is blaming population growth.
Minister puts figure on hot-air credits
26 May 2016
More than a quarter of the units New Zealand used to meet its Kyoto commitments were hot-air credits, Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett said in Parliament yesterday.
New report sees world of expanding carbon markets
26 May 2016
Carbon markets will expand on the back of the Paris Agreement, and carbon prices will need to rise to between $50 and $66 for the world to meet the climate change agreement’s goals, a new survey says.
US insurance aid props up climate-risk homes
26 May 2016
Lloyd’s, one of the world’s biggest insurance companies, says the US government must stop providing insurance subsidies to homeowners building on flood plains and in coastal areas exposed to mounting risks related to climate change.
Cattle drugs could fuel climate change, study suggests
26 May 2016
Dosing farm animals with antibiotics increases greenhouse gas emissions from cow dung, research suggests.
Now hear this ...
26 May 2016
If the development of international carbon markets is your idea of a good story, settle back with your headphones and listen to this.
China solar has coal in its sights
26 May 2016
Declining costs in China’s solar industry could allow the government to reduce prices offered to photovoltaic developers by more than a third by 2020 and see plants powered by the sun become competitive with coal within a decade.
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.
