New Zealand: All stories
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.
US now has 27.2 gigawatts of solar energy
26 May 2016
One million solar power installations now dot America's rooftops and landscape, an achievement being hailed as a milestone by advocates of solar energy.
Shell to cut another 2200 jobs
26 May 2016
Royal Dutch Shell is to cut at least another 2,00 jobs, with around 475 of those coming from its UK and Ireland oil and gas production business.
Poland limits where wind farms can be built
26 May 2016
Poland has adopted a new law banning construction of wind farms close to dwellings and hiking project costs in a move which the industry says could hobble the country's move to renewables and away from coal.
PARIS PUSH: Pact could be ready to go next year
25 May 2016
The Paris Agreement could well come into force next year, says a New Zealander leading work to flesh out the details of the new global climate change pact.
Take a hard look at investments, insurers warned
25 May 2016
Insurance companies should be taking a hard look at their exposure to investment in fossil-fuel assets, a new report says.
Road taxes will pay for trains under Green government
25 May 2016
A Green government would fund rail from taxes, with an aim of getting half of the country’s total freight off roads by 2027.
Fracking makes US top fossil fuels producer
25 May 2016
Thanks to the fracking boom, the US has surpassed Saudi Arabia and Russia to become the world’s leading producer of oil in 2013. The US became the top natural gas producer in 2011, and has led the world in both oil and gas production for four years in a row.
Hyundai plans 250-mile EV for 2020
25 May 2016
Carmaker Hyundai is designing an electric vehicle with a 250-mile range for 2020.
Solar operator slams vested interests in pro-EV report
24 May 2016
A report that says switching to electric vehicles will do more to prevent climate change than would installing solar panels was funded by the big generators and lines companies with a vested interest in keeping solar out of the industry, says the head of an energy company using solar panels to generate power for its customers.
Punish the dirty drivers, urges e-car advocate
24 May 2016
The Government should fine people buying fossil fuel-burning vehicles and give the money to people who buy clean electric vehicles, says Waikato University’s professor of law.
GREEN GOOD: Beware of a business backlash
24 May 2016
Making money while doing good for the environment? Be careful how you tell your customers about it, or you might face a backlash.
Antarctic glacier melt could raise sea level by 3m
24 May 2016
One of Antarctica’s great glaciers could become unstable if global warming continues at the present pace.
Oil majors tread cautiously toward renewables
24 May 2016
The big oil companies’ on-off affair with renewable energies seems to be back on track.
Coal-giant shareholders vote for disclosure
24 May 2016
Glencore investors have agreed that the largest exporter of coal burned for power should provide more information on risks to its business from growing levels of government legislation to tackle climate change.
Global EV sales will increase fivefold within five years
24 May 2016
Global electric vehicle revenue will likely reach $58 billion in 2021, representing a fivefold increase from 2015.
CARBON CRISIS: Our emissions up a whopping 56%
23 May 2016
New Zealand’s net greenhouse gas emissions – the amount it actually contributes to damaging the climate – rose a whopping 56.7 per cent over 24 years in which it was supposed to be cutting emissions, new Government data shows.
Scientists can't do it alone, says PM's adviser
23 May 2016
The Prime Minister’s chief science adviser has told a United Nations forum that scientists and policy-makers need to work together on issues like climate change.
Climate food shocks not good news for us, says report
23 May 2016
Climate change-induced food shocks will have a negative effect on New Zealand’s economy, researchers say.
Farming needs to play a lead role to meet Paris targets
23 May 2016
Researchers say new technical and policy solutions, plus major investment, are needed for agriculture to help to make the emissions reductions required to meet Paris targets.
Supersized ship, supersized pollution problem
23 May 2016
As Harmony of the Seas sets sail from Southampton docks today she will leave behind a trail of pollution – a toxic problem that is growing as the cruise industry and its ships get ever bigger.
Proud Portugal just set a renewable energy record
23 May 2016
Portugal last week set a record for renewable energy use. Through a combination of hydroelectric, solar, and wind power, electricity use in the country was completely covered for four consecutive days.
I agree this is serious, Bennett tells scientists
20 May 2016
A group of scientists and other prominent New Zealanders has had a reply to a letter accusing the Government of an “indefensible” lack of leadership on climate change.
We should skite a bit, says our peanut butter king
20 May 2016
New Zealand manufacturers should be skiting to the world about making food and groceries with renewable energy, says Pic’s Peanut Butter chief executive Pic Picot.
Student finds way to make use of dumped plastic
20 May 2016
A New Zealand student has come up with a plan to recycle waste plastic in Pacific nations using 3-D printers.
Indonesia deepens reliance on coal power
20 May 2016
Indonesia, already one of the world’s biggest carbon emitters, plans to build a further 100 coal-fired power stations by 2019.
Europe has high hopes for smart meters
20 May 2016
Europe’s move to replace at least 80 per cent of electricity meters with smart meters could cut greenhouse gas emissions in the region by 9 per cent.
Outcry as Norway opens new areas to exploration
20 May 2016
Norway has warded Arctic drilling licences to 13 oil companies, including in a hitherto unexplored part of the Barents Sea, drawing condemnation from environmental groups.
Energy awards show what the country can do
19 May 2016
Innovations worth 1.2 petajoules of energy and 120,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions were honoured in Auckland last night.
BLOWIN' IN THE WIND: China's desertification dust is even reaching our shores
19 May 2016
Dust and sand storms in China have intensified and now pose provocative geopolitical challenges. Traces of China’s deserts have been found as far away as New Zealand and the French Alps.
Glad tidings for the potential of sea power
19 May 2016
Two countries with the highest tides in the world, Canada and the UK, both claim to be the world leaders in creating electricity from the tides.
Europe needs independent carbon market regulator
19 May 2016
Europe needs an independent carbon market regulator with clear objectives rather than the current mix of state administrators and the European Commission that has complicated the market, says the chief executive of Total.
Renewables leaving natural gas in the dust
19 May 2016
In the first three months of 2016, the U.S. grid added 18 megawatts of new natural gas generating capacity. It added a whopping 1291MW of new renewables.The renewables were primarily wind (707 MW) and solar (522 MW).
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With New Zealand's $1.3 billion international climate finance commitment set to end with no clarity on what follows, the Auditor-General says oversight of that funding remains patchy and long-term outcomes are unclear.
NZ hydrogen regulation to catch up with the world
18 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The government has announced a regulatory reset for New Zealand’s emerging clean tech hydrogen sector.
State-owned farmer drives profit growth with emissions reductions
19 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Government-owned Landcorp, trading as Pāmu, is one-third of the way to meeting its 2031 emissions reduction targets, with five years left to run to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30.3% against 2021 emissions.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transport pollution was the biggest contributor to an increase in New Zealand’s consumption-based emissions in 2023, with emissions from household travel up 12%, and consumption-based emissions totalling 58.3 million tonnes – up 1.6% from the previous year.
NZ could become ‘dumping ground’ for dirty vehicles: Commissioner
16 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Simon Upton, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, has warned the Government that its changes to the clean car standard could turn the country into a dumping ground for high emitting cars, making future emissions budgets harder to achieve.
Uncertainty eroding confidence in forestry sector
5 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Warnings are mounting that tree planting is set to plunge to “very close to zero”, as new Ministry for Primary Industries data shows ETS registration applications falling sharply as confidence in forestry declines.
Investors must support positive climate-tech
28 Nov 2025
OPINION: We need better leadership than the current ‘climate opportunism’ that is rife in the Beehive, and we need to back a marketplace that will make it happen, writes Rob Campbell.
