New Zealand: All stories
Europe’s renewables spending hits 10-year low
7 Jun 2016
The reputation of Europe as a renewable energy leader has taken a serious knock as its investment dropped by 21 per cent last year while global figures reached record levels.
What in the world is a Watly?
7 Jun 2016
MARCO A. ATTISANI’s company, Watly, has built a device that uses solar to desalinise water and generate electricity at the same time. He marked World Environment Day on Sunday with a message for other businesses.
Nuclear plants face global crisis of ageing
7 Jun 2016
The nuclear industry worldwide faces an escalating battle to keep ageing reactors running as about a quarter of components and computer systems become obsolete.
Airlines accused of backsliding on climate deal
7 Jun 2016
Leading air carriers have claimed they would support a new market-based scheme to curb emissions – but many remain unconvinced.
Ten EU countries sign offshore wind power pact
7 Jun 2016
Ten northern European countries have agreed to cooperate on offshore wind power infrastructure and regulations.
BHP steps up carbon storage efforts
7 Jun 2016
BHP Billiton is stepping up its efforts to bolster the use of technology to capture and store carbon emissions, by funding a joint research program with Peking University, which is aimed at slashing carbon emissions in the industrial sector.
Investors bet coal has a future as backup
7 Jun 2016
A Prague-based company is buying up coal plants in Europe with the goal of securing the facilities as the backup energy supply to solar plants and wind farms.
New report backs e-cars over solar panels
3 Jun 2016
A second report has backed electric vehicles over solar panels for cutting greenhouses gas emissions in New Zealand.
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.
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.
