New Zealand: All stories
Government stays quiet on emission trading plans
27 Jan 2015
The Government still isn’t talking about this year’s scheduled review of the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Climate-conscious Labour leader means business
27 Jan 2015
Businesses showing leadership on climate change can expect to get the ear of new Labour Party leader Andrew Little.
Register sees fewer carbon units
27 Jan 2015
More than 150 million carbon units passed through the New Zealand register last year.
CarbonScape 'crowd' get shares
27 Jan 2015
Investors in New Zealand’s largest equity crowd-funding offer have received their shares.
Climate’s threat to wheat is rising by degrees
27 Jan 2015
Worldwide field trials show that just one degree of warming could slash wheat yields by 42 million tonnes and cause devastating shortages of this vital staple food.
Energy pours into cutting-edge conservation ideas
27 Jan 2015
A battery that could treble electric car mileage and cut costs is among the innovations moving closer to reality on the frontiers of science.
Coal casts cloud over Germany’s energy revolution
27 Jan 2015
The energy market in Germany saw a spectacular change last year as renewable energy became the major source of its electricity supply − leaving lignite, coal and nuclear behind.
Sun and wind could make electricity too cheap to meter
27 Jan 2015
Our children will enjoy in their homes electrical energy too cheap to meter, said Lewis L Strauss, chair of the US Atomic Energy Commission, in 1954.
Energy leaders fret about uncertainties
27 Jan 2015
Energy leaders see price volatility and the future of a climate framework as the biggest uncertainties facing the industry.
UN stresses need for genetic diversity
27 Jan 2015
Knowledge of agricultural genetic resources needs to grow more quickly because of the critical role they have to play in feeding the world as climate change advances faster than expected, according to the United Nations.
Africa will be able to feed itself within the next 15 years
27 Jan 2015
Africa will be able to feed itself in the next 15 years. That’s one of the big “bets on the future” that Bill and Melinda Gates (http://www.gatesfoundation.org/) have made in their foundation’s latest annual letter.
Kiwi keeps an eye on Qatar project environment
27 Jan 2015
A New Zealander is in the Middle East working to reduce the environmental impacts of a major sea port project.
Your energy ideas could win $4m
27 Jan 2015
New Zealand companies with ground-breaking renewable energy technologies are being invited to compete for a slice of a $US4 million prize.
Dairying costs exceed export income, says report
22 Dec 2014
Dairying is probably costing the country more than it earns in export revenue.
Transport and heating force up gas emissions
22 Dec 2014
Greenhouse gas emissions from energy are up as the burning of gas and oil for transport and heating cancels out gains from renewable electricity production.
Minister's transport plan just tokenism, says expert
22 Dec 2014
The Government is being accused of tokenism in its attempts to cut greenhouse gas emissions from transport.
World wood production just grows and grows
22 Dec 2014
Global wood production has recovered from the economic downturn of 2008-2009 and is showing steady growth for the fourth consecutive year.
Extremes a concern as planet gets hotter and colder
22 Dec 2014
Scientists predict that lethal heat waves in Europe, and ice storms and big freezes across the globe, could become regular events if greenhouse gas emissions are not controlled.
Health fears see New York ban fracking
22 Dec 2014
The administration of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has banned hydraulic fracturing in the state, citing public health concerns.
Chile’s mines set hot pace in renewables
22 Dec 2014
Mining is the fourth-largest energy consumer in Australia, using roughly 10 per cent of Australia’s total. Some of this comes from the electricity grid — but much is supplied off-grid in the form of diesel and other fossil fuels.
Organic techniques closing gap on farming yields
22 Dec 2014
The unintended consequences of the agricultural food system – polluted air and water, dead zones in coastal seas, soil erosion – have profound environment implications for human health and the environment. So more sustainable agricultural practices are needed as soon as possible.
English goes silent on carbon deficit costs
15 Dec 2014
The Government is refusing to discuss what impact a 2030 carbon deficit will have on the economy – despite warnings from Treasury.
Climate expert: It's all smoke and mirrors, Mr Groser
15 Dec 2014
New Zealand is using smoke and mirrors to meet its 2020 emissions reduction target, when it could get there by using clean heating and transport technologies, says one of our leading scientists.
Fossil fuel probe under way as NZ goes exploring
15 Dec 2014
New Zealand is expanding oil and gas exploration at the same time as Britain probes the likely cost of stranded fossil-fuel assets.
What did the Romans ever do for us? They left a water warning
15 Dec 2014
As all good Monty Python fans know, water technologies feature large in the legacy of benefits left by Roman civilisation.
UN launches new coalition to promote renewable energy
15 Dec 2014
The launch of a new coalition spearheaded by the United Nations Environment Programme will focus on boosting renewable energy usage around the world.
Australia takes action on energy market reform
15 Dec 2014
The Australian Government is leading a new focus on reforms to put downward pressure on electricity prices and give Australian consumers greater power over their energy bills.
Bank of England probes risk of fossil fuel assets
15 Dec 2014
In a move that’s likely to cause consternation in some of the world’s most powerful corporate boardrooms, the Bank of England has disclosed that it is launching an inquiry into the risks fossil fuel companies pose to overall financial stability.
Eels worth the effort, says environment watchdog
15 Dec 2014
New Zealand needs to put more effort into protecting long-fin eels, or tuna, says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
We're facing a $3b carbon crisis ... and it could be worse
8 Dec 2014
New Zealand has a $3 billion carbon headache looming – and Treasury says that’s the conservative estimate.
The country needs a carbon budget, says pressure group
8 Dec 2014
A climate change lobby group is calling for a national carbon budget and legally binding emissions reduction targets.
Groser has a cunning plan (but he won't say what it is)
8 Dec 2014
Climate Change Minister Tim Groser says New Zealand will “push the envelope” on post-2020 emissions reductions.
Investiors back clean coke with close on $700,000
8 Dec 2014
New Zealand clean-tech pioneer CarbonScape raised nearly $700,000 through its crowd-sourcing campaign.
Why our ‘silent ally’ soils are on the endangered list
8 Dec 2014
The world is not paying enough attention to its soil – our silent ally – says the United Nations.
Outlook bright for UK’s solar power potential
8 Dec 2014
Solar energy is sometimes dismissed as a fanciful idea with little to offer so far in such a cloudy country as the United Kingdom, but a new report says power from the sun could thrive in Britain in barely five years’ time − without the need for any subsidy.
It doesn't take much to turn up the temperature
8 Dec 2014
Start the car, turn on the gas under the kettle, shovel some coal on the fire. Each time that happens, another pulse of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere.
Paper mill sets new benchmarks for best practice
8 Dec 2014
Manufacturing benchmarks achieved by a rural South Australian factory are being shared and instituted across the world by global manufacturing giant Kimberly-Clark.
Lines company loves its electric cars
8 Dec 2014
Auckland lines company Vector says its electric vehicles are proving to be immensely popular with staff.
Labour vows to watch work and the new economy
1 Dec 2014
The Labour Party’s Future of Work Commission will include analysis of the impacts on work of climate change and the low-carbon economy.
Govt hopes Kyoto credits will cover emissions blow-out
1 Dec 2014
The Government will use international Kyoto credits received in what’s known as the KP1 true-up to cover its emissions blow-out.
Memo farmers: Learn to manage your methanotrophs
1 Dec 2014
Farmers could cut their future exposure to carbon prices by looking after the methanotrophs in their soils, a soil scientist says.
Fitzsimons putting her money where her heart is
1 Dec 2014
Due diligence in investments has a slightly different connotation for retired politician Jeanette Fitzsimons.
One Plan water approval seen as ground-breaking
1 Dec 2014
The signing of the Horizon Regional Council’s One Plan after a decade of debate, legal action and controversy is being hailed by Fish & Game as a landmark in the battle to protect the nation’s water quality.
Climate change health action urgent, say doctors
1 Dec 2014
The need for rapid action on climate change in New Zealand in order to protect health is clear, according to a group of climate and health experts.
Why playing around with the climate could make things a whole lot worse
1 Dec 2014
Geoengineering – which sometimes seems to be the despairing climate scientist’s Plan B – simply won’t work.
Getting out of fossil fuel investment is the right way to go
1 Dec 2014
The controversy ignited by the Australian National University in October, when it decided to sell its shares in seven resources companies, has raised two important questions about divestment from assets such as fossil fuels.
Queensland risks running the well dry by gifting water to coal
1 Dec 2014
The Queensland parliament has passed water reform legislation that will make it easier to take and use water, particularly for large mining and agriculture projects.
Beyond the poo bus ... the many uses of human waste
1 Dec 2014
A British went into service last week, powered by biomethane energy derived from human waste at a sewage plant.
Scientists find new fuel job for sawdust
1 Dec 2014
Researchers at KU Leuven’s Centre for Surface Chemistry and Catalysis, in Belgium, have converted sawdust into building blocks for gasoline.
Two join Green Building Council board
1 Dec 2014
Hawkins Construction chief executive Gary Walker and INZIDE Commercial co-owner Steve Aschebrock have joined the board of the Green Building Council.
ETS a ‘broken paradigm’ undercutting biodiversity efforts
25 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Pure Advantage is calling on the government to reform the Emissions Trading Scheme, with a new policy briefing saying that New Zealand’s offset-heavy approach is a “broken paradigm” undermining biodiversity and shifting risk to communities.
Transpower on track to meet core emissions targets
Mon 1 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transpower’s total greenhouse gas footprint increased year-on-year due to higher emissions from its value chain, but the company says that making sure infrastructure is in place to enable the country's energy transition is the biggest contribution it can make to reducing emissions.
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
Marginal drop in last year's regional emissions
27 Aug 2025
Regional greenhouse gas emissions were down slightly last year, with a fall in gas supply leading to a big drop in Taranaki, but more coal burnt leading to higher emissions in Waikato, according to new figures from Stats NZ
Fund for low emissions transport winds up
31 Jul 2025
New Zealand’s Low Emission Transport Fund has officially wrapped up, ending a nine-year programme that put hundreds of millions of dollars towards accelerating the country’s shift to cleaner transport.
Certainty crucial to emissions cuts – Watts
20 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says that policy certainty is the Government’s primary lever for unlocking private capital and meeting climate targets, telling a carbon forestry conference that ETS settings are 'locked' through 2030.
Climate-friendly investment still lagging in NZ
Tue 2 Sep 2025
While local financial firms have made recent strides in climate governance and emissions reporting, New Zealand’s institutional investors are still missing in action when it comes to backing clean technologies and climate solutions, according to a new report.
