New Zealand: All stories
Gas will replace oil in the UK – with or without fracking
9 Feb 2015
MPs in the UK recently needed more time voted against a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, but Lancashire, the local county council under most pressure, agreed it
Can Americans save the environment and expand oil drilling?
9 Feb 2015
In a few months, we will mark the five-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Canberra to get wind power from South Australia
9 Feb 2015
A South Australian wind farm has won the bid to provide the Australian Capital Territory with renewable energy.
Trading will be back, say Australian businesses
2 Feb 2015
Most Australian businesses believe the country will return to an emissions trading scheme or a carbon tax by 2020.
NZ investors ignore fossil fuel warning signs
2 Feb 2015
New Zealand businesses are failing to read the warnings about investing in fossil fuels, says Morgan Foundation chief Geoff Simmons.
Churches reject State's fossil fuel view
2 Feb 2015
The State in New Zealand might still favour investment in fossil fuels, but increasingly our churches do not.
More green tourists asking environmental questions
2 Feb 2015
Tourists from across the world are increasingly demanding environmentally sustainable holidays.
Carbon pricing the challenge for the future
2 Feb 2015
The concept of carbon pricing as a tool to combat climate change is broadly accepted by the international community. But at what price, and under what conditions?
Welcome to 2015 where fracking changes everything
2 Feb 2015
Forget, for the moment, whether you think fracking is an energy godsend or an endtimes disaster. Just consider how it’s everywhere.
Fracking and local jobs … a false promise
2 Feb 2015
In a surprise decision that led to consternation in the oil and gas industry and elation among fracking opponents, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in December banned fracking in the state.
Yes minister, but ...
2 Feb 2015
In a piece published in the Guardian recently, Australian Environment Minister Greg Hunt was purported to have once again rejected claims that a price on carbon would benefit emissions reduction targets.
Will Obama’s methane plan reduce dependence on natural gas?
2 Feb 2015
By NATHAN PHILLIPS.- Like many Americans concerned with climate change and energy security, I reacted with high hopes to the President Obama’s proposal to reduce leaks of methane gas from oil and gas drilling.
Going down ... green lifts can cut building costs
2 Feb 2015
More energy-efficient elevators can significantly reduce the costs of operating a building, a new study shows.
Nutrients maker helping farmers to go green
2 Feb 2015
Ballance Agri-Nutrients has launched a specialist team to help farmers to navigate increasingly complex environmental regulations and consent requirements to promote clean green land, rivers and streams.
Bank moves in on sustainability
2 Feb 2015
Environmental sustainability is one of the topics being added to the ANZ’s Privately Owned Business Barometer survey this year.
Forest owners seek truth about dairying
27 Jan 2015
Foresters are calling for an honest analysis of the costs of the intensification of dairying.
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.
‘Pathetic': experts slam govt’s approach to adaptation
Mon 20 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has signalled it will step back from full property buyouts if assets are hit by climate disasters, a move adaptation experts say will condemn hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders to a “dismal” future.
Electricity Authority proposes doubling solar export limits to 10 kW
Mon 20 Oct 2025
The Electricity Authority is proposing a default 10kW export limit for small-scale generation, saying new inverter standards and voltage settings allow homes and businesses to feed more power into local networks without compromising safety.
All carrot, no stick for farmers on methane
Fri 17 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: The abandonment of methane emissions pricing and the adoption of a weaker target is effectively the last nail in the coffin of the historic cross-parliamentary consensus embedded in the Zero Carbon Act 2019.
Govt releases updated emissions projections
13 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Ministry for the Environment has released updated emissions projections to 2050, which show significant differences to the Climate Change Commission's recent projections for the same period.
Air NZ inks deal for its first internationally verified carbon credits
9 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Air New Zealand has committed to buying 8000 tonnes of carbon removals by 2030, in partnership with local native forest investment platform My Native Forest.
Emails show forestry lobby fought Gisborne crackdown as slash clean-up drags on
26 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Sustainable land use advocates are accusing Eastland Wood Council of stonewalling efforts to tighten forestry rules, after correspondence between the group and the local council was released under the Official Information Act.
Climate credibility gap widening for Aussie firms
1 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Australian public companies’ climate change commitments are in retreat, reflecting difficulty in achieving stated targets and increased fossil use, but not because of any pressure to make less effort, according to a study of major companies’ ESG reporting.
