New Zealand: All stories
Green buildings need to seen outside the CBD
21 Mar 2014
Australia is allegedly in the midst of a green building revolution, powered by the awarding of ratings to developers who build sustainable buildings, writes JOREN van der HEIJDEN, Associate Professor of Environmental Governance at Australian National University.
Climate scientists 3, economists 0
21 Mar 2014
Hold up the trophy. Open the champagne. Climate scientists have easily won the game. According to a recent study, when it comes to the accuracy of forecasts and projections, the climate side is much better at the game than the economists’ team, says KIEREN COOKE.
Burger chain goes free-range
21 Mar 2014
Home-grown burger chain Burger Fuel says it will use only free-range chicken in its New Zealand outlets.
Canberra outlines new farm opportunities
21 Mar 2014
The Australian Government says it is making it easier for farmers and landholders to be able to participate in the Emissions Reduction Fund by storing carbon in their soil, improving farm productivity and contributing to action on climate change.
Our cities need attention, say planners
21 Mar 2014
More collaboration is needed to deal with the country’s burgeoning urban growth issues, says a new report by the New Zealand Planning Institute.
Scientists raise threat of methane in rivers
21 Mar 2014
By TIM RADFORD.- British scientists have identified yet another twist to the threat of global warming. Any further rises in temperature are likely to accelerate the release of methane from rivers, lakes, deltas, bogs, swamps, marshlands and rice paddy fields.
Cunliffe's vision shows green economy blindspot
14 Mar 2014
Labour leader David Cunliffe has just given a speech on the future of New Zealand’s economy - without mentioning clean technology and the green economy.
Beehive still silent on demand to lift carbon prices
14 Mar 2014
There’s still no word from the Government on whether it will boost carbon prices to avoid a $600 million Treaty of Waitangi claim.
Public wary of DOC's new business role
14 Mar 2014
Getting into bed with business could affect the Department of Conservation’s ability to protect New Zealand’s fresh water, the public fears.
Farmers remain free of emissions obligations
14 Mar 2014
The Government is all but ruling out making agriculture responsible for its greenhouse gas emissions next year.
Key downgrades New York climate talks
14 Mar 2014
Holding the general election on September 20 could mean New Zealand doesn’t have a leader in place to attend the United Nations’ Climate Summit in New York.
Now you can check it out before you buy ... by phone
14 Mar 2014
A new product certification system lets consumers check over their phones the environmental and social sustainability of New Zealand food products.
Should climate deniers be brought to book?
14 Mar 2014
Is misinformation about the climate criminally negligent, asks Rochester Institute of Technology Assistant Professor of Philosophy, LAWRENCE TORCELLO.
Eight ways to better manage our livestock
14 Mar 2014
By TIM RADFORD.- British and international scientists have proposed eight strategies to make cattle and sheep-farming more sustainable, to make both the animals and people who depend on them healthier, and to reduce the strain on the planet.
MP wants power deal for Stewart Island
14 Mar 2014
New Zealand First is calling for a new source of power for Stewart Island.
Norway pumps pension money into renewables
14 Mar 2014
Norway's decision to use its massive wealth fund to invest in renewable energy projects sends a powerful message to other international investors, says an organisation campaigning for large-scale investment in the sector.
It's going to get warmer, says NASA
14 Mar 2014
A new NASA study shows Earth's climate is likely to continue warming during this century on track with previous estimates - despite the recent slowdown in the rate of global warming.
Wood foam joins the list of insulations
14 Mar 2014
By PAUL BROWN.- Every energy expert and scientist would agree that one of the cheapest and quickest ways to cut fossil fuel use and stave off dangerous climate change is better insulation of homes, factories and offices.
Nats push green achievements
14 Mar 2014
National is preparing to strut its environmental stuff this weekend, as its Bluegreens Forum gathers in Kaikoura.
Did Genghis Khan ride to world domination on the back of climate change?
14 Mar 2014
Climate change – already implicated in the fall of Bronze Age civilisations in the Mediterranean and in the Indus Valley - may also account for the rise of one of the most fearsome empires in history.
Reluctant PM fends off $600m iwi ultimatum
7 Mar 2014
The Prime Minister says he accepts that 50,000 new jobs would be created by Maori following through on a promise to plant one million hectares of new forest if the Government lifts carbon prices.
Government says no to national forest policy
7 Mar 2014
The Government is refusing to adopt a national forestry policy, despite relying on tree planting to meet international greenhouse gas emissions reductions obligations.
Labour plan aims to boost forestry
7 Mar 2014
The Labour Party is about to announce a policy using forestry to provide jobs and environmental services.
Beehive stays silent on NZUs auctions
7 Mar 2014
The Government still won’t confirm that it will not auction NZUs.
What do we do with the byproducts of fracking?
7 Mar 2014
Technology isn’t ready to clean up fracking’s radioactive legacy. By ALAN HERBERT, senior lecturer in radioactive waste disposal and remediation at the University of Birmingham, and TREVOR JONES, visiting lecturer in nuclear decommissioning and radioactive waste management at the University of Birmingham.
Europe must get serious about cutting back oil
7 Mar 2014
By ALEX KIRBY, London.- Europe has the technology and the raw material to make a big cut in the amount of oil its transport uses, researchers say - but it will fail to reap the benefits on offer unless the European Union comes up with more radical policies.
Worsening flood losses the face of the future
7 Mar 2014
As much of Europe recovers from the severest winter in several centuries, scientists say average annual flood losses could be almost five times greater by mid-century.
Is Beehive about to act on low carbon prices?
28 Feb 2014
The Government might be getting ready to finally take action on dismal domestic carbon prices.
Government knows how we can be carbon-neutral
28 Feb 2014
Planting just over half of New Zealand’s marginal land in forest would make the country carbon-neutral – and the Government knows it.
Big Wood keen on iwi carbon price action
28 Feb 2014
The wood sector is gearing up to join Maori in making carbon prices an election issue.
New ETS move aims to make clear origin of NZUs
28 Feb 2014
From April buyers will know whether the NZUs they are buying come from carbon sequestration or are free units given to emitters by taxpayers.
Morgan going to public with water campaign
28 Feb 2014
Businessman, economist and philanthropist Gareth Morgan is planning a public campaign over the state of New Zealand’s fresh water.
Taxpaper faces $500,000 bill for lake clean-up
28 Feb 2014
Cleaning up polluted Lake Horowhenua will cost taxpayers more than half a million dollars.
Lawmakers get 'pragmatic' about off-shore drilling
28 Feb 2014
The Government has decided that exploratory oil and gas wells at sea should be non-notified activities, a move it calls “pragmatic”.
Why Australia needs to increase emissions targets
28 Feb 2014
The Climate Change Authority’s new report on emission reduction targets makes a compelling argument for Australia to go much further in cutting greenhouse gas emissions, writes CLIVE HAMILTON, Vice-Chancellor's Chair, Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, Charles Sturt University.
Energy-wise dairy farmers could save millions
28 Feb 2014
Dairy farmers could collectively save $42 million through electricity efficiency measures in the dairy shed, says the Government's energy efficiency agency.
Credibility key selling point for green economy
28 Feb 2014
The idea of the “green economy goes in and out of fashion, not least because it is rarely defined and frequently misunderstood, writes PAUL EKINS, Professor of Resource and Environmental Policy, University College, London.
Grass above, kids below mark country's 100th sustainable building
28 Feb 2014
A Northland childcare centre with a grass roof, a Christchurch medical centre and a Tauranga office building with an innovative ventilation system are marking a milestone in New Zealand’s sustainable buildings.
Sydney emissions cuts plan hits the roof
28 Feb 2014
Sydney wants to put a trigeneration plant on the roof of its town hall as part of a drive to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 70 per cent by 2030.
F&P marks 20 years of recycling whiteware
28 Feb 2014
Plastics New Zealand president Simon Wilkinson explains how much whiteware manufacturer Fisher & Paykel has achieved in 20 years' of recycling:
And the answer is ...
28 Feb 2014
Answers to the 20 big questions about climate change - is it real, how do we know humans are causing it, does it matter, and more - have been provided this week by Britain and America's top scientists.
Greens' solar policy breath of fresh air
28 Feb 2014
Econergy managing director DAVID SENN says that the Green Party's plans to subsidise solar energy for householders should go further:
Sea-level rises threaten island havens
28 Feb 2014
Decades of work to create safe island havens for some of the world’s rarest species could be undone if sea levels rise as high as climate scientists predict, according to a new study.
Big emitters cash in on free carbon credits
21 Feb 2014
A loophole allowing heavy industrial emitters to coin it at the expense of taxpayers by selling free carbon credits is likely to be closed under a Labour-Greens government.
Angry Maori take carbon case to UN
21 Feb 2014
Frustrated Maori will take their carbon price grievances to the United Nations next week.
Iwi ultimatum earns support of political parties
21 Feb 2014
Iwi threatening to take a claim to the Waitangi Tribunal over carbon prices have the support of at least two major political parties.
Think green, builders urge Christchurch
21 Feb 2014
New commercial buildings in Christchurch must be designed for energy efficiency if they aren’t to become obsolete, says the Green Building Council.
Costly, toxic and slow to charge? Busting electric car myths
21 Feb 2014
By THOMAS BRAUNL. Cars are the second most expensive investment after the family home, a status symbol and, in some cases — just visit a major motor show — a love affair.
Blocking the sunlight has a dark side
21 Feb 2014
By TIM RADFORD. Finding a technology that would let us counteract the effects of climate change is a cherished dream. But if there is a cure, it could be worse than the disease, scientists say.
TV takeback ticks over 200,000 mark
21 Feb 2014
More than 200,000 television sets have been collected for recycling under the TV TakeBack programme.
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.
