New Zealand: All stories
Top scientist to look into the future
17 May 2013
Climate change commentator and the United Kingdom’s former Government chief scientific adviser, Sir David King, will give lectures at all three of Massey University’s campuses later this month.
Pot party pushes hemp for houses
17 May 2013
Cannabis should be legalised for the sake of the environment, says the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party.
Fresh faces join Environment Court
17 May 2013
New appointments to the Environment Court were announced this week.
Move to force retailers foot disposal bill
10 May 2013
Electronics retailers could be forced to build the cost of disposal into sale prices if Wellington local authorities have their way.
Have we joined the carbon power brokers?
10 May 2013
New Zealand is apparently part of a “club” that will set international standards on carbon trading.
100% Pure faces test next week
10 May 2013
Challenges to New Zealand’s 100% Pure brand will be heard next week.
Power switch will cut emissions, says solar chief
3 May 2013
Exposing domestic electricity consumers to the spot market would lead to substantial cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, the Solar Energy Association says.
Businesses don’t get it, says green campaigner
3 May 2013
Most campaigns promoting the advantages of green business are failing to gain traction because they are preaching to the converted, says a commercial lawyer who has found a new vocation.
Worries deepen over future of ETS
26 Apr 2013
Deep uncertainty remains over the future of the Emissions Trading Scheme, according to a revealing survey of ETS participants.
Eco report points finger at fishing
26 Apr 2013
New Zealand’s fishing industry is the major contributor to this country’s ecological footprint, new research shows.
No word yet on tree-planting plans
26 Apr 2013
Details of new Government plans to encourage forestry planting are unlikely to be unveiled for several weeks.
Co-operate or crash, warns forests expert
26 Apr 2013
A forestry expert is calling for co-operation between farmers, conservation interests, scientists and officials to avoid a “biodiversity train-wreck” in New Zealand.
Don’t deafen our dolphins, marine scientists urge
26 Apr 2013
The world’s largest marine science professional body says New Zealand should stop seismic testing in the habitat of the critically endangered Maui’s dolphin.
Aussies win $550,000 clean-up contract
26 Apr 2013
Australian company Transpacific Technical Services has won $550,000 of New Zealand Government money to get rid of hazardous waste from old electrical equipment.
Scheme gives new life to old carpets
26 Apr 2013
Environment Minister Amy Adams has announced a newly accredited product stewardship scheme for the reuse and recycling of carpet tiles.
IT’S OFFICIAL: Forests make way for dairying
19 Apr 2013
Government figures have confirmed what the carbon market has known for months – forests are being cleared and converted to dairy farms on the back of rock-bottom carbon prices.
World wind power on a roll
19 Apr 2013
Wind power surged to a new record in 2012, with the United States emerging as the dominant player.
Women want out of the barn and into the boardroom
19 Apr 2013
The dairy industry is looking to girl-power to combat problems like climate change and the global recession.
Hurunui wind farm gets green light
19 Apr 2013
Meridian Energy’s $200 million Hurunui wind farm is to go ahead.
New law protects EEZ, says minister
19 Apr 2013
A law which the Government says will enable the comprehensive environmental management of activities in New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone will come into force in June.
Fracking waste danger to food, say Greens
12 Apr 2013
New Zealand risks damaging its international reputation as an exporter of quality food by disposing of oil industry wastes on to farmland, the Green Party says.
Carbon returns build to June cut-off
12 Apr 2013
Nearly a third of post-1989-forest owners have filed carbon returns for last year.
Ministry studies carry-over submissions
12 Apr 2013
The Government has received 20 submissions on the issue of carry-over provisions for the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.
How do YOU see the carbon market?
12 Apr 2013
Today’s the last chance to have your say in Carbon Match’s survey on the outlook for the carbon market in New Zealand.
We're good at recycling glass ... but not good enough
12 Apr 2013
New Zealanders are recycling nearly 70 per cent of their glass products.
Retailer joins TV recycling camp
12 Apr 2013
Electronics retailer Noel Leeming has joined the Ministry for the Environment’s TV TakeBack Programme.
PNG student wins Daysh scholarship
12 Apr 2013
A PhD student’s plans to use traditional ecological knowledge to develop a sustainability education programme for Papua New Guinea have won her a scholarship.
Ratepayers foot the bill, say local authorities
5 Apr 2013
Ratepayers are being left to pick up the cost of environmental monitoring that should be paid for by the Government, says Local Government New Zealand.
EDS claims RMA information is flawed
5 Apr 2013
The Government’s discussion document on proposed changes to the Resource Management Act relies on out-of-date and incorrect information, the Environmental Defence Society says
Casualties could be trees, says board
5 Apr 2013
Changes to the Resource Management Act could cost Auckland its trees, says the Auckland Conservation Board.
Museum aims high to cut emissions
5 Apr 2013
Auckland Museum aims to cut carbon emissions by 31 per cent in two years - a move expected to save it hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.
Authority to look at 100% Pure claim
5 Apr 2013
The Advertising Standards Authority is to consider whether New Zealand’s 100% Pure claims are misleading.
Prospecting deal shocks watchdog
5 Apr 2013
Coromandel Watchdog says it is shocked that the Ministry of Conservation has granted access for prospecting on Schedule 4 land to mining companies in the Coromandel and in the Paparoa National Park.
EXCLUSIVE: Upstream paddle for next SOE floats
28 Mar 2013
The Mighty River Power share float will attract at least 228,000 personal investors – but at this stage Genesis and Meridian might struggle to get more than half that.
Science world honours LanzaTech founder
28 Mar 2013
New Zealand scientist and bioenergy pioneer Dr Sean Simpson has been honoured twice this week.
Lobbyist wants help to fight RMA changes
28 Mar 2013
The Environmental Defence Society says that changes to the Resource Management Act give radical new powers to government ministers.
NZ firms win solar fresh water contracts
28 Mar 2013
Two New Zealand companies are taking fresh water to the Pacific.
Recycler gears up for the big TV dump
28 Mar 2013
Electronics recycling company RCN e-Cycle is ramping up its South Island presence in preparation for the switch-over to digital television.
Science claims victory in beetle battle
28 Mar 2013
Success in tackling a destructive beetle on the West Coast has underlined the importance of having integrated pest management plans on farms, scientists say.
Drought costs power company $2m
28 Mar 2013
The North Island drought will cut King Country Energy's income by about $2 million, as the company is forced to buy electricity on the spot market.
Renewable energy share on the rise
28 Mar 2013
Initiatives aimed at cutting carbon emissions and establishing long-term energy security will see renewable energy claim a 36 per cent share of global cumulative installed capacity by the end of the decade, says the latest report from business intelligence firm GBI Research.
Power plant gas emissions show rise
22 Mar 2013
New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation last year were up more than 20 per cent on the previous year.
Kyoto submissions about to close
22 Mar 2013
Submissions on which, if any, carbon credits should be carried over into the Kyoto Protocol’s second commitment period close in a week.
Wind energy firm laps up UK tariff deal
22 Mar 2013
New Zealand's Windflow Technology says it has just installed its first exported wind turbine on the windy island of Westray in the Orkney Islands off the far northern tip of Scotland.
Islands eye switch to renewable energy
22 Mar 2013
Most of New Zealand’s Pacific neighbours should move closer to achieving 50 per cent of their electricity from renewable means as a result of the two-day Pacific Energy Summit to behosted in Auckland jointly by New Zealand and the European Union next week, the Government says.
Biodiesel NZ good buy, says new owner
15 Mar 2013
Christchurch shipping executive Andrew Stark does not agree with political claims that Biodiesel NZ is a bad investment.
Don't blame biofuels, says minister
15 Mar 2013
The Government is denying its decision to scrap the biofuels obligation contributed to Solid Energy’s financial meltdown.
NZ 'solution' wrong, says researcher
15 Mar 2013
New Zealand’s “solution” to Tokelau’s shipping problems will commit the islands to a future dependent on fossil fuels, says a researcher who believes the Pacific could be serviced by ships using renewable energy.
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.
