New Zealand: All stories
City wins praise for fracking stand
13 Apr 2012
A unanimous vote by Christchurch City Council to declare the city a fracking-free zone is significant and shows momentum is building against a dangerous drilling technique, Green Party energy spokesperson Gareth Hughes says.
Greens predict urban sprawl, congestion
13 Apr 2012
The Productivity Commission's main recommendations for affordable housing will create sprawling, congested, and less productive cities, Green Party co-leader Russel Norman says
Government airs ETS changes
11 Apr 2012
The Government has just released proposals to amend the Emissions Trading Scheme in the wake of last year's Caygill Review.
Agriculture might get 2018 reprieve
11 Apr 2012
Agriculture might be out of the Emissions Trading Scheme until 2018.
Govt wants hold on international credits
11 Apr 2012
The Government intends restricting the number of international carbon credits New Zealand emitters can use to meet their obligations, it has been revealed today.
Some foresters might lose allocation
11 Apr 2012
The owners of pre-1990 forests might not get their next carbon credit allocation after all.
Wind energy lobby predicts big things
5 Apr 2012
The Wind Energy Association is predicting a 600 per cent increase in wind generation in New Zealand by 2030, creating 1500 jobs in rural areas and producing more than $10 million a year in lease payments for farmers.
EPA bombshell means big changes ahead
5 Apr 2012
Coal lobbyists are heading back to school in droves, and there's one phrase they're all learning... Ni hao, writes Keith Kohl
Don't be a chimp this Easter, says zoo
5 Apr 2012
Auckland Zoo has entered the palm oil debate, urging New Zealanders not to buy Easter eggs made with chocolate.
Worried scientists push for global action
30 Mar 2012
Thousands of scientists meeting in London are calling for radical economic and social reorganisation on a global scale to avert an environmental crisis.
Agriculture key to ETS credibility
30 Mar 2012
New Zealand could play a strong role in developing an international carbon market – but it needs to bring agriculture into the Emissions Trading Scheme, says an American geographer.
Greenhouse group shuts doors
30 Mar 2012
The Greenhouse Policy Coalition will be no more from tomorrow.
Wind is the word at Hamilton talks
30 Mar 2012
The annual New Zealand Wind Energy Conference and Exhibition kicks off in Hamilton next week.
Sustainability students in demand
30 Mar 2012
Learning how to save the world is proving to be a career-boosting strategy for graduates.
Build pulp-biofuel plant, urges expert
23 Mar 2012
New Zealand has a once-in-a-decade opportunity to build a mega pulp-and-paper mill that could also produce biofuel for the domestic market, the wood industry has been told.
Our focus wrong, says think-tank head
23 Mar 2012
Departing New Zealand Institute chief executive Rick Boven says that New Zealand is failing to grasp the full implications of the environmental crisis.
Market revival in PFSI credits
23 Mar 2012
Interest in the Permanent Forest Sink Initiative is picking up again in the wake of indications that it will not be scrapped.
Protect fresh water sources, says report
23 Mar 2012
Freshwater quality is one of the biggest environmental problems facing New Zealand, says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
Marine energy groups to join forces
23 Mar 2012
The New Zealand marine energy industry is to link up with its counterpart in Oregon to promote marine energy in the Pacific region.
Shearer pushes green economy vision
16 Mar 2012
Opposition leader David Shearer said he wanted a green economy, but didn’t say how he’d achieve it. Prime Minister John Key didn’t mention it at all.
Wood the answer, says biofuel expert
16 Mar 2012
New Zealand should be replacing fossil-fuel energy with wood, says the general manager of a Whakatane-based biotechnology business.
Plastic bottles become wheelie bins
16 Mar 2012
Auckland manufacturer Sulo Talbot is turning milk bottles into wheelie bins.
What to do with four million tyres
16 Mar 2012
The Motor Trade Association wants to recycle 90 per cent of New Zealand’s waste tyres.
E-waste controls will span Tasman
16 Mar 2012
The processing of e-waste is to be covered by a new Australia-New Zealand voluntary standard.
Talks look at wood for bio-energy
16 Mar 2012
Using wood to generate bioenergy for the national grid will be on the agenda of next week’s ForestWood 2012 conference in Wellington.
Storm damage could cost foresters
9 Mar 2012
Taranaki forest owners could face hefty carbon liabilities in the wake of last weekend’s destructive storm.
Govt will slow ETS
9 Mar 2012
The electricity, industrial and transport sectors will continue to be sheltered from the full force of the Emissions Trading Scheme.
We're late, but no worries, says Smith
9 Mar 2012
New Zealand might have missed the deadline for submissions on increasing international emissions reduction levels, but Climate Change Minister Nick Smith says it’s not a problem.
NZ will target fossil fuels at Rio
9 Mar 2012
New Zealand will use the Rio+20 Summit to push for reform of fossil fuel subsidies.
Wind power forecast is for huge growth
9 Mar 2012
Global installed wind capacity is set to increase on the back of expected massive growth in wind power markets.
Gas technology lines Aussie pockets
2 Mar 2012
Australian farmers are about to earn carbon credits on the back of New Zealand research.
NZ stays out of Europe airlines row
2 Mar 2012
New Zealand is staying out of a row over a requirement for airlines flying in and out of Europe to pay for their carbon emissions.
Green group steps up loo paper fight
2 Mar 2012
New Zealand toilet paper manufacturer Cottonsoft is about to be hit by another consumer campaign.
Kiwi carpoolers ride all the way to Britain
2 Mar 2012
A carpooling business started in a bedroom in Wellington has conquered Australia and is about to take on Britain.
How uni got rid of a tower of paper
2 Mar 2012
Shifting to online purchasing has saved Waikato University a tower of paper.
Ferry terminals win green praise
2 Mar 2012
Brisbane’s CityCat ferry terminals are the first in Australia to be certified green.
Antarctic call shonky, says ice-man Morgan
2 Mar 2012
Climate change, not fishing, is the biggest threat to the Southern Ocean, says economist Gareth Morgan.
NZ could be centre for new fuel technology
24 Feb 2012
New Zealand could become a regional centre for emulsified fuel technology.
Converting farmers like low carbon
24 Feb 2012
Low carbon prices are proving a boon for farmers wanting to convert forest land to farmland.
Green economy Kiwi can win a ribbon
24 Feb 2012
The Government wants to recognise a New Zealander who has contributed to the development of a green economy.
Lucy joins oil ship boarding party
24 Feb 2012
Lucy Lawless and Greenpeace activists have occupied a Shell-contracted drillship due to depart the port of Taranaki for the Arctic, where its exploratory oil drilling programme threatens to devastate the Alaskan coastline.
Clouds give clue to changing climate
24 Feb 2012
Research from The University of Auckland on changes in cloud height in the decade to 2010 has provided the first hint of a cooling mechanism that may be in play in the Earth’s climate.
Meridian explains jump in emissions
17 Feb 2012
Meridian Energy’s greenhouse gas emissions rose more than 60 per cent in the 2010/2011 financial year.
Electric cars ... what do you think?
17 Feb 2012
What do New Zealanders really think about electric cars?
Solid Energy wants coal from new mine
17 Feb 2012
Solid Energy wants to expand the Stockton coal mine.
Scientists eye water-powered meter
17 Feb 2012
University of Waikato scientists are hoping to create a smart water meter, completely powered by the water running through it.
Why sludge is starting to look sexy
17 Feb 2012
Power generation from wastewater treatment sludge is to reach 3845 gigawatt hours by 2020 due to increasing industrialisation and the overexploitation of natural resources.
Green economy only way for Shearer
10 Feb 2012
Lining up economic policy and environment policy is the biggest environmental issue facing New Zealand, says Labour leader David Shearer.
Labour likes ETS ... if it works
10 Feb 2012
New Labour leader David Shearer says that he is committed to the Emissions Trading Scheme – if it works.
Lignite could fight cadmium, says study
10 Feb 2012
Low-grade lignite could be used to deal with dangerous cadmium contamination of New Zealand’s soils, scientists say.
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.
