New Zealand: All stories
Airport hotel signs for the environment
20 Apr 2012
International hotel operator Accor has named the Auckland Airport Novotel as its first New Zealand hotel to sign up for the type of environmental goals set at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992.
Insurer celebrates carbon first
20 Apr 2012
Life insurance company Sovereign is the first New Zealand recipient of a printed product that is certified carbon neutral under the new PAS 2050 life-cycle standard.
Business takes over energy centre
20 Apr 2012
The New Zealand Clean Energy Centre has been taken over by the Taupo business development organisation Enterprise Great Lake Taupo.
Paint comes from printer cartridges
20 Apr 2012
Two New Zealand companies are turning the waste from old printer cartridges into paint in what they say is a world first.
Labour backs calls for a new world
13 Apr 2012
Labour’s deputy leader says he supports calls for a major overhaul of the world’s economic, social and environmental management systems.
Why we must have an emissions target
13 Apr 2012
New Zealand will have to adopt an emissions target before it can introduce a cap-and-auction system.
It's good to be GE-free, says council
13 Apr 2012
New Zealand’s GE-free status is worth money, the Sustainability Council says.
We can't go on like this, says think tank
13 Apr 2012
Over the past 50 years, the world's middle and upper classes have more than doubled their consumption levels, and an additional 1 to 2 billion people globally aspire to join the consumer class, the Worldwatch Institute says in its latest report.
Firm doubles sales of LED lights
13 Apr 2012
Sales of energy-efficient LED lights have doubled in the past year, says a New Zealand supplier.
Bioenergy group looks for scholars
13 Apr 2012
The Bioenergy Association of New Zealand has established a bioenergy scholarship.
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.
Pacific Islands call for fossil fuel phase-out, NZ hangs back
Thu 23 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Pacific Islands nations have launched a landmark declaration for a Fossil Fuel Free Pacific, calling for a Fossil Fuel Treaty and urgent phase-out of fossil fuels, however New Zealand isn’t rushing to join the call.
Announcements expected soon on $200M gas fund
Today 11:45am
By Pattrick Smellie | Fossil fuel companies appear likely to take up a $200 million government fund to encourage additional oil and gas exploration, dashing lobbyist Business New Zealand’s hopes that it might be repurposed to underwrite industrial electrification.
Fonterra admits ‘100% grass-fed’ claim breached law in greenwashing row
2 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Fonterra has admitted its “100% New Zealand grass-fed” claims on Anchor butter were misleading and breached the law, settling a case brought by Greenpeace Aotearoa over packaging used between December 2023 and April 2025.
Climate pollution static but NZ still on track for first emissions budget, says MfE
17 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand is still on track to meet its first emissions budget, according to the Ministry for the Environment, despite the pace of emissions reductions slowing to a standstill.
NZ’s latest push to roll out more EV chargers is a good thing – but can it go the distance?
14 Apr 2026
A $50 million plan to expand New Zealand’s public electric vehicle (EV) charging network marks another step toward a lower-emissions transport system.
Wilding conifers continue to plague Southland
17 Apr 2026
By Matthew Rosenberg, Local Democracy Reporter | Fast-spreading conifer trees are causing headaches in Southland as inconsistent funding continues to hinder control efforts.
Victorian Hydrogen announces Southland urea fertiliser project using coal
Wed 22 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Australian-based Victorian Hydrogen has announced it is developing a new 1.5 million-tonne-a-year urea fertiliser operation in Southland, which it will apply for under fast-track legislation.
