New Zealand: All stories
Bell Gully on hazard risk management
10 Nov 2023
As New Zealanders face the rising environmental, social and economic costs of severe weather events like Cyclone Gabrielle, a work programme to improve natural hazard risk management under the Resource Management Act 1991 (the RMA) has begun.
Best by the rest...
10 Nov 2023
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in local media: Vanuatu urges National not to restart offshore oil and gas; how the ‘policy bonfire’ jeopardised our climate targets; and methane myths against textbook science.
Commerce Commission should expect backlash from lines companies
9 Nov 2023
There is likely to be a strong backlash from the regulated lines companies at the Commerce Commission’s initial views on their revenue path from 2025 to 2030.
Taskforce recommends continuous canopy forestry for Nelson
9 Nov 2023
A taskforce is calling for a halt to clear-felling on Nelson council land, and a transition to a continuous canopy of mixed species to replace the council’s commercial forestry operations, as part of a set of recommendations that will be presented to Nelson City Council today.
Businesses want consistent climate policy from new govt
8 Nov 2023
Businesses are working hard to reduce their carbon emissions, and want the incoming government to step up with consistent legislation and policy, according to the Climate Leaders Coalition.
Contact plans to produce food grade CO2
8 Nov 2023
Contact Energy says it could capture about 65,000 tonnes of CO2 at its Ohaaki geothermal site every year - enough to supply the New Zealand market with food grade CO2.
Climate protestors target dairy, fertiliser, and gas
7 Nov 2023
Climate activists blockaded three targets simultaneously on Sunday - the Whareroa Fonterra Dairy factory, the Kapuni Ballance fertiliser factory, and Todd Energy’s gas plant.
Council threatened with legal action for halting climate work
6 Nov 2023
Climate activist lawyers have put Kaipara District Council on notice that they could face legal challenges for canning key climate work.
RB governor warns of climate change induced supply side shocks
3 Nov 2023
Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr has warned that climate change is likely to cause supply side shocks similar to those of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the COVID pandemic.
NZ’s response to climate change ‘hangs in the balance’: scientists
3 Nov 2023
Scientists are calling on the incoming government to urgently rebuild the country’s research, science and innovation sector - with our climate change response at risk.
Best by the rest...
3 Nov 2023
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in local media: NZ is ‘no longer on track’ to meet climate goals; Pacific youth activists present climate demands; and the financial impacts of climate change are being underestimated by billions each year.
Badly designed biodiversity credit system could impact national grid
2 Nov 2023
Transpower - the state-owned operator of the national grid - has warned that a badly designed biodiversity credit system could pose risks for the country’s power lines.
One winter survived, but the next looks tight as well
2 Nov 2023
A review of Winter 2023 shows how the electricity sector managed to navigate several periods of tight supply and warns similar conditions will prevail next winter in managing peak demand.
Marsden Fund grants for climate research
2 Nov 2023
Research into climate and the energy transition are among 123 projects taking $83.59 million from this year’s Te Pūtea Rangahau a Marsden, the Marsden Fund, announced today.
Greater Wellington’s emissions down by 5%
1 Nov 2023
Greater Wellington regional council has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 5% but failed to meet some of its climate change targets in part due to severe weather events caused by global warming.
Power between the tracks
31 Oct 2023
The gap between New Zealand’s more than 4000 kilometres of rail tracks could one day be home to solar panels generating up to 0.78 terawatt hours of electricity or 3% of the electricity produced by hydropower last year.
Climate adaptation projects sometimes exacerbate the problems they try to solve – a new tool hopes to correct that
31 Oct 2023
By Ritodhi Chakraborty and Claire Burgess | When United States aid money was used to build a seawall on Fiji’s Vanua Levu island to shield the community from rising tides, it instead acted as a dam, trapping water and debris on its landward side.
Window to avoid 1.5°C of warming will close before 2030 if emissions are not reduced
31 Oct 2023
Without rapid carbon dioxide emission reductions, the world has a 50% chance of locking in 1.5°C of warming before 2030, according to a study led by Imperial College London researchers.
New govt funding for climate research
30 Oct 2023
One third of this year’s Rutherford Fellowships are for climate research, with four of the 12 researchers tackling climate-related projects with $800,000 each from the fund over five years.
Energy companies team up on windfarm ventures
27 Oct 2023
Manawa Energy is teaming up with Pioneer Energy on plans for a new 300 MW wind farm in South Otago, expected to cost $750m to $900m. And Meridian Energy and NZ Windfarms have agreed to a 50-50 joint venture to repower and extend the Te Rere Hau wind farm in Tararua.
Profitability of status quo standing in the way of renewable energy transition
27 Oct 2023
Lack of political leadership and an industry that profits from the status quo are standing in the way of the transition to renewable electricity, according to Octopus Energy chief operating officer Margaret Cooney.
Best by the rest...
27 Oct 2023
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in local media: Is a $90m project to cool cow burps working? an East Coast leader argues that indigenous reforestation is a Treaty right; and MetService defends its inability to forecast the extreme rainfall that led to Auckland’s deadly floods.
Kiwi carbon capture company wins place in Bill Gates’ climate tech programme
26 Oct 2023
Christchurch carbon capture company Aspiring Materials has scored a place in Microsoft founder Bill Gates’ climate tech programme.
Demand growth and batteries surge
26 Oct 2023
A significant pipeline of new customer load connections is likely to boost electricity demand following flat demand growth in recent years, according to a new report from Transpower.
Proposal to include non-forestry land in NDC calculation
25 Oct 2023
By Jeremy Rose | A Cabinet minute from July of this year agreed in principle to include non-forest land in New Zealand’s nationally determined contribution.
Over a quarter of a million new plantings in Hawke's Bay
25 Oct 2023
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council has overseen more than 268,000 new plantings of trees, shrubs, flaxes and grasses this financial year.
Environment Commissioner suggests forestry levy to tackle wilding pines
24 Oct 2023
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has suggested a levy on forestry companies to fund efforts to combat wilding pines.
Fossil fuels drag down Genesis Energy share price
24 Oct 2023
Genesis Energy told shareholders that its involvement with fossil fuels was a drag on its share price, but the market was slowly realising the role gas had in backing up renewable electricity for a long time to come.
Battle lines drawn over future of fossil fuel exploration
20 Oct 2023
On one side, the oil and gas industry maintains - counter-intuitively - that to continue to electrify transport we need new gas and oil wells. On the other, Greenpeace and the wider environmental movement say that starting oil and gas exploration in a climate crisis is a crime against life on Earth.
Total GHG emissions increase 0.2% in June quarter
20 Oct 2023
New Zealand’s seasonally adjusted greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions increased 0.2% (33 kilotonnes) in the June 2023 quarter, after a 0.1% increase (26 kilotonnes) in the March 2023 quarter, according to figures from Stats NZ.
Best by the rest...
20 Oct 2023
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in local media: Is climate change feeding a new round of trade protectionism? The methane target debate heats up; and the founder of School Strike 4 Climate calls for a unified vision to meet climate challenges.
NZ climate-related disasters hit record high in 2023
19 Oct 2023
New Zealand authorities have declared a record 17 weather-related states of emergency so far this year, with insurance payments for climate-related disasters already topping $3.5 billion.
PPA market needed to accelerate decarbonisation - Transpower
19 Oct 2023
Power Purchase Agreements between corporate energy users and renewable energy developers should enable investment in lower cost renewable electricity generation and drive faster electrification, according to Transpower.
NZ needs urgent immigration reform for Pacific climate migrants - researcher
18 Oct 2023
Immigration reforms are urgently needed to allow climate migrants from Tuvalu and Kiribati into New Zealand, according to a researcher.
MBIE proposes energy and emissions reporting scheme
18 Oct 2023
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is proposing that stationary energy users with annual emissions of 2000 tonnes of CO2 or more be required to report on their energy use.
Climate change increases risk of earthquake damage
17 Oct 2023
Climate change not only worsens storms, but also increases the risk of landslides and flooding after earthquakes, according to researchers.
Meridian looks at offshore wind - warns about ETS
17 Oct 2023
Meridian Energy has signed a memorandum of understanding with European-based Parkwind to explore offshore potential focused principally on the Taranaki coast and is still optimistic about getting its hydrogen project over the line.
What will new government mean for climate policy?
16 Oct 2023
The National Party has won the election, with a coalition with the ACT Party giving it just enough seats for a slim majority, which it may look to New Zealand First to increase.
National's offshore wind policy
16 Oct 2023
National has pledged to introduce an offshore wind regime that largely builds on work underway in the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, but with a few nuances.
Salt CO2 fund continues to acquire its own units
16 Oct 2023
The Salt CO2 fund is continuing to purchase its own units but is undecided how it will dispose of its growing stockpile of treasury stock.
In NZ, increasingly severe crackdowns on environmental protesters fail to deter climate activists
16 Oct 2023
State and federal governments from the U.S. to Australia have enacted legislation punishing disruptive demonstrators, but many have been emboldened by the repression.
Former IPCC lead author calls for a “Go Slow” campaign
13 Oct 2023
By Jeremy Rose | Former IPCC lead author and internationally recognised transport emissions expert, emeritus professor Ralph Sims, is calling on Waka Kotahi to start a “Go Slow” campaign.
Best by the rest...
13 Oct 2023
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in local media: As Kiwis go to the polls, pundits ask what happened to the climate debate during the campaign? experts worry carbon cutting policies are under threat; while others say climate policies are key to reducing the cost of living.
Biodiversity credit market could encourage sustainable land use - new research
12 Oct 2023
A biodiversity credit market could help farmers make their businesses more resilient as well as helping them to meet environmental targets, according to a new study.
Mainfreight releases climate related risks report
12 Oct 2023
Transport company Mainfreight has released its first climate related risks report, saying its position is “net positive” in terms of climate risks and opportunities.
“Aotearoa IS warming: It’s us. It’s bad” - new report
11 Oct 2023
It is clear that Aotearoa is warming, according to a new report on the state of our atmosphere and climate. But experts say we can still do something about it.
Generators worry about thermal transition
11 Oct 2023
A number of major generators have taken issue with the Electricity Authority’s view that the risks around the thermal generation transition and managing dry years are low.
Foresters take legal action against new ETS fees
10 Oct 2023
Foresters have filed a judicial review aiming to stop the government’s new fee system for forestry in the Emissions Trading Scheme, which they say will increase costs by several thousand percent.
NZ still has a long way to go to meet emission reduction targets: "This ship can sink"
10 Oct 2023
By Robert McLachlan | COMMENT: The 2016 Paris Agreement contains a built-in feedback mechanism to help ensure that its goals are met: the Global Stocktake. Every five years all pledges and progress are assessed and compared to the targets on warming, adaptation, and financing.
Shifting gears on transport emissions
10 Oct 2023
Business vehicle fleets are still lagging on emission reductions, EROAD’s latest Sustainability Survey shows.
Cuts to climate finance put exports in jeopardy: Lawyers
23 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has halved international climate finance, a move aid organisations describe as “devastating,” and which lawyers say could put our Paris Agreement commitments and export market access at risk.
Surge of lobbying over electricity sector review
Today 10:30am
Jostling and lobbying have intensified ahead of the release of a review into the electricity sector.
Controversy around NZ’s methane target hits international press
Tue 3 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand’s approach to methane targets has hit international media, with climate scientists from multiple countries penning an open letter warning Prime Minister Christopher Luxon not to weaken methane targets.
Tech alone won’t save us, warns climate expert
Today 10:30am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Technology alone won't be enough to reach net zero emissions, environmental psychologist Lorraine Whitmarsh told the Carbon and Energy Professionals conference in Auckland last week.
“It’s not the car – it’s how we move” – EECA
Tue 3 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams| New Zealand’s transport emissions conversation has focused heavily on electric vehicles – but Richard Briggs, group manager, delivery and partnerships at the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, says we’re asking the wrong question.
Environmentalists see forestry changes as dangerous step for Tairāwhiti
Tue 3 Jun 2025
By Zita Campbell, Local Democracy Reporter | Tairāwhiti environmentalists have called changes for commercial forestry under proposed Resource Management Act reforms “a slap in the face” and a return to weaker forestry regulations.
Kiwi cleantech companies on the world stage
27 May 2025
Six New Zealand 'cleantech' companies were in Singapore earlier this month, along with a venture capital firm and the MacDiarmid Institute, to meet investors and multinational partners.
