New Zealand: All stories
Carter confirms ETS is the way to go
20 Feb 2009
Agriculture Minister David Carter says an emissions trading scheme remains the Government’s preferred option.
Crest gathers support for Kaipara tidal project
20 Feb 2009
Crest Energy has until next Friday to submit expert witness evidence to the Environment Court in support of its plan to build a tidal power project on the Kaipara Harbour.
GNS sees big benefits in geothermal link with Japan
20 Feb 2009
New Zealand's GNS appears to be in the wings in a strategy by Japan to massively boost its geothermal generating capacity.
Mission sparks high-level interest in marine energy
20 Feb 2009
A recent UK mission on renewable energy has prompted the government take another look at New Zealand’s marine energy potential.
Green ideology gets blame for tragic bushfires
20 Feb 2009
The Australian Unity Party is circulating in New Zealand an article by Sydney Morning Herald conservative columnist Miranda Devine headed "Green Ideas Must Take Blame for Deaths".
New grass could wipe out cattle gas emissions
17 Feb 2009
A new strain of grass could mean that grazing cattle will cease emitting measurable amounts of methane.
Aquaflow confident of getting $20m from investors
17 Feb 2009
Aquaflow, New Zealand’s biofuel-from-algae pioneer, says it is confident it will get the money it wants to commercialise its technology.
Biochar pioneer recruits top Australian scientist
17 Feb 2009
Blenheim-based charcoal technology company Carbonscape has scored a coup by recruiting highly respected climate change campaigner Professor Tim Flannery on to its board of directors.
Capital fast-tracks tidal turbine trial
17 Feb 2009
The surge in objections to large-scale commercial wind farms has been a factor in the fast-tracking by Wellington Regional Council of a scheme to trial a tidal turbine near the capital.
Our carbon bill set to pass $600 million mark
17 Feb 2009
New Zealand’s estimated carbon liability could climb above $635 million when Treasury updates the underlying price of carbon it uses to calculate New Zealand’s carbon bill – despite the fact that carbon prices are at an all-time low.
Big emitters win more time to put ETS review case
13 Feb 2009
The closing date for submissions on the emissions trading scheme review has been extended because a group representing some of New Zealand’s largest companies realised it wasn’t going to be heard, Carbon News has learnt.
NZ could take lead on climate-saving biochar, says scientist
13 Feb 2009
New Zealand could be the first country in the world to set up a large-scale biochar plant – considered one of the few technologies that could substantially reduce atmospheric carbon, say British soil science experts.
Regional council gives thumbs down to jatropha
13 Feb 2009
A regional council charged with protecting 1.25 million hectares of New Zealand says we shouldn’t grow jatropha.
Scientist pioneers cheaper solar cells
13 Feb 2009
A research scientist with Industrial Research Limited has applied nano technology via quantum dots to produce more efficient solar cells that are designed become a composite part of the roofs of houses.
Get rid of our flimsy houses, says leading architect
13 Feb 2009
The Cement & Concrete Association has brought household-name architect Ian Athfield into the debate on domestic heat loss.
Capital might dump expensive green recycling bins
13 Feb 2009
Wellington City Council’s plan to make its kerb-side rubbish recycling system user-pays has surprised many in the eco-conscious capital.
First bio-oil plant offers boost for foresters
10 Feb 2009
New Zealand’s first wood-to-bio-oil plant will open next month – and backers say it has the potential to vastly increase forest profitability while saving the climate.
Kiwis a bit short on good ideas, UK expert says
10 Feb 2009
A British marine energy expert says New Zealand is lacking ideas and needs to do more to support the emergence of the marine energy industry.
NZ research finds new life in old concrete
10 Feb 2009
Research in New Zealand by Swiss-owned Holcim has identified a carbon dioxide re-uptake process in demolition concrete material.
Capital scraps over windfarms in parks
10 Feb 2009
Greater Wellington Regional Council’s commitment to sustainable energy is wavering in the face of protests from residents who see wind farms as environmental pollution.
Wellington to stage micro-turbines trials
10 Feb 2009
Energy distributor Vector Ltd has signed a joint venture with Scottish company Renewable Devices Swift Turbines, which manufactures micro-wind turbines.
Top polar scientists turn eyes on Antarctica
10 Feb 2009
More than 50 top international polar scientists meet in Wellington this week to discuss their cutting-edge climate change research.
Forest owners close to getting first NZUs
3 Feb 2009
New Zealand forest owners will receive their first NZUs next month.
NZX London partner out of the registry-sale loop
3 Feb 2009
Plus Markets Group management says it was unaware of the sale of NZX's TZ1 wholly owned carbon registry subsidiary.
Learn from us, says UK renewables expert
3 Feb 2009
New Zealand could take a leaf out of the British government’s book and provide incentives if it seriously wants to encourage the development of renewable energy technology, says a visiting expert.
Council targets marginal land for forest planting
3 Feb 2009
The Greater Wellington Regional Council is to press for intensified forestry in its area - especially in the 110,000ha of marginal hill country in the Wairarapa.
Kyoto soil carbon rules don't fit NZ, says official
3 Feb 2009
New Zealand would have to be able to use a base year other than 1990 if the country was to start accounting for soil carbon, says a senior government official.
New TZ1 owner has big plans - but not here
30 Jan 2009
The new owner of the TZ1 Registry says it plans to build it into the largest environmental registry in the world – but it will be based in London and New York, not Auckland.
JATROPHA: Toxic seeds could fool children
30 Jan 2009
The toxic seed of the jatropha plant – used to make biofuel - might be attractive to children, warns a New Zealand scientist.
JATROPHA: Everyone should plant it, says grower
30 Jan 2009
All New Zealand farmers should have four to five hectares planted in jatropha as a way of protecting themselves against the impacts of peak oil, says an Auckland landowner.
Deforestation returns running late
30 Jan 2009
Deforestation returns for pre-1990 forests close tomorrow, but many will be late.
Holcim readies for court hearing on plant shift
30 Jan 2009
Holcim still wants to shift its New Zealand cement production from Westport to Oamaru, with an Environment Court appeal hearing for the company's proposed new North Otago plant scheduled for March.
Farmers fear fuel-source jatropha will kill stock
27 Jan 2009
Plans to grow the biofuel stock plant jatropha in New Zealand could run into opposition from farmers who fear it could kill their animals and become another “gorse”.
NZ could pay the price for Australian energy targets
27 Jan 2009
Australia’s mandatory renewable energy target of 20 per cent by 2020 could cost New Zealand investment dollars.
Dairy farmers place orders for local biogas system
27 Jan 2009
The first commercial orders have been placed for the Landcorp-backed BioGenCool biogas energy system for dairy farms.
Biofuels a sham, says Goldsmith's ecology magazine
27 Jan 2009
The Wellington-based Pacific Institute of Resource Management - the Australasian arm of millionaire environmentalist Teddy Goldsmith - is denouncing the push for sustainable biofuels as the “most appalling sham.”
Capital moves car-pool targets closer to city
27 Jan 2009
The Wellington Regional Council has calibrated its pending car-pooling scheme to appeal to residents who live too far away from work to walk, but not far enough away to benefit from public transport.
Australia better investment bet than NZ, says Trustpower
23 Jan 2009
Confusion over New Zealand policies is making Australia a better place in which to invest in renewable energy projects, says Trustpower.
Deadline looms for owners to report deforestation
23 Jan 2009
Owners of pre-1990 forests have just over a week to report any deforestation last year as the government starts the massive job of accounting for changes in land use.
Anxious Asian buyers try to rewrite NZ coal deals
23 Jan 2009
Export prices of US$300 per tonne fixed last year from Solid Energy’s Stockton mine and from the NZX-listed Pike River mine are under push-back from Asian consignees.
Mighty River chief takes on carbon management
23 Jan 2009
It might not seem like the natural time to leave an established career in general management and take up a role in a new carbon funds management company, but for New Zealand Carbon Funds Management managing director James Moulder the timing is perfect.
ETS review submissions start to flow
23 Jan 2009
Submissions on the review of the emissions trading scheme are starting to trickle in.
ETS puts NZ power users $360m behind Australia
20 Jan 2009
New Zealand electricity users are at a $360 million-a-year disadvantage when compared with our transtasman neighbours, thanks to the emissions trading scheme.
Cheaper carbon is the up-side of the downturn
20 Jan 2009
The cost of implementing an emissions trading scheme is falling with the recession, says a prominent business adviser.
It's all win-win for no-till farmers, says scientist
20 Jan 2009
New Zealand farmers could be collecting carbon credits, cutting crop production costs and boosting yield all at the same time, says a New Zealand scientist.
Nats' ETS opinions don't worry me, says Hide
20 Jan 2009
Act Party leader Rodney Hide says that he is unconcerned by comments from United Future leader Peter Dunne and Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee that New Zealand’s emissions trading scheme is here to stay.
Timber plant pioneers geothermal sequestration
20 Jan 2009
A Taupo timber-processing plant is using a pioneering method of applied sequestration.
Obey the law, minister tells confused forest owners
20 Jan 2009
Forestry Minister David Carter has told forest owners concerned about the vailidy of the the emissions trading scheme that they should obey the law.
British developers keen to work with NZ on clean energy
20 Jan 2009
A UK-to-New Zealand mission on renewable and clean energy due to be held in Wellington from February 2 to 6 aims to encourage collaboration between researchers and developers working in the sector.
Farming attitude change could slash NZ emissions
16 Jan 2009
New Zealand could cut its greenhouse gas emissions by two million tonnes a year by moving to no-tillage farming.
NZ backs climate-resilient horticulture project for Cambodia
Tue 2 Dec 2025
New Zealand has launched a major climate-resilient horticulture initiative in Cambodia, investing NZD$12 million in a multi-year project designed to boost rural incomes, strengthen food security and reduce child labour as communities face increasing climate pressures.
Tribunal warns govt geothermal strategy risks Treaty breach
Tue 2 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government's geothermal development strategy risks breaching the Treaty of Waitangi, according to a report from the Waitangi Tribunal released last week.
Marex invests in methane-busting biotech, hopes to kickstart NZ methane credits
Thu 27 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | NASDAQ-listed financial services group Marex has taken a minority stake in Ruminant Biotech, an Auckland-based agritech startup, with a view to kick-starting Marex’s methane-based carbon credits trading business in New Zealand.
Mounting emissions due to Government decisions
20 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Coalition Government’s climate policies have added a whopping 26 million tonnes of emissions out to 2030, according to new analysis of Government projections.
Christchurch Airport boasts world-first liquid-hydrogen refuelling for test aircraft
30 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Local companies working on hydrogen-electric flight have made ‘a significant step forward’ in successfully filling aviation tanks with liquid hydrogen produced and stored on-site at an international airport for the first time.
Indigenous land cover shrinking as urban areas expand
24 Nov 2025
Indigenous land cover in Aotearoa New Zealand has continued its long-term decline, with new figures from Stats NZ revealing a further loss of native ecosystems as urban development and industrial activity increase.
Investors must support positive climate-tech
Fri 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.
