New Zealand: All stories
Forget Australia, urges wind energy expert
19 May 2009
New Zealand shouldn’t follow Australia’s lead when it comes to pouring money into carbon capture and storage research, says Windflow’s CEO Geoff Henderson.
Suspending ETS punishes forestry, says grower
19 May 2009
Suspending the emissions trading scheme would mean the forestry sector isn’t rewarded for the work it is doing on climate change, says Forest Enterprises’ managing director Steve Wilton.
Kiwi boffin has her eyes on the stars
19 May 2009
New Zealand’s first astronaut could be Professor Karen Willcox of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
GREENS 1: New Deal creates 42,000 jobs
15 May 2009
At least 42,000 jobs could be created under a Green New Deal proposal just released by the Greens.
GREENS 2: 6000 state houses, planting waterways
15 May 2009
The Green Party’s Green Stimulus Package involves building 6000 new state houses, fencing off and planting rural waterways, initiatives to improve the energy efficiency of homes, schools and businesses, waste reduction schemes, and improved public transport.
GREENS 3: Business leaders welcome package
15 May 2009
The Green Party’s Green Stimulus Package is being welcomed by business and union leaders.
ETS reviewers eye June date for report
15 May 2009
The emissions trading scheme review committee could report back to Parliament by the end of next month.
Analysis: Solid Energy reveals its hand
15 May 2009
Solid Energy’s decision to close its Terrace underground mine at Reefton by mid-year points up the way in which the State-owned enterprise intends to focus on the low-hanging fruit of the coal extraction business while diversifying into non-fossil energy generation.
Organic fruit growing gets carbon clearance
15 May 2009
Organic fruit growing operations are environmentally sustainable and could trade carbon credits in the future, a Massey University researcher has found.
Forum voices opposition to ETS
15 May 2009
The Sustainable Energy Forum is being seen as a surprise opponent of the emissions trading scheme.
No special deals for NZ, Australian climate officials say
12 May 2009
Australian officials warned the emissions trading scheme review committee yesterday that were no special deals for New Zealand if it sought to align itself with the Australian carbon pollution reduction scheme.
Green scheme canned by Smith saved $4.7 million
12 May 2009
The scrapped Govt3 programme to “green” the public service led to $4.7 million in government savings, Carbon News has learnt.
Coal’s idea for tiny tax and trees given solid debunking
12 May 2009
Business leaders have debunked Solid Energy’s proposal for a small new carbon tax.
Air NZ wants carbon price cap in ETS
12 May 2009
Air New Zealand wants the emissions trading scheme review committee to consider including a price cap for carbon liability.
Emissions trading wrong route, say AA members
12 May 2009
Automobile Association members oppose the emissions trading scheme.
Auckland-Wellington for $4.40 in the Green Machine
12 May 2009
The public has to overcome “range anxiety” and convert interest in electric vehicles into owning and using the technology, says electric vehicle enthusiast Pat Boyle.
Sentimental baby-boomers drive up insurance
12 May 2009
Baby-boomers’ desire to live by the beach despite the threatened impact of climate change is pushing up insurance premiums.
Solid Energy pushes new 'tax and plant' emissions strategy
8 May 2009
State coal producer Solid Energy is pushing an alternative policy to the emissions trading scheme which will see the Government raise new taxes and regulations.
No takers for first NZUs offered on Trade Me
8 May 2009
The first auction of NZUs to be listed on the internet auction site Trade Me has closed without a sale.
Aussie officials to visit amid calls to end NZ policy 'chaos'
8 May 2009
Australian officials will brief New Zealand MPs about their new emissions trading plans next week.
NZX looks to regain carbon market ground
8 May 2009
Sources say that the New Zealand Stock Exchange is looking to repossess the alternate exchange ground as well as embarking on a scheme to become an international-grade market maker in carbon .
Landfill operator wants ETS delay for waste
8 May 2009
Delaying the solid waste sector’s entry into the emissions trading scheme until 2018 and increasing the scope of the existing environmental standard for landfill gas is the way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from New Zealand’s landfills, Envirowaste told the ETS review committee yesterday.
R&D vital to success of ETS, says Landcare
8 May 2009
Investment in research and development, particularly in New Zealand-specific climate change research, is pivotal to the success of an emissions trading scheme, Landcare Research has told the ETS review committee.
Islands must pay back climate aid loans
8 May 2009
Much of the so-called international aid to the Pacific to allow poorer countries to accommodate climate change has taken the form of loans which will have to be repaid.
Australians merge to boost NZ coal gas search
8 May 2009
The private Australian coal seam gas exploration company Chartwell Energy Pty, which is involved in New Zealand exploration, plans a merger with listed Brisbane company Comet Ridge partly in order to boost its activities here.
We still want to harmonise, says Smith
5 May 2009
Talks on harmonising the New Zealand and Australian emissions trading schemes will continue, despite Australia’s decision to delay the start of its scheme.
Farming groups split on need for ETS
5 May 2009
Federated Farmers continued its call for the emissions trading scheme to be scrapped when it appeared before the emission trading scheme review committee yesterday - but not everyone in the agriculture sector agrees.
All eyes on first auction-site sale of NZUs
5 May 2009
The first auction of NZUs on internet auction site Trade Me closes on Thursday, with bids currently sitting at around $21 per tonne – well below the current price of secondary CERs of approximately $28 per tonne.
Solid Energy on trail of carbon accounting
5 May 2009
State-owned coal miner Solid Energy says it is well on the way to tracking carbon in its operations, but can’t say yet how the emissions trading scheme will affect the price of coal next year.
Ngai Tahu faces bill of millions in clawbacks
5 May 2009
Ngai Tahu has become an early example of the peril of ETS clawbacks, with tribal authorities indicating that it might have to pay anything between $40 million and $120 million in clawbacks, depending on the price of carbon at the time.
US climate deniers push views of Kiwi academic
5 May 2009
Auckland University climate figure Chris de Freitas put New Zealand into the top slot over the weekend in what is emerging as the United States’ leading denier forum.
ETS should be suspended, says coalition
5 May 2009
Greenhouse Policy Coalition executive director Catherine Beard, representing the energy-intensive sector on climate change issues, is calling on the select committee reviewing the emissions trading scheme to suspend the introduction of the industrial sector into the scheme until such time as the "flawed legislation has been properly reviewed and fixed".
Business leaders: emissions trading policy delays causing major investment blight
5 May 2009
Business leaders told the Parliamentary select committee reviewing the emissions trading scheme yesterday that indecision is stalling hundreds of millions in investments in sectors which will both benefit from or fear having a price of carbon.
Zespri aims high as carbon-clean producer
1 May 2009
Zespri is out to become the world’s leading environmentally friendly producer of kiwifruit in the wake of a groundbreaking research into the carbon footprint of New Zealand kiwifruit.
Gull wants fixed carbon price after ETS
1 May 2009
Independent oil company Gull has asked the emissions trading scheme review committee to set the price of carbon for at least the first 18 months after the liquid fuel sector enters the ETS.
Smith still quiet on Labour ETS offer
1 May 2009
The Government has not yet responded to Labour's offer to work with it on an emissions trading scheme.
ETS certainty vital, says wind energy chief
1 May 2009
Certainty over the emissions trading scheme is vital to encouraging investment in new wind-energy projects, says the Wind Energy Associaton.
Fifty years of work under threat, says Oxfam
1 May 2009
Climate change could reverse all the international development work of the past 50 years, the emissions trading scheme review committee heard yesterday.
Minister delays release of ETS risk report
28 Apr 2009
A new report into the economic risks of the emissions trading scheme has not yet been made public amid concerns that it does not adequately cover the potential benefits.
NZ scientists: We're being gagged
28 Apr 2009
New Zealand’s public science institutes are “rife” with cases of scientists being gagged, Carbon News has been told.
Labour expects ETS answer this week
28 Apr 2009
The Labour Party expects a formal response from the Government this week on its offer to co-operate on an emissions trading scheme.
Forest focus wrong, institute tells ETS hearing
28 Apr 2009
New Zealand should focus on the role that forests play in mitigation of climate change - and not just on forestry emissions, says the Institute of Forestry.
ETS will close mills, warn wood processors
28 Apr 2009
The emissions trading scheme will force mill closures and have a catastrophic impact on rural communities, says the Wood Processors' Association.
You must adapt, minister tells farmers
28 Apr 2009
Agriculture Minister David Carter says that New Zealand farmers should be starting to adapt their farm management to deal with the impacts of climate change – and be looking for possible benefits to exploit.
EU aid decision good news for NZ
28 Apr 2009
The European Union decision to let Australia select the providers of Brussels–financed aid in the Asia-Pacific region is good news for New Zealand manufacturers and professional services.
Nautilus likes look of Tongan mineral deposits
28 Apr 2009
Nautilus Minerals has located 10 multi-mineral deposits in Tongan waters at the northern end of the 2500 km-long Kermadec-Tonga arc.
Genesis buying credits, but quiet on NZUs deal
24 Apr 2009
New Zealand’s largest thermal electricity generator has made forays into the carbon market – but won’t say if it was the purchaser involved in the first sale of New Zealand Units.
Kiwi researchers in major cow methane breakthrough
24 Apr 2009
Breakthrough research into the cattle genetics could lead to the breeding of cattle that produces less methane.
Trading website readies for carbon units sale
24 Apr 2009
A sale of New Zealand Units is on the cards for internet trading site Trade Me.
Forestry sector has date with ETS review
24 Apr 2009
Forestry sector submissions will be heard by the emissions trading scheme review committee on Monday.
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
Fri 24 Apr 2026
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.
