New Zealand: All stories
Crammed capital to put its faith in new-look car pooling
2 Sep 2008
Incentives to make it easier for people to car pool will be offered to all workplaces in the Wellington region early next year.
Fishing industry questions new ETS free-units allocation
2 Sep 2008
The fishing sector is relieved that amendments to the Government’s climate change legislation include a major concession to the industry.
Mobil closes in on carbon dioxide breathrough
2 Sep 2008
Mobil is close to a technology which will literally absorb the problem of greenhouse gases from natural gas.
Maori Party against ETS bill: concern over subsidies, impacts on Maori land owners
2 Sep 2008
The Maori Party says in EST bill debate that it is "opposed to the concept of paying the polluters; of rewarding the corporate lobbyists with huge exemptions; and the very nature of trading rather than reducing emissions."
Wholesale electricity index up 9.79 points on a year ago
2 Sep 2008
The M-Co Wholesale Electricity Price Index for August was up 9.79 points on a year ago.
Parliament to have power over free credits
29 Aug 2008
Parliament is to have the power to reject allocation plans for free carbon credits – a move which could expose heavy emitters to having to purchase 100 per cent of their credits at times.
Emissions scheme passes second reading
29 Aug 2008
The ETS bill has passed its second reading and will go into committee stages on Tuesday.
ETS agreement blocks trade in 'black' hot-air credits
29 Aug 2008
AAU credits will not be automatically redeemable under the New Zealand emissions trading scheme.
Big businesses might flee NZ, warn heavy emitters
29 Aug 2008
New Zealand’s heavy emitters say that sharing some of their free carbon credits with smaller emitters could see companies leave the country.
Wind energy developers keep keen eye on new approvals process
29 Aug 2008
The wind energy sector is waiting with bated breath to see how the new “calling in” approvals process works.
Carbon credit sharing fails to impress wood processors
29 Aug 2008
Sharing carbon credits around is not enough of a remedy for wood processors bracing themselves for the introduction of an emissions trading scheme.
Council sees reluctance to accept change to water usage system
29 Aug 2008
New Zealand’s current water allocation system plays favourites for some and they are unlikely to want it to change, says Business Council for Sustainable Development chief Peter Neilson.
ETS DEALS: What the Greens and NZ First got changed
29 Aug 2008
Changes to the ETS bill, negotiated in return for the support of the Green and New Zealand First parties, are:
MAF excited at finding cellulose perennial solution to biofuels
29 Aug 2008
A MAF report indicates that using 12 per cent of the nation’s pastoral land to grow herbaceous feed-stocks for bioethanol production would provide equivalent energy to that “derived from current total petrol usage.”
BREAKING NEWS: ETS bill has the numbers
27 Aug 2008
The Government has got the numbers to pass the emissions trading scheme.
ETS ball now in Winston's court
26 Aug 2008
All eyes are now on New Zealand First as the country waits to see whether the Government has the numbers to get its emissions trading scheme passed before the election.
Greens will support the ETS
26 Aug 2008
The Green Party is supporting the emissions trading scheme, bringing the Government within five votes of getting the bill passed.
REACTION: Greenpeace welcomes Greens' decision
26 Aug 2008
Greenpeace has welcomed the Green's support for the emissions trading scheme (ETS), saying the party has secured some positive measures.
Heavy emitters stand to lose credits under deal with Greens
26 Aug 2008
New Zealand’s heaviest emitters of greenhouse gases will have to relinquish some of their free carbon credits to smaller companies under a deal won by the Green Party.
Report spells out future for precious water resources
26 Aug 2008
A major report into the management of one of New Zealand’s most precious commodities – fresh water - will be released tomorrow.
National goes quiet on coal-fired power
26 Aug 2008
The National Party is tamping down any discussion on the value of coal-fired power, in spite of coal comprising up 95 per cent of recoverable fuel reserves and in sufficient volume to last for 1500 years.
ANALYSIS: How we can live without cars
26 Aug 2008
A new report by the Land Transport Agency reads like a Green Party policy statement at first glance – it’s time to change public attitudes so that single-occupant car journeys become a thing of the past and people use more public transport.
Queenstown man heads for court to try to block ETS
26 Aug 2008
A Queenstown businessman is taking the Government to the High Court in a bid to prevent the passing of the Emissions Trading Scheme.
NEW ROADS: Do we really need them, asks energy activist
26 Aug 2008
Forget road tolls - the real questions is whether we need new roads at all.
FORUM: The Cartarets - report from a sinking world
26 Aug 2008
While New Zealanders debate measures to prevent the expected impacts of climate change, the real impacts are already hitting home for some people.
ETS CRUNCH TIME: Shaky, but Greens pact might swing the deal
22 Aug 2008
It’s crunch time for the emissions trading scheme, but concessions the Green Party has won on the allocation of free units might be enough to swing the deal for the Government.
Pass the ETS, greens, unions and business tell politicians
22 Aug 2008
Environmentalists, unions and business are urging politicians to pass the emissions trading scheme.
Extra sitting time will give time for ETS bill to be passed
22 Aug 2008
The Government is confident that there is enough time left in which to pass the emissions trading bill - if it can get the support.
Northland gives nod to Kaipara tidal energy project
22 Aug 2008
Crest Energy has passed a major hurdle in its bid to set up a tidal energy plant at the mouth of the Kaipara Harbour.
Bamboo can be a lucrative friend, pioneer tells Kiwis
22 Aug 2008
Environmentally friendly bamboo could be a winning crop for New Zealand if people didn’t have such a negative view of it, says an industry pioneer.
Genesis and Rodney council reach understanding on wastewater
22 Aug 2008
Genesis Energy and the Rodney District Council have taken joint plans to build a new wastewater plant for Helensville a step further with the signing of a memorandum of understanding - despite allegations that the power giant is buying community support for it's proposed power station.
Niwa scientists take serious look at algae for biofuel
22 Aug 2008
The sudden falling-from-grace of biofuels because of links to food shortages and food-price rises has intensified research into local algae sources by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.
City-centre green village signs Telecom as anchor tenant
22 Aug 2008
Telecom has become the anchor tenant of Wellington’s Willis Central scheme, confirming the designer's claim that it will be the nation’s first genuine Green inner-city mixed-use development.
English outlines National's climate-change policies
22 Aug 2008
National Party leader Bill English used this week's trans-Tasman Change and Business Conference to outline his party's position on climate change.
Use cost to help decide on ETS, says Business NZ
22 Aug 2008
Business NZ has responded to the Greens’ request for the public to help them decide whether to support Labour’s proposed emissions trading scheme.
OUR CARBON PROBLEM: Ideas, people ... but no money
19 Aug 2008
New Zealand has the ideas and the people but not the money to develop world-beating clean technologies.
NZ billions behind in carbon bonanza race, says Tindall
19 Aug 2008
New Zealand has just five years to get its share of the low-carbon economy bonanza, says Warehouse founder Stephen Tindall.
Global leaders? We’re not even close, says carbon-footprint pioneer
19 Aug 2008
New Zealand is being left behind when it comes to quantifying its carbon footprint, says enterprise-level carbon-footprint accounting software provider Revolution ID.
Seabed miner plans minerals hunt in NZ waters
19 Aug 2008
AIM-quoted Nautilus Minerals has selected New Zealand waters for deep-sea dredging for copper, zinc, gold, and silver.
NZ might have to take Pacific climate-change refugees
19 Aug 2008
New Zealand might have to open its doors and pockets to Pacific Islands peoples forced to leave their homelands because of climate change, a senior NGO official is warning.
Car-racing series gives nod to ethanol-mix biofuels
19 Aug 2008
Cars in the Toyota Racing Series will be allowed to run on ethanol-based biofuels, after Motorsport New Zealand modified the rules to allow it.
National’s energy policy hooks the fishing crowd
19 Aug 2008
Anglers who say coal is a better option than hydro power think they might have found an ally in the National Party.
We'll have an ETS in nine months, vows National
15 Aug 2008
The National Party says it will have an emissions trading scheme in place within nine months of becoming government – three months later than it has said earlier.
Key’s energy message: We’ll give you all the electricity you need
15 Aug 2008
Those who want to grow need to know they have the power supply necessary to do so – that’s the key message at the heart of the National Party’s energy policy released yesterday by leader John Key and energy spokesman Gerry Brownlee.
ANALYSIS: Nats' policy shop - an open back door?
15 Aug 2008
The National Party’s energy policy hits some fairly predictable expected notes – reform the Resource Management Act (RMA), make it easier for new power stations to be built, promote oil and gas exploration, get rid of unnecessary bureaucracy ... but it’s some of the finer detail (and in many cases lack of it) that makes the policy interesting.
Millions could flow from carbon world
15 Aug 2008
An emissions trading scheme could earn New Zealand millions of dollars, says a former space engineer-turned consultant.
ETS equals economic upheaval, say heavy emitters
15 Aug 2008
Heavy emitters are warning that the New Zealand economy is in for a roller-coaster ride if the emissions trading scheme comes into force.
Waste bill puts recycling pressure on IT industry
15 Aug 2008
The IT and office automation industry is among a number of sectors facing a crash recycling stewardship programme if the Green Party’s Waste Minimisation Bill gets passed before the election.
NZ in the box seat on emissions trading, says economist
12 Aug 2008
New Zealand risks squandering the huge natural advantages it will have in a carbon economy if it delays bringing in an emissions trading scheme, warns Karo Group principal Simon Young.
Local govt shake-up risks weakened environmental outcomes – Commissioner
Fri 27 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s push to simplify local government is "deeply flawed" and has been launched without a clear understanding of which functions must remain regional, according to the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
Funding first: Genesis reinforces the balance sheet
Today 12:00pm
Genesis Energy’s $400 million equity raise landed alongside a record first half, but the capital decision rather than the earnings headline is the more revealing signal about how the company intends to navigate the next phase of the build cycle.
Govt's solar on farms initiative to cut costs, boost resilience
17 Feb 2026
Farms across Aotearoa will begin installing solar panels and battery systems as part of a government-backed demonstration programme designed to test whether on-farm renewable energy can reduce electricity costs and improve energy security for the food and fibre sector.
Annual emissions fell to lowest in 15 years in Sept 2025
5 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions fell to their lowest annual total in the year to September 2025 since records began 2010, according to Statistics New Zealand data published this morning.
Air NZ joins Marsden Point SAF project
Tue 3 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Air New Zealand has quietly added its name to a consortium exploring the viability of green hydrogen production for sustainable aviation fuel at Channel Infrastructure’s Marsden Point energy hub.
Tairāwhiti needs proper Govt support to heal the land – not empty announcements for political optics
24 Feb 2026
OPINION: The Government’s answer to Tairāwhiti’s severe erosion crisis – that the region apply for modest, contestable funding rounds – while rejecting the region's own land transition business case, leaves our long-term resilience hanging in the balance, writes Manu Caddie.
Kiwi startup takes on global plastic pollution
12 Feb 2026
A New Zealand startup is launching what it says is the world’s first plastic-free effervescent drink tablet, with the ambitious aim of eliminating bottled beverages to reduce global plastic pollution.
