New Zealand: All stories
Scientists: Stop doubting and let us all get on with it
28 Apr 2008
Scientists are going on the offensive against climate-change “denialist spin”, saying that too much time is being spent arguing about whether climate change is real when the real effort should be going into finding solutions.
Woodhouse ready for commercialised carbon trade-off
28 Apr 2008
Low-key investor Seeby Woodhouse indicated at several closed-door discussions in Wellington and Auckland last week that he would step into carbon trading as a kind of one-man carbon exchange and clearing house.
NZ companies join UN emissions project
28 Apr 2008
An Auckland-based public relations firm and a Wellington management consultancy have joined a prestigious United Nations programme to slash climate emissions.
The big business question: How do we do it?
28 Apr 2008
New Zealand businesses might know that they need to do something about their environmental performance but most are struggling to know what, says a leading management consultant.
We're five times greener than the Aussies
28 Apr 2008
New Zealand businesses are almost five times "greener" than their Australian counterparts, with a new white paper finding more than half of Australian businesses have no policy to reduce energy use.
Champion farmers: We have to think differently
28 Apr 2008
Award-winning Far North farmers Lindsay and Erica Whyte say that there are many things that New Zealand farmers can do to improve their farms’ environmental impact – it’s just a case of starting to think differently.
City waste handy down on the farm
28 Apr 2008
A plan is being hatched to turn Auckland’s green-waste into valuable farm mulch.
Travelling greens have a new place to stay
28 Apr 2008
Travellers with a green bent will be able to sleep with a clear conscience at an Auckland hotel which opens its doors today.
Greens cool down on coal, but still hot on emissions
24 Apr 2008
The Green Party says that closing down the coal industry will not be a bottom-line issue in post-election coalition talks - but genuine measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions will be.
Power struggle as top energy companies go to war
24 Apr 2008
Two of our biggest power companies are at war for the wallets of the rapidly growing green consumer market.
Welcome to the age of ‘black power’
24 Apr 2008
Genesis Energy might have won a round against rival TrustPower for the hearts and minds of green consumers, but it’s in danger of losing the war, warns long-time social trends analyst Jill Caldwell.
ACT leader dismisses ETS legislation as ‘a rort’
24 Apr 2008
The emissions trading scheme (ETS) is just a government money-making rort, according to ACT Party leader Rodney Hide – and his party members agree.
Christchurch centre starts probing methane absorbing gas molecules on sea floor
24 Apr 2008
The Centre for Advanced Engineering (CAE) in Christchurch has begun looking at the possibilities of methane-absorbing gas hydrates in New Zealand waters.
NZ expert questions US praise of feedlot cattle
24 Apr 2008
An American claim that feedlot cattle are one answer for a world struggling with climate change has been challenged by a leading New Zealand environmentalist.
Deer hunters stalk carbon sink scheme
24 Apr 2008
The Deerstalkers' Association wants to sink a government proposal to wipe out deer from blocks of the Aorangi Forest on the Wairarapa coast.
UN honours climate change ‘trailblazer’ Clark
24 Apr 2008
Prime Minister Helen Clark has been honoured as a Champion of the Earth by the United Nations for her work on climate change.
Carbon storage in soil being researched: Major benefits possible for landowners
23 Apr 2008
A new move to store carbon in New Zealand soil is being formally researched and could be worth hundreds of millions to New Zealand farmers and other landowners.
Green Party pledges to shut Huntly, hobble coal industry
23 Apr 2008
The Green Party is threatening to end thermal coal exports and close the Huntly coal-fired power stations.
ANALYSIS: Potential political fall out from Green’s shock coal policy
23 Apr 2008
The Greens are viewed by many New Zealanders as “extreme” and offering policies which are too restrictive.
UK expert says NZ policy "a brave experiment", warns world not moving fast enough
23 Apr 2008
One of the UK’s leading climate change commentators calls New Zealand’s decision to include agriculture and forest sinks in its emissions trading regime “a brave experiment”.
Small-forest scheme open for business
23 Apr 2008
Applications are now open for the Government's new Afforestation Grant Scheme aimed at getting more trees planted on farms as part of New Zealand's effort to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Farming leadership criticised: industry at enormous risk
22 Apr 2008
New Zealand’s former Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment is calling for a radical rethink of our farming sector in the face of potential famine from climate change and world shortages of food, water and good-quality soils.
Climate change 'a problem for now'
22 Apr 2008
New Zealanders in the primary production sector believe that climate change is an urgent problem which needs addressing now.
Parker: No emissions credits for new renewable power plant developers
22 Apr 2008
Climate Change Minister David Parker says those building new renewable power stations won’t be rewarded with extra carbon credits under the proposed emissions trading scheme (ETS).
It's not so bad - a Carbon News series on mitigating the impact of emissions trading down on the farm
22 Apr 2008
Fancy a wind turbine in the back paddock? It could be worth about $75,000 a year - a major boost to property profits.
Wanganui firm pioneering organic engineering parts
22 Apr 2008
A quest to substitute naphtha derived plastic production engineering components for organic ones is under way at Axiam, a Wanganui high precision engineer better known internationally than it is here.
Kiwis dither while Aussie farmers pounce on carbon-trading scheme
22 Apr 2008
While New Zealand farming leaders openly question the existence of climate change, Australian landowners are queueing to join a national carbon-trading programme.
Now for the world's first hybrid rubbish truck
22 Apr 2008
Volvo is testing two hybrid refuse trucks in regular daily operations in Sweden by refuse collection firms Renova and Ragn-Sells.
KPMG: Tax consequences of being “green”
22 Apr 2008
When a famous frog sang, “it’s not easy being green …” he could have been referring to the consequences of being green for New Zealand businesses. As far as the IRD is concerned, it’s not going to get any easier.
The other side of the PI story: how environmental extremists are attacking NZ companies
21 Apr 2008
The private investigations firm which tried to recruit an environmentalist to provide information last night revealed to Carbon News that several companies in New Zealand are at significant risk from extremists.
Farm leaders, Agriculture Minister trade words on impact of ETS
21 Apr 2008
A row is brewing over the extent of the impact on farming of the proposed emissions trading scheme.
Farmer leadership slips back into attack on climate change science
21 Apr 2008
Federated Farmers wants the “religion” of climate changed reassessed before an emissions trading scheme is brought in, a stance which has failed to impress the Minister of Agriculture.
Wellington City decides on carbon credit revenue plan from town belts, forests
21 Apr 2008
Wellington City is looking to earn large annual revenues from emission credits by turning its town belts and forests into carbon sinks.
Genesis to build new $420m thermal plant unless regulations say not to
18 Apr 2008
The absence of legal definitions of base-load and peaking power supply is behind Genesis Energy’s seeking resource consent for a new thermal power station north of Auckland, the Government’s planned 10-year ban not withstanding.
Carbon neutrality uncompromised by coal supply, Meridian says
18 Apr 2008
Meridian Energy’s carbon-neutral status is not compromised by its ownership of a coal-fired boiler that supplies heat to several Dunedin businesses, the state-owned company says.
NZIER foreshadows grim ETS study in pre committee publicity flurry
18 Apr 2008
The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research has publicly revealed its plan to produce a study at the ETS bill select committee hearings - and foreshadows it wants an alternative policy.
Ten users per computer idea takes 5000 car-equivalent off the road
18 Apr 2008
A Canadian company claims that in the past year its software, which allows up to 10 people to work from one computer, has saved 29,000 tons of CO2 emissions, the equivalent of taking more than 5000 cars off the road.
Carbon job market heating up fast
18 Apr 2008
Executive search firm A E Feldman (http://blog.aefeldman.com/2008/04/14/global-carbon-job-market-booming/) reports the global carbon market is heating up at a fast and furious pace.
Auto industry authority: hydrogen fuel may be viable
18 Apr 2008
BMW says that the influential J.D. "Dave" Power III, founder of J.D. Power and Associates and board member of Fuel Systems Solutions, Inc., is the latest high-visibility eco-friendly ambassador to receive keys to a BMW Hydrogen 7 - the first hydrogen-powered luxury sedan.
ANALYSIS: World food problem: Business as usual not an option
18 Apr 2008
By Lester R. Brown - A fast-unfolding food shortage is engulfing the entire world, driving food prices to record highs.
Biofuels target of protests in UK
18 Apr 2008
London - There have been demonstrations in London and groups across the UK also protested against the introduction of mandatory biofuel blending.
Smith: Government should be ‘up front’ over ETS costs and impacts, criticises 20 day media ban
17 Apr 2008
Opposition climate change spokesperson Nick Smith is urging the Government to come clean and tell the public exactly what advice it has about how much money the Government will make from the auctioning of permits under the proposed emissions trading scheme.
Contact Energy not defying thermal ban
17 Apr 2008
Contact Energy’s acquisition of two additional 100mw gas-fired power generation turbines does not breach the Government’s 10-year ban on new thermal power generation, the company told Carbon News last night.
Ministerial press secretaries impose up to 20 day information ban on Carbon News
17 Apr 2008
Two Ministerial press secretaries have said they will restrict the flow of information to Carbon News.
The questions we have asked Minister Parker
17 Apr 2008
Here are the questions Carbon News has asked Climate Change Minister David Parker.
State landlords must go green
17 Apr 2008
Go Green or flag away your state tenants. The massive over-building of state office accommodation in Wellington is designed to ensure that public servants from 2010 onward will toil only in green buildings.
EU officials investigate competitiveness issues arising from ETS plan
17 Apr 2008
European Union (EU) officials from the European Climate Change Programme (ECCP) in the past few days have initiated a program to identify which energy-intensive industries might need protection as a result of the EU's recently proposed tougher greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions controls.
EU will leave ETS breathing room for foreign airlines
17 Apr 2008
Europe will leave breathing room for non-European carriers if their homeland adopts an emissions trading scheme (ETS).
EXCLUSIVE: Treasury responds on ETS windfall, but defers to select committeee
16 Apr 2008
The Treasury reckons it’s easy as anything to work out how much the Government will make in windfall revenues selling carbon credits, but it still shrinks from putting a figure on it.
‘Mokihinui doomed by RMA if not by Mallard’
16 Apr 2008
Meridian Energy’s embarrassment over a negative biodiversity report on the state-owned electricity generator’s Mokihinui River hydro scheme means the Government will pull the plug on it, National Party energy spokesperson Gerry Brownlee says.
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.
