New Zealand: All stories
Rich nations caused climate harm to poorer ones, study says
13 Jul 2022
Scientists, officials and activists have long called out the inequity in national histories on greenhouse gas emissions with rich nations benefiting and poor ones hurting from global warming, and now a study published Tuesday aims to calculate just how much economic impact large emitters have caused to other nations.
Seaweed restoration project to boost carbon absorption
12 Jul 2022
An environmental project has secured a funding boost to regenerate seaweed forests off Wellington’s coast.
Species extinction threatens the livelihoods of billions: new report
12 Jul 2022
With billions of people depending on wild flora and fauna for food, medicine, and energy, a million species are at risk of extinction due to the combined impacts of climate change, other forms of pollution, overexploitation, and deforestation, warns a new report backed by the United Nations.
High Court decision sets high bar for climate change litigation
11 Jul 2022
The High Court’s rejection of All Aboard Aotearoa’s case against Auckland Transport and Auckland Council, released on Friday, sets a high bar for those wanting to hold government bodies to account for their climate policies.
Government presses on with Lake Onslow project
11 Jul 2022
By Ian Llewellyn - Energy & Environment | Officials have been given the go-ahead to work on final feasibility studies for the Lake Onslow pumped hydro project.
New study identifies rapidly emerging threats to oceans
11 Jul 2022
A globe-spanning study outlines new, potentially unexpected threats to ocean ecosystems and vulnerable coastal communities within the next five to 10 years that will come on top of the already harmful effects of overfishing, pollution and global warming.
CarbonCrop units being traded again but questions remain
8 Jul 2022
CarbonCrop chief executive Jo Blundell and Carbonz founder Finn Ross says an update to their “messaging” was all that was required to re-start the trading of CarbonCrop units (CCUs) this week.
New Kiwi tech electrifying jetboats
8 Jul 2022
Kiwi tech is electrifying jetboats here and around the world, with an Auckland startup going global with the world’s first turnkey electric jet propulsion system for boats; while the iconic Shotover Jet has completed a prototype conversion of one of its ICE models.
Best by the rest…
8 Jul 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: Offshore oil and gas exploration goes ahead despite bans; indigenous forests’ carbon sequestration superpowers; and is romanticising New Zealand’s colonial past hindering our climate response?
“Time for action is now”: Climate Change Commission
7 Jul 2022
The Climate Change Commission has thrown its support behind a system of farm-level pricing for agricultural emissions outside of the ETS in its advice to government released yesterday.
Waikato student wins scholarship to study Antarctic carbon release hotspots
7 Jul 2022
A Waikato student has won a $20,000 scholarship to study possible carbon dioxide release hotspots in the Southern Ocean.
Methane emissions reach new highs despite pandemic—four times more sensitive to climate change than first thought
7 Jul 2022
Eliminating emissions of CO₂ is high up the environmental agenda—but the world should not lose sight of the threat from methane. There has been a disturbing recent surge in atmospheric methane, which is more than 25 times more potent as a greenhouse gas over the course of a century than CO₂.
Minister defends government's preferred light rail option for Wellington
6 Jul 2022
Transport minister Michael Wood says an Infrastructure Commission review of the government’s preferred rapid transport plan for Wellington, which found it “fundamentally counter-productive” to achieving carbon reduction targets, fails to take account of emission reductions resulting from densification.
ECAN wants exotics removed from ETS permanent settings
6 Jul 2022
A Banks Peninsula case study has convinced Canterbury’s regional council that removing exotics from the permanent settings of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is the right move.
Should government put the brakes on fuel tax cuts?
5 Jul 2022
The government isn’t ruling out further fuel tax cuts, but experts say policy makers should be looking at a targeted approach to inflation rather than continue with a “knee-jerk response” to rising fuel prices.
Restoring nature is not a silver bullet for global warming, we must cut emissions outright
5 Jul 2022
Restoring degraded environments, such as by planting trees, is often touted as a solution to the climate crisis. But our new research shows this, while important, is no substitute for preventing fossil fuel emissions to limit global warming.
Coal mine out of business due to high environmental costs
4 Jul 2022
A recent regional council decision to refuse consents for Bathurst Coal’s Canterbury mining operation could signal that environmental regulations are increasing the cost of coal to the point where it’s no longer economic.
Is coal driving wholesale power prices?
4 Jul 2022
By Ian Llewellyn - Energy & Environment | It appears that international coal prices are one of the main drivers behind currently higher than average wholesale spot and futures power prices.
How AI can have a positive and negative impact on climate: study
4 Jul 2022
A study published last month in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Climate Change sought to understand the potential impact of artificial intelligence on climate change.
Technofixes are the elite's attempt to sidestep blame for the climate crisis
4 Jul 2022
Science has a resistance to ill-founded assertions embedded deep in its bones. Carl Sagan called this “baloney detection.” But in the face of climate change, arguably our largest science-related crisis, these baloney detection capabilities haven’t kept our leaders honest.
NZ exporters could face European tariffs if NZ misses Paris commitments
1 Jul 2022
The European NZ free trade deal announced yesterday binds the signatories to meeting their Paris commitments and allows for tariffs to be imposed should they fail to do so.
Councils take aim at climate crisis
1 Jul 2022
More local authorities are taking aim at the climate crisis, with Queenstown Lakes District Council and Hamilton City Council both adopting climate policies yesterday.
CarbonCrop to renew trading next week
1 Jul 2022
The on-again-off-again trading of Native CarbonCrop units (CCUs) will be on again next week.
Best by the rest…
1 Jul 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: questions about new carbon offsets; wrestling with methane metrics; and He Waka Eke Noa’s programme director argues Kiwi innovation will be key to reducing emissions.
The benefits of growing brocolli beneath solar panels
1 Jul 2022
Despite being “yucky” according to some picky eaters, broccoli is well-suited to grow alongside solar panels, according to a new study.
110km speed limit on Waikato Expressway predicted to increase C02 emissions by nearly 38,000 tonnes
30 Jun 2022
Waka Kotahi modelling predicts the decision to allow drivers to travel at 110km/h on the Waikato Expressway will result in 37,903 tonnes of emissions between 2031 and 2041.
Trading paused on new voluntary carbon market platform after a single day
30 Jun 2022
Carbonnz - a voluntary carbon credit trading platform launched on Tuesday - has temporarily paused trading.
Mindful Money Ethical and Impact Investment awards winners announced
30 Jun 2022
Pathfinder Asset Managment has scooped the top prize at the Mindful Money Ethical and Impact awards for the second year running.
Climate impact of food-miles up to 7 times higher than previously thought: study
30 Jun 2022
Fresh research suggests transport accounts for one-fifth of total food-system emissions, with fresh fruit and vegetables amongst the most carbon-intensive.
Climate change puts another nail in quarter acre pavlova paradise’s coffin
29 Jun 2022
It’s been a long time coming but the climate emergency is finally beginning to reshape the future of our cities. This morning’s announcement that the government is throwing its support behind light rail from the Wellington railway station to Island Bay is driven by a vision of a much higher density city where the motorcar takes a back seat to public transport, cycling and walking.
Pandemic slashes NZTE’s carbon emissions by nearly 70%
29 Jun 2022
New Zealand Trade and Enterprise’s first sustainability report shows the pandemic slashed a whopping 68.8% from the government agency’s carbon emissions.
Tropical cyclones now ‘13% less frequent’ due to climate change
29 Jun 2022
Tropical cyclones are complex phenomena, which only form under specific atmospheric and oceanic conditions. Research suggests that, as the climate warms, changing conditions are making tropical cyclones less frequent. However, a lack of long-term cyclone data makes this trend difficult to quantify.
Seaweed startup raises $7 million to reduce ruminant methane emissions
29 Jun 2022
US startup Symbrosia* has raised $7 million in new funding as it makes progress on its seaweed feed additive that reduces methane emissions from livestock.
New voluntary carbon unit will incentivise landowners to preserve regenerating native bush
28 Jun 2022
A new voluntary carbon unit, launched today, will incentivise landowners to protect areas of regenerating native bush currently ineligible for NZUs under the ETS.
NZ not doing enough to prevent deaths from extreme weather worsened by climate change
28 Jun 2022
Negative health consequences from extreme weather in New Zealand could increase because of climate change and the country needs to do more to prevent and manage these threats, researchers say.
Sustainable Business Network launches new carbon emissions calculator
28 Jun 2022
The Sustainable Business Network (SBN) is launching a new carbon emissions calculator tomorrow to make it easier for businesses to measure and reduce emissions.
Climate change affecting children even before birth
28 Jun 2022
Climate change affects everyone, but studies have shown infants and children to be most vulnerable.
Report recommends rail upgrades resulting in up to 1.6 million tonnes of avoided CO2 emissions
27 Jun 2022
The Wellington Regional Council has released a report that recommends replacing the diesel locomotives currently used on the Wairarapa and Manawatu lines with tri mode trains that emit eight times less emissions.
The Government’s gas conundrum
27 Jun 2022
By Ian Llewellyn - Energy & Environment | The problem of how to phase out natural gas use and not cause energy security problems and inflict billions of dollars in costs is highlighted in a Cabinet paper starting work on a Gas Transition Plan.
MicroCar e-volution: The microcars already on our roads
23 Jun 2022
By Jeremy Rose | The Fiat 500 – better known in New Zealand as the Bambina - weighed in at just under 500 kilos but it was its 500cc engine that gave its name.
Greenpeace, Green Party call for stronger action on deforestation imports
23 Jun 2022
Greenpeace says a bill aimed at preventing unsustainable timber imports will do little to save the world’s rainforests or end human rights abuses.
Best by the rest...
23 Jun 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: New Zealand’s offshore energy revolution; climate policy’s winners and losers; and how climate change is putting marae at risk.
Economists assume the desire for wealth is insatiable. What if they’re wrong?
23 Jun 2022
The majority of people surveyed in 33 countries around the world say their lifestyle dreams could be fulfilled with a finite—and often relatively modest—amount of money. The findings call into question a founding principle of economics, and suggest unexpected opportunities for achieving sustainable societies.
Transport-related GHG emissions cost society $1.68 billion a year
22 Jun 2022
By Liz Kivi | Transport-related greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) are costing society $1.68 billion a year, according to a recent report commissioned by the Ministry of Health.
How climate change is knocking natural events wildly out of sync
22 Jun 2022
Climate change is throwing off the timing of key events in the natural world, from the flowering of plants to the migrations of birds and mammals. Now, ecologists are warning that this could spiral out of control and cause whole ecosystems to break down.
Emissions from agriculture threatens health and climate: US study
22 Jun 2022
A new US study analyses the cost of reactive nitrogen emissions from fertilized agriculture and their risks to populations and climate.
What 18 independent studies all concluded about the use of hydrogen for heating
22 Jun 2022
A total of 18 independent studies produced since 2019 — including by the IPCC, IEA and McKinsey — have ruled out hydrogen playing a major role in the heating of buildings, according to a list compiled by renowned energy expert Jan Rosenow.
Parliamentary questions often a let down
21 Jun 2022
There is a climate crisis, but deflating people’s tyres is not okay, that in a nutshell was climate change minister James Shaw’s response to a written question from ACT’s climate change spokesperson Simon Court.
A new Pacific Reset? Why NZ must prioritise climate change and labour mobility
21 Jun 2022
By Robert Scollay - The Conversation | The frequent use of the term “shared values” to describe developments in the Pacific tends to obscure a distinct shift in New Zealand and Australian relations with their Pacific partners over the past two decades.
‘Food miles’ have larger climate impact than thought, study suggests
21 Jun 2022
Global “food miles” emissions are higher than previously thought – accounting for nearly one-fifth of total food-system emissions – new research suggests.
ETS a ‘broken paradigm’ undercutting biodiversity efforts
Mon 25 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Pure Advantage is calling on the government to reform the Emissions Trading Scheme, with a new policy briefing saying that New Zealand’s offset-heavy approach is a “broken paradigm” undermining biodiversity and shifting risk to communities.
Profound shifts in our changing energy system – new data
Wed 27 Aug 2025
New Zealand’s energy system is undergoing a profound shift as falling gas production and a dry hydro year reshaped the electricity market in 2024, according to data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Energy in New Zealand 2025.
International scientists slam NZ govt's proposed approach to methane
13 Aug 2025
New Zealand's proposed approach to methane emissions has again been attacked by international climate scientists, with a new study saying the attempt to redefine climate target-setting by livestock-exporting countries undermines the transition to a sustainable and equitable food system
Marginal drop in last year's regional emissions
Wed 27 Aug 2025
Regional greenhouse gas emissions were down slightly last year, with a fall in gas supply leading to a big drop in Taranaki, but more coal burnt leading to higher emissions in Waikato, according to new figures from Stats NZ
Fund for low emissions transport winds up
31 Jul 2025
New Zealand’s Low Emission Transport Fund has officially wrapped up, ending a nine-year programme that put hundreds of millions of dollars towards accelerating the country’s shift to cleaner transport.
Certainty crucial to emissions cuts – Watts
20 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says that policy certainty is the Government’s primary lever for unlocking private capital and meeting climate targets, telling a carbon forestry conference that ETS settings are 'locked' through 2030.
Why climate strategy is now central to business success
Tue 26 Aug 2025
SPONSORED CONTENT: Ahead of next month’s Climate Change and Business Conference, New Zealand businesses are being urged to treat climate strategy not as a regulatory burden, but as a core driver of economic competitiveness.
