New Zealand: All stories
What will the biggest shakeup to public transport in decades do for the climate?
16 Aug 2022
Public transport is in for its biggest shakeup in decades with yesterday’s announcements of the government’s “Sustainable Public Transport Framework” and the Auckland City Council’s proposed Transport Emissions Reduction Pathway.
Bill to come on free allocation of NZUs
15 Aug 2022
By Ian Llewellyn - Energy & Environment | The government intends to introduce a bill by the end of the year to reset the industrial allocation under the Emissions Trading Scheme and reduce what it assesses as a $60 million over allocation.
Initiatives to help Kiwi and Fijian youth take action against climate change
15 Aug 2022
Keep New Zealand Beautiful has launched flexible workshops to help students understand the impacts of climate change, and how they can make a difference; while 100 Fijian youth renewed commitments to fight climate change last week.
MIT researchers propose apace bubbles to stop climate change
15 Aug 2022
Climate change is a real problem. Human caused outputs of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane are the main driver of an unprecedented rise in global average temperatures at a speed never before seen in the Earth’s geologic record. The problem is so bad that any attempts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions may be too little and too late. And so a team based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have proposed a radical new solution: bubbles…in space.
Save rail redux
12 Aug 2022
In 1983 the then-Labour MP Richard Prebble toured the country on a save rail campaign.
World Bank funds new Pacific disaster and resilience website
12 Aug 2022
The World Bank has funded a new website for Pacific disaster and resilience information as part of its programme to strengthen early warning systems and resilience for Pacific Islanders.
Best by the rest...
12 Aug 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: IPCC author Bruce Glavovic wants to sharpen the focus of the National Adaptation Plan; Otago University experts touch on the relationship between solving public health crises and the climate crisis; plus creative non-fiction by science writer Rebecca Priestley.
Financial Markets Authority taken to task for failing to call out greenwashing
11 Aug 2022
The Financial Markets Authority has been accused of breaching its own code of conduct and failing to properly enforce ethical standards by refusing to define what makes an investment ethical.
Westpac offers low interest loans for e-bikes and EVs
11 Aug 2022
Westpac NZ has launched a new low-interest personal loan to support more New Zealanders to buy a range of electric vehicles, including EVs, e-bikes, e-scooters and e-mopeds.
Declining pest eradication will damage carbon sinks
11 Aug 2022
New Zealand leads the world in island pest eradication successes, but a decline in eradication in recent years could spell bad news for local carbon sinks.
Govt proposes legislation for greener streets
10 Aug 2022
The government is proposing new legislation to make it safe, quicker, and more attractive for people to walk, ride, and take public transport in towns and cities.
Auckland Harbour Bridge walking/cycling trial reconsidered
10 Aug 2022
Waka Kotahi is reconsidering trialling pedestrian and cycling access to Auckland Harbour Bridge following threats of legal action from environmental lobbyists.
EECA calls for submissions on EV charging
10 Aug 2022
The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) is calling for public submissions on a green paper about improving the performance of electric vehicle (EV) chargers to cope with increasing demand on the grid.
Climate change is making 58% of infectious diseases worse
10 Aug 2022
More than half of the infectious diseases known to impact humans are being aggravated by climate change, scientists reported Monday in a new study in the journal Nature Climate Change.
Climate change may increase mortality rate due to excess heat by six times: Lancet study
10 Aug 2022
Climate change may increase the mortality rate due to excessive heat six times by the end of the century, according to a modelling study published in The Lancet Planetary Health journal.
Kiwibank to offer sustainable loans to all business customers
9 Aug 2022
Kiwibank is to offer preferential interests rates on sustainable loans to business customers beyond the agriculture sector for the first time from next month.
Climate change will push whales further south
9 Aug 2022
Climate change will send New Zealand’s iconic marine giants south, further destabilising local marine ecosystems as well as threatening Kaikoura’s tourism industry, according to new research.
A volcano is erupting again in Iceland. Is climate change causing more eruptions?
9 Aug 2022
The Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland began erupting again on Wednesday after eight months of slumber – so far without any adverse impacts on people or air traffic.
Government should commit $8 billion to retrofitting housing: Green Building Council
8 Aug 2022
The government’s emission reduction plan lacks ambition and is missing out on hundreds of millions of dollars’ of easily achievable savings in energy and health benefits as a result, the New Zealand Green Building Council told the Environment Select Committee last week.
Forestry policy juggling competing priorities
8 Aug 2022
By Ian Llewellyn - Energy & Environment | The finance and expenditure committee has reported back the Overseas Investment (Forestry) Amendment Bill, highlighting the Government’s attempt to grapple with competing priorities in the sector.
Kānuka could provide lucrative combined carbon-fixing regime
5 Aug 2022
By Liz Kivi | Kānuka could provide an alternative to pine plantations on marginal land, following a groundbreaking study showing kanuka oil as an effective treatment for eczema.
Apologies
5 Aug 2022
Due to a technical glitch - we forgot to push send - yesterday's Carbon News bulletin wasn't sent out until this morning.
Groundswell tells farmers to “Say No” to reporting emissions
5 Aug 2022
Farming protest group Groundswell is undermining climate efforts by the government and He Waka Eke Noa, launching a campaign to boycott government requests for information.
Best by the rest...
5 Aug 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: Former Green Party leader Russel Norman on greenwashing and He Waka Eke Noa; political journalist Branko Marcetic on why the pundits are getting the Green Party leadership stoush all wrong; and land use expert Keith Woodford underlines the significance of recent government announcements for forestry rules and carbon pricing.
Global forest area declined by 60% since 1960, study finds
5 Aug 2022
A new study has found an alarming loss in forest areas globally, including that global forest area per capita has dropped from 1.4 hectares in 1960 to just 0.5 hectares per person by 2019, a 60% decline.
Unprecedented, climate-driven disasters are stymieing preparation efforts
5 Aug 2022
A new study warns that unprecedented events — disasters so extreme that communities haven’t experienced anything like them before — are stymieing attempts to prepare for them. Risk management strategies based on past climate norms are no longer effective for a more extreme future.
Future governments could sell offshore carbon credits into ETS
4 Aug 2022
The government could purchase carbon credits from another government and then sell them through the ETS, Climate Change Commission commissioner Catherine Leining told an open Zoom session on Tuesday.
Who will pay for adaptation?
4 Aug 2022
The National Adaptation Plan (NAP) has been welcomed as a good start, but the big question of who is going to pay for the billion dollar large-scale adaptation is still up for debate.
Consultation period on forestry regulations "too short"
4 Aug 2022
Investment group Jarden has criticised the three week consultation period set down by the government as not enough time for stakeholders to process the complexities of the draft Climate Change (Forestry Sector) Regulations.
Consultation open on penalties for small foresters in ETS
4 Aug 2022
The Ministry for Primary Industries and the Ministry of the Environment are consulting on two options to change the penalty for small foresters in the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) who fail to surrender or repay units by the due date.
What’s hotter than solar panels? Solar window
4 Aug 2022
The tantalizing idea behind solar windows is that the vertical surfaces on the outside of just about any building could unobtrusively generate electricity.
How climate change is muting nature’s symphony
4 Aug 2022
When Jeff Wells, vice president for boreal conservation at the Audubon Society, first encountered the call of the common loon on a pond near Mt. Vernon, Maine — about an hour and a half north of Portland — he thought he may have heard a ghoul. “I leaped out of bed and ran into my parents’ bedroom, like, ‘What is that?’” he told Grist, describing a melancholy wail that has made loons famous far beyond the birding community.
First national climate adaptation plan launched today
3 Aug 2022
The Government plans to introduce legislation to support managed retreat in response to the worsening impacts of climate change, according to the first national climate adaptation plan, released this morning.
Scientists say it’s ‘fatally foolish’ to not study catastrophic climate outcomes
3 Aug 2022
As global greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, some climate scientists say it’s time to start paying more attention to the most extreme, worst-case outcomes, including the potential for widespread extinctions, mass climate migration and the disintegration of social and political systems.
Government’s decision to delay permanent forestry decision slammed
2 Aug 2022
Beef + Lamb NZ and farming protest group 50 Shades of Green have slammed the government’s move to put off a decision on removing exotics from the permanent forest category of the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Youth scholarships to Climate Change and Business Conference up for grabs
2 Aug 2022
The Climate Change and Business Conference, being held in Auckland in September, has announced a scholarship for 18-30-year olds to allow them to attend the $975 event.
Smelter’s future on the line
1 Aug 2022
By Ian Llewellyn - Energy & Environment | It came later than many expected, but NZ Aluminium Smelters confirmed it would begin talks for power supply to extend the life of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter past 2024 when its current deal with Meridian and Contact ends.
How is the jet stream connected to simultaneous heat waves across the globe?
1 Aug 2022
The deadly heat waves that have fueled blazes and caused transport disruptions in Europe, the U.S. and China this month have one thing in common: a peculiar shape in the jet stream dubbed “wavenumber 5.”
Tourism expert calls to scrutinise cruise ships’ emissions
29 Jul 2022
By Liz Kivi | A sustainable tourism expert wants greater scrutiny around cruise travel, including the impacts of mega cruise ships and their carbon emissions, ahead of the vessels’ return to New Zealand waters in October.
Petition to support transition to plant-based agriculture
29 Jul 2022
The Vegan Society is calling on the government to support farmers to transition to a plant-based economy, with a petition sent to parliament yesterday.
Best by the rest...
29 Jul 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: Is the government abandoning its proposal to limit permanent exotic forest in the ETS? Two court cases fighting over further fossil fuel prospecting; and why confronting climate change means sharing power.
Global CCS rates overestimated by up to 30% – Imperial College London
29 Jul 2022
The amount of carbon that has been captured and stored globally via carbon capture and storage (CCS) since 1996 has been overestimated by up to 30%, according to new research from Imperial College London.
How forests lost 8,000 years of stored carbon in a few generations
29 Jul 2022
"Plant a tree" seems to be the go-to answer to climate change concerns these days. Booking a rental car online recently, I was asked to check a box to plant a tree to offset my car's anticipated carbon dioxide emissions.
Carbon market wakes from its slumber following Climate Change Commission advice
28 Jul 2022
The price of NZUs on the secondary market reached $82.50 – a jump of close to 13% on its opening price – following yesterday’s release of the Climate Change Commission’s advice to government on the NZ ETS settings.
Active transport subsidy a hit with staff
28 Jul 2022
A $750 active transport subsidy has proved a hit with employees of the New Zealand arm of the international engineering consultancy WPS.
Supervolcano study indicates carbon dioxide emissions key to avoid climate change
28 Jul 2022
A new study has linked the volume and speed of carbon dioxide emissions from supervolcanoes to past environmental crises. According to the researchers, the findings are instrumental in understanding how to prevent future climate disasters.
Climate Change Commission recommends reducing number of NZUs on offer
27 Jul 2022
The Climate Change Commission has recommended the government reduces the number of NZUs on offer at auction and an increase in the trigger price of the cost containment reserve, in advice to the climate change minister released this morning.
New e-bike subscription service electrifies Christchurch commutes
27 Jul 2022
By Liz Kivi | A new e-bike subscription service is on a mission to reduce barriers for light electric vehicle uptake and help users decarbonise their commute.
Delay to improving insulation could increase GHGs by 200,000 tonnes
26 Jul 2022
The government has delayed tightening building regulations outlined in the Emissions Reduction Plan by six months, a move that could potentially increase GHG emissions by nearly 200,000 tonnes.
The case for paying carbon taxes on unsustainable food
26 Jul 2022
Minimizing the risk of living on an unlivable planet requires significantly reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through various means, like shifting to renewable energy and electrifying sectors that rely on fossil fuels.
Govt promises ‘earlier action’ in response to Commission’s warning climate targets at risk
Fri 17 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government says it will “explore opportunities for earlier action” ahead of the third Emissions Reduction Plan, and has committed to looking at ways to stop the system of free carbon credits for industrial polluters from disincentivising industrial decarbonisation.
Transpower tracks more than 100 new grid projects
Tue 14 Oct 2025
Transpower’s latest connection data show more than 100 generation, storage and load projects in its pipeline, reflecting the rapid pace of electrification across the country.
All carrot, no stick for farmers on methane
Fri 17 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: The abandonment of methane emissions pricing and the adoption of a weaker target is effectively the last nail in the coffin of the historic cross-parliamentary consensus embedded in the Zero Carbon Act 2019.
Govt releases updated emissions projections
Mon 13 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Ministry for the Environment has released updated emissions projections to 2050, which show significant differences to the Climate Change Commission's recent projections for the same period.
Air NZ inks deal for its first internationally verified carbon credits
9 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Air New Zealand has committed to buying 8000 tonnes of carbon removals by 2030, in partnership with local native forest investment platform My Native Forest.
Emails show forestry lobby fought Gisborne crackdown as slash clean-up drags on
26 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Sustainable land use advocates are accusing Eastland Wood Council of stonewalling efforts to tighten forestry rules, after correspondence between the group and the local council was released under the Official Information Act.
Climate credibility gap widening for Aussie firms
1 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Australian public companies’ climate change commitments are in retreat, reflecting difficulty in achieving stated targets and increased fossil use, but not because of any pressure to make less effort, according to a study of major companies’ ESG reporting.
