New Zealand: All stories
'Fifty-fifty chance' of breaching 1.5C warming limit
11 May 2022
UK Met Office researchers say that there's now around a fifty-fifty chance that the world will warm by more than 1.5C over the next five years.
ACT proposes blitzkrieg of climate bureaucracy
10 May 2022
The ACT Party says it would scrap the Climate Change Commission and Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority and ditch all climate change related subsidies and environment-related job schemes, in its alternative budget launched yesterday.
Te Paati Maori comes out in support of permanent pine forests
10 May 2022
Debbie Ngawera-Packer, Te Paati Maori co-leader and climate change spokesperson, has come out in support of pine forests, attacking government proposals to remove exotic species from the permanent forestry category of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).
Native forests cannot realistically compensate for flying
10 May 2022
By Paul Callister - Planetary Ecology blog | Submissions have now closed on a potential law change that would shift the emphasis from fast growing pine and other exotic forests to permanent native forests to absorb our emissions. These are complex debates involving forest ecology, economics, as well as ideology. The decision will have a major impact on long-term land use, especially with regard to marginal farmland. This, in turn, will affect farmer and Mâori landowner decisions on how to...
Atmospheric CO2 hits another all-time high
10 May 2022
Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels measured at Hawai’i’s Mauna Loa Observatory breached 420 parts per million (ppm) in April for the first time in human history.
Cabinet sets emissions budget to 2035
9 May 2022
Cabinet has set New Zealand’s first three emissions budgets to take the country to 2035, in line with the plan to reach net zero emissions by 2050, Climate Change Minister James Shaw announced this morning.
Energy strategy needed for infrastructure plan
9 May 2022
By Ian Llewellyn - editor Energy and Environment | The first long-term infrastructure strategy points to the need for a modified energy strategy to back a massive build in new renewable electricity generation without pushing for it to be 100% renewable.
Mystery of the missing forestry credits solved
9 May 2022
On Friday Carbon News reported that British asset management fund Gresham House had purchased a 25% stake in 12,000 hectares of native New Zealand forests and was claiming it would generate 9 million carbon credits over 25 years. We questioned that 9 million figure as it’s well above the 1.95 million tonnes of CO2 a post-1989 native forest of that size would be expected sequester.
British firm takes 25% stake in 12,000 hectares of native bush
6 May 2022
British asset management fund Gresham House has taken a 25% stake in 12,000 hectares of native forest after having an Overseas Investment Office application to buy the lot declined last year.
Electric bus sales overtaking diesel
6 May 2022
Public transport is gradually making the switch to renewable energy, with electric bus imports overtaking diesel for the first time in the past 12 months.
Best by the rest...
6 May 2022
In our Weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: Sea levels are rising and Kiwi communities are sinking - who will pay for the damage? And Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick argues for collective responsibility on climate change.
Tropical vegetation benefits less from elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide than researchers previously thought
6 May 2022
Carbon dioxide is known to have a fertilizing effect on plant growth, and the gas is often added to greenhouse crops to help improve yields.
Gene-editing breakthrough could cut ruminant methane
6 May 2022
Scientists have successfully switched on a plant gene in feed crops that could help reduce methane emissions from cattle and sheep.
Climate impacts could lead to significant defaults: Reserve Bank
5 May 2022
The Reserve Bank is warning climate change could lead to significant defaults when combined with other factors, in their latest report.
10 YEARS AGO...
5 May 2022
Ten years ago, 148 of South Korea's 151 MPs voted for the introduction of an emissions trading scheme.
Is it time to put Te Pati Maori in charge of climate change?
4 May 2022
The Financial Times has created a climate change game that lets players see how they would do if they were put in charge of climate change policy: Te Pati Maori co-leader Debbie Ngawera-Packer had a go and she aced it.
Bay of Plenty council aiming for zero corporate emissions
4 May 2022
Toi Moana Bay of Plenty Regional Council has reduced its corporate greenhouse gas emissions by 15% since 2019, but still has a long way to go to reach its aim of being carbon neutral by 2050.
Council targets food waste to cut landfill emissions
3 May 2022
By Liz Kivi | Wellington is a step closer to reducing methane emissions from the Southern Landfill, with a trial in Miramar showing separate kerbside collection could reduce landfilled food waste by nearly 40%.
Tree loss in tropics casts doubt over climate goals
3 May 2022
Tropical regions of the world lost 11.1 million hectares of forest cover in 2021, new data shows, calling into question global pledges to end deforestation by 2030.
Sea level rise the stuff of nightmares
2 May 2022
By Jeremy Rose | In the early 1990s I bought by first house – one of the original houses in Wellington’s Owhiro Bay. I still occasionally have a nightmare where the sea is washing through my lounge.
Protest shuts down Southland coal mine
2 May 2022
Thirty protesters stopped operations this morning at the Takitimu coal mine in Nightcaps, Southland, which is run by Bathurst Resources.
A $64 billion forestry question
29 Apr 2022
Modelling by economic consultancy Infometrics – commissioned by the Climate Forestry Association – has found removing exotics from the permanent forest category under the ETS will cost the country more than $64 billion over 15 years.
Urgent need to restore land and forests – expert reaction
29 Apr 2022
Up to 40% of the world’s land is degraded, says a major UN assessment of how countries manage and use land resources – soil, water and biodiversity. The Science Media Centre asked experts to comment.
Kiwi tech boosting UN Pacific Islands climate change initiative
29 Apr 2022
Kiwi tech is central to a United Nations environmental programme combating climate change and preventing the extinction of hundreds of endangered species in the Pacific Islands.
Best by the rest…
29 Apr 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: Zero-carbon commitments and supply chain strategy; expert advice on climate adaptation; and why electric vehicles will not save the planet.
Insurance Council calls for urgent action on climate adaptation
28 Apr 2022
The Insurance Council is disappointed the government isn’t acting urgently on climate change adaptation, with new legislation unlikely to be passed until 2024, according to the National Adaptation Plan released yesterday.
Anything but green: NZ near the bottom of international index
28 Apr 2022
New Zealand has been ranked 60th out of 76 nations in the “green society” section of MIT’s annual Green Future Index 2022.
Government releases draft climate change adaptation plan
27 Apr 2022
A half metre rise in sea levels would result in 36,000 buildings, 350 square kilometres of land and an extra 48,900 people in Aotearoa being exposed to flooding during extreme events – those startling figures give a glimpse of the challenges the just released draft National Adaptation Plan is attempting to deal with.
New ferries to electrify Auckland Harbour
27 Apr 2022
Two new fully electric ferries will launch in Auckland Harbour from 2024, with $27 million funding announced by the government yesterday. Megan Woods, Minister for Energy and Resources, says the ferries will each “displace” 1000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually.
Auckland Council in the dock over its transport emissions plans
26 Apr 2022
A case claiming Auckland Transport and Auckland Council’s transport plans fail to deliver any meaningful reductions in emissions gets underway in the Auckland High Court this morning.
New wood fuel partnership for biomass market
26 Apr 2022
Pioneer Energy and Niagara Sawmilling are combining forces to meet growing demand for biomass with a new partnership, Wood Energy New Zealand (WENZ), due to open for business on May 1.
Maori leaders divided on pine’s removal from permanent ETS settings
22 Apr 2022
By Liz Kivi | Maori are divided on plans to remove the permanent exotic forestry category from the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), with a newly formed forestry group claiming it will cost the Maori economy close to $7 billion.
Hydrogen cars nothing but greenwash: expert
22 Apr 2022
By Jeremy Rose | For Professor Susan Krumdieck it’s a case of déjà vu: Japanese car giant Toyota, with much fanfare, showcases its latest hydrogen cars. Cars that in the expert opinion of Krumdieck make neither economic nor environmental sense.
Best by the rest…
22 Apr 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: Why outdated legislation is getting in the way of climate action; improving transport to tackle the climate crisis; and startups taking on carbon emissions.
On a wing and a prayer: efforts to cut aviation’s carbon footprint
21 Apr 2022
If you jump on your bike and ride out to Christchurch airport for a coffee you can rest easy in the knowledge that your caffeine hit comes with little or no carbon footprint – if on the other hand you arrive or depart on a plane it’s a different, carbon intensive, story.
Stronger climate action needed: Forest and Bird
21 Apr 2022
The government’s new biodiversity strategy implementation plan, launched yesterday, needs stronger action from government economic agencies to protect New Zealand from the impacts of climate change, according to Forest and Bird.
Singapore and NZ agree to tackle “existential threat” of climate change
20 Apr 2022
New Zealand and Singapore have agreed to collaborate on a raft of initiatives aimed at tackling the "existential threat" of climate change.
New energy company planning grid-scale solar
20 Apr 2022
A collaboration of renewable energy developers from the United States and New Zealand have founded a new company promising grid-scale solar developments to lower energy prices and cut carbon emissions.
Riding bikes for climate a life-changer
19 Apr 2022
By Liz Kivi | Christchurch man Simon Kong has gone from non-cyclist to self-described cycling evangelist. Within the space of a year he sold his car, has clocked up 6,683 km cycling, and says he lives “98%” of his life on a bike.
A stocktake of ecological destruction
14 Apr 2022
The government’s latest stocktake of the state of the environment reads like an historical litany of ecological destruction.
Best by the rest…
14 Apr 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media, the mismatch in media coverage of climate science and climate action, why businesses should be embracing bus or bike lanes instead of kerbside parking, and plans for New Zealand’s largest solar farm.
Return of inter-city rail welcomed
13 Apr 2022
The Save Our Trains Campaign says the return of key passenger services is a major win, but the government needs to do more to rebuild passenger rail throughout New Zealand.
Wellingtonians back light rail
13 Apr 2022
Light rail was by far the preferred option for a new mass transit system for the capital among those who submitted to last year's Let's Get Wellington Moving public consultation.
Covid stalls NZ's GHG emissions
12 Apr 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic has achieved what politicians have failed to do for decades: stall the growth in New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Community group hopes to slash emissions with e-trikes
12 Apr 2022
By Liz Kivi | A Christchurch community organisation supplying organic veggies to low-income households is crowdfunding for cargo e-trikes to cut carbon emissions from their deliveries.
Hydrogen 11 times worse than CO2 for climate: new report
12 Apr 2022
Hydrogen will be one of humanity's key weapons in the war against carbon dioxide emissions, but it must be treated with care. New reports show how fugitive hydrogen emissions can indirectly produce warming effects 11 times worse than those of CO2.
Vegan marketing expert shocked at NZ's campaign against "plant-based" diet
11 Apr 2022
By Liz Kivi | The creator of a vegan online guide is disappointed that New Zealand was instrumental in removing a call for “plant-based” diets from the summary of the latest IPCC report.
New directory to help businesses slash carbon
11 Apr 2022
A business directory launching tomorrow aims to reduce carbon emissions and waste by helping businesses transition to a circular economy.
World is at one minute to midnight on the climate clock
8 Apr 2022
When it comes to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees the clock is at one minute to midnight, a Dutch expert told a Primary Production select committee briefing on biogenic methane yesterday.
Best by the rest…
8 Apr 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media, the Supreme Court agrees to hear a landmark climate case, and the Climate Commissioner says Aotearoa must take urgent action to lower emissions.
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.
