New Zealand: All stories
Overseas carbon liabilities to be included in Crown accounts in future
12 May 2022
Finance Minister Grant Robertson says Treasury is working on how to include the cost of meeting New Zealand’s Nationally Determined Contribution obligations in the Crown accounts, but it will take time.
Permanent pine settings in the ETS divisive among Maori
12 May 2022
A research group says Maori in their area are opposed to including pine in the Emissions Trading Scheme’s (ETS) permanent forestry settings, despite Te Paati Maori declaring strong support of pine.
It’s easier to break a bog than to repair it—but it’s still a carbon bargain.
12 May 2022
What do bogs in Indonesia and mangrove forests in Central America have in common? They are both powerful carbon sponges, capable of sucking up greenhouse gases at up to five times the rate of a forest. And they are both disappearing at alarming rates.
Canterbury farm switches on solar
11 May 2022
Oakley’s Premium Fresh Vegetables has installed a 220 kW solar system to power their Southbridge operation to store, wash, pack and dispatch fresh vegetables across the country.
'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.
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.
Govt plan to encourage new energy investment won’t cut costs for ordinary Kiwis
Thu 26 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | While gentailers and major energy users have welcomed the Government’s plan to leverage public sector demand to drive new energy projects, an expert says it is unlikely to reduce prices for ordinary people.
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.
NZ’s EV uptake decelerates
23 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand’s EV uptake is lagging behind other countries, with a huge drop in EV sales since 2023 bucking international trends, at the same time the Government contemplates abolishing its standard for clean cars entirely.
Tairāwhiti needs proper Govt support to heal the land – not empty announcements for political optics
Tue 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.
