New Zealand: All stories
Farmers should be rewarded for all carbon, including soil, says Shaw
3 Sep 2020
If climate minister James Shaw has his way, putting a carbon charge on agriculture should be as straight-forward as farmers doing a quick calculation to show whether they’re in the black or the red on greenhouse gas emissions.
Plant world feels effect of growing climate heat
3 Sep 2020
From one end of the Americas to the other, climate heating is subjecting the plant world to radical change, with cold-resistant species increasingly yielding place to those that welcome the rising warmth.
Govt report sees frontline job in biocrude for Marsden
2 Sep 2020
The Marsden Point oil refinery could be used to catapault New Zealand into the age of making low-carbon crude from forest waste.
New award recognises resilience in a crisis
2 Sep 2020
Businesses responding to the covid-19 pandemic in a way that is environmentally sustainable have a shot a being recognised in this year’s Sustainable Business Network awards.
World's first fossil-free steel pilot plant ready to go
2 Sep 2020
Global production of zero-emissions steel has taken a massive step forward, with a world-leading Swedish project completing the construction of a world-first fossil-free steel pilot plant in Luleå, Sweden.
Arctic fires have released 205 megatonnes of CO2 this year alone
2 Sep 2020
The amount of carbon dioxide emitted by Arctic wildfires this year is already 35 per cent higher than the figure for the whole of 2019.
Construction sector latest focus for emissions cuts
1 Sep 2020
Emissions limits will be imposed as part of resource consents for new buildings under proposals to cut emissions from the construction sector.
Only 10% of power companies putting renewables ahead of fossil-fuels
1 Sep 2020
Only one in 10 of the world’s electric utility companies are prioritising investment in clean renewable energy over growing their capacity of fossil fuel power plants, according to research from the University of Oxford.
Climate commission gives election advice
31 Aug 2020
The Climate Change Commission wants political parties and voters to assess election promises against its set of climate principles.
National climate pledges must be increased well before COP, Guterres tells nations
31 Aug 2020
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has repeated calls for countries to increase their 2030 emissions reduction targets – and to do it soon.
Government's climate director has a new job
31 Aug 2020
The head of the Ministry for the Environment’s climate directorate has gone to work for DairyNZ.
FLANNERY: We're all-but out of time
28 Aug 2020
Acting on climate change with the speed Australia and New Zealand moved with to combat the covid-19 virus is the only option left to keep warming below 1.5deg, says the head of Australia’s Climate Council.
Farm emissions-measuring system has potential, says Toitû
28 Aug 2020
Environmental certification company Toitû Envirocare says its new farm-carbon certification programmes will help farmers get a slice of a huge international market for sustainable products.
FOOTPRINT FANTASY: is it time to forget about carbon footprints?
28 Aug 2020
A new app tracks your carbon footprint in real-time. It’s funded by BP.
Household consumption driving our emissions
27 Aug 2020
Our attempts to cut greenhouse gas emissions are being undermined by New Zealand's growing consumerism.
SBC votes in new board members
27 Aug 2020
The Sustainable Business Council has five new advisory-board members.
New sustainability head at Pâmu
27 Aug 2020
Pâmu has appointed Lisa Martin to the executive leadership team in the newly created role of general manager of sustainability and farming systems.
Changing oceans reveal clear human thumbprint
27 Aug 2020
Humankind has already begun to reshape the biggest available living space on the planet and to leave its mark in the changing oceans.
INDUSTRY: cut emissions by improving rubbish collection
26 Aug 2020
Cutting collection of household rubbish to fortnightly instead of weekly would reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the industry says.
Children raised in greener areas have higher IQ, study finds
26 Aug 2020
Growing up in a greener urban environment boosts children’s intelligence and lowers levels of difficult behaviour, a study has found.
A Tesla electric plane? Elon Musk hints it’s not far away
26 Aug 2020
Elon Must once said that one day, all transportation will be electric, except for rocks. Yes, that even includes aeroplanes, which have long been on his list of things to electrify.
EDITORIAL: Nature, enter us...
25 Aug 2020
By ADELIA HALLETT | At last we’re waking up to the fact that nature is our best defence against climate change.
Major investment firm dumps Exxon, Chevron and Rio Tinto
25 Aug 2020
A Nordic hedge fund worth more than $US90 billion (£68.6 billion) has dumped its stocks in some of the world’s biggest oil companies and miners responsible for lobbying against climate action.
Low-carbon alternative to concrete buildings
25 Aug 2020
Scientists have developed a method to 3D-print greener buildings using local soil that they say has the potential to revolutionise the construction industry.
Paper reveals why Govt went ahead with ETS overhaul
24 Aug 2020
Fifteen days into the first covid-19 lockdown, officials told the Government the new $20 price floor in the Emissions Trading Scheme was critical to protecting taxpayers from what the pandemic could do to carbon prices.
Covid-19 cuts our ecological footprint by 9.3%
24 Aug 2020
The rate at which humanity is consuming the Earth's resources declined sharply this year as a result of the covid-19 pandemic, according to researchers.
Restoring forests can reduce greenhouse gases
24 Aug 2020
There is one straightforward way to reduce greenhouse gases: by taking better care of the world’s natural forests.
Energy-and-transport plan key to emissions cuts
21 Aug 2020
Business is calling for integrated transport and energy planning to speed the country’s decarbonisation, saying increasing carbon prices can't do the job alone.
It's time to Think Big again on energy
21 Aug 2020
Paul Goodeve, chief executive of gas network operator First Gas, puts the case for hydrogen over pumped hydro, and says the likely closure of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter is a golden opportunity.
Experts investigating companies' climate claims
20 Aug 2020
Investors looking for evidence that companies really are addressing climate risk are hiring outside experts to find it.
Using microbes to clean up electronic waste
20 Aug 2020
If you were to stack up all the electronic waste produced annually around the world it would weigh as much as all the commercial aircrafts ever produced, or 5000 Eiffel towers.
ConocoPhillips trying to freeze permafrost to drill more oil
20 Aug 2020
Melting permafrost is stymying ConocoPhillips' plans to drill 590 million barrels of oil from a reserve in Alaska, so it's trying to refreeze the ground.
Australian hydrogen company launches IPO
20 Aug 2020
Green hydrogen company Infinite Blue Energy is looking for $A2 million in investment before launching on the Australian stock exchange.
Net Zero: How we stop causing climate change
20 Aug 2020
The world is nowhere near tackling the climate crisis, says a new book by an Oxford scholar, Net Zero: How we stop causing climate change. But at least we know how to.
ON THE BALL: Provincial pride could drive emissions goal
19 Aug 2020
Ranfurly Shield-style competition between provinces could get New Zealanders to finally cut greenhouse gas emissions, provincial local councils say.
Tsunami risk grows as sea-levels rise
19 Aug 2020
Nine per cent of New Zealanders live in a tsunami zone – and the threat will increase as the climate warms, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research says.
New EV is a 'loft on wheels'
19 Aug 2020
With start-up electric vehicle companies coming thick and fast, California's Canoo is targeting its broke, urban Millennial market by putting a couch in the back of its prototypes.
Helping Chile cut emissions could help us
18 Aug 2020
New Zealand and Switzerland are helping Chile develop an emissions reduction programme that could pay dividends for this country.
DISHING THE DIRT: Why biochar isn't the answer
18 Aug 2020
Australia’s move to store carbon in soil is a problem for tackling climate change, agricultural scientists say.
Synethic gases net taxpayers $12 million
17 Aug 2020
The Government has collected nearly $12 million in levies for synthetic greenhouse gases imported into the country over the past year.
Covid-19 pushes back global overshoot day
17 Aug 2020
Earth Overshoot Day – the day each year on which human activity has used up all the resources the planet generates in a year and is moving into debt – has been pushed back by the covid-19 pandemic shutdown.
Woolly rhinos wiped out by climate change
14 Aug 2020
Although overhunting led to the demise of some prehistoric megafauna after the last ice age, a new study found that the extinction of the woolly rhinoceros may have been caused by climate change.
REPORT: Climate change will mean we get more diseases from animals
14 Aug 2020
As the new coronavirus continues to turn the world upside down, crashing economies and overextending health care systems, epidemiologists and infectious disease experts are increasingly focusing on how to prevent the next pandemic, rather than solely reacting to the current one.
Global offshore wind industry takes huge strides
14 Aug 2020
Despite covid-19’s grim effects on many industries, the orders for the global offshore wind industry have increased dramatically in the first half of 2020, totalling $US35 billion, up 319 per cent on last year.
UPTON: Coastal retreat the only sensible option
13 Aug 2020
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton is calling for fast, orderly retreat from coastal areas vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
CLIMATE CRISIS: Last decade was the hottest on record
13 Aug 2020
The past decade was the hottest ever recorded globally, with 2019 either the second or third warmest year on record, as the climate crisis accelerated temperatures upwards worldwide, scientists have confirmed.
Cod are disappearing because of global warming
13 Aug 2020
PEOPLE who love eating cod might have to change their preferences soon - according to new research published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, global warming may cause a decline in cod populations.
Nanotech turns bricks into batteries
13 Aug 2020
The humble house brick has been turned into a battery that can store electricity, raising the possibility that buildings could one day become literal powerhouses
SHAW: Next government all about emissions cuts
12 Aug 2020
Climate policy in the next government will focus on tangible ways to cut emissions, Green Party co-leader James Shaw says.
Govt signs NZ up for carbon credit co-operation with Philippines
Tue 28 Jul 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand has signed an agreement with the Philippines to establish a framework for Paris Agreement co-operation allowing offshore mitigation, including on Article 6 credits – despite the Coalition Government repeatedly telling the voting public they wouldn’t send “billions overseas”.
Greens want one-year pause on AI datacentres
Tue 28 Jul 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Datacentre opponents have welcomed the Greens' call to press pause on new operations, while others say the energy-hungry facilities will bring jobs to the regions.
Study outlines methane-cutting options for NZ livestock
21 Jul 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Breeding, feed and forage strategies could play a key role in reducing methane emissions from New Zealand's grazing livestock, with researchers concluding that a combination of approaches will be needed to achieve meaningful cuts.
'Terrible result': Emissions barely budged in 2024
5 Jun 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions were virtually unchanged in 2024, falling by 0.03%, despite the economy shrinking by ten times that amount during the same period, according to new data.
Weakening Clean Car Standard would hurt EV uptake, industry warns
7 Jul 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Electric vehicle advocates say weakening the Clean Car Standard would reduce access to new EV models, undermining New Zealand's place in global supply chains and slowing the country's transition to lower-emissions transport.
National deer management strategy urgently needed to halt 'catastrophe' for native forests
Mon 27 Jul 2026
Scientists are calling for an urgent national deer management strategy, with deer numbers now at unsustainable levels and decimating native forests.
Business leaders say climate report ‘wake-up call’ for NZ
Thu 23 Jul 2026
By Liz Kivi | CEO-led organisations representing 42% of GDP are calling the Climate Change Commission’s latest report “a significant wake-up call for New Zealand.”
