New Zealand: All stories
SHAW: We're not stuck on 2030 methane target
24 Jun 2019
The Government’s target of cutting methane emissions by 10 per cent by 2030 is not set in stone, the climate minister says.
Farm co-op makes it 100 for climate coalition
24 Jun 2019
Farmer co-operative LIC is the 100th organisation to join the Climate Leaders’ Coalition.
Shaw optimistic gas emissions will peak early
21 Jun 2019
New Zealand’s domestic demand for carbon credits is expected to exceed 43 million units in 2023 - up more than two million units on this year, new figures show.
Grab your brolly, there's going to be a lot of heavy rain about
21 Jun 2019
Here is the long-term forecast: Rain will become more torrential, flash floods more frequent. Very heavy rain is a simple response to global temperatures.
NZ gets another fail mark on climate action
20 Jun 2019
The Government's plan to cut methane emissions by 10 per cent by 2030 is under fire from international scientists.
Shaw will wait and see on emissions targets
19 Jun 2019
New Zealand’s net greenhouse gas emissions might not peak until 2035 under current policies, the Government says.
Oil companies make carbon promise to the Pope
19 Jun 2019
Some of the major oil producers have pledged to support “economically meaningful” carbon pricing regimes after a personal appeal from Pope Francis.
It's all about microbes, say scientists
19 Jun 2019
Humans’ ability to survive and adapt to the changing climate might come down to microbes.
Hydrogen could be big by 2050, say experts
19 Jun 2019
Engineers say there is no technical reason why hydrogen cannot replace natural gas to make electricity, heat homes and for cooking.
Hopes falter with coal still king across Asia
18 Jun 2019
A depressing picture of global power generation has coal still firmly on top. And in a vicious cycle, the very heatwaves and winter freezes that high carbon emissions cause seem to be increasing them.
Nats vow to fight farm emissions moves
17 Jun 2019
The National Party says it will continue to oppose bringing agricultural emissions into the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Aviation industry hears clamour for electric planes
17 Jun 2019
Aerospace companies gathering for the Paris air show this week are turning their thoughts to a future run on electricity rather than fossil fuels.
A weekly walk in the woods works wonders for the soul
17 Jun 2019
A dose of nature of just two hours a week is associated with better health and psychological wellbeing, scientists say.
Florida clears path for autonomous vehicles
17 Jun 2019
Florida establishes a clear legal framework for self-driving cars to operate within the state.
It's your job to care for the world, directors hear
14 Jun 2019
Directors should bear as much personal responsibility for the environmental damage their companies cause as they now do for the health and safety of their workers, the Government has been told.
Troubled gas supply means jump in coal emissions
14 Jun 2019
The repeated shut-down of the country’s largest gas field for maintenance has led to a surge in greenhouse gas emissions from coal-burning.
POWERHOUSE: Pentagon gas emissions higher than Portugal
14 Jun 2019
The US creates more planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions through its defense operations alone than industrialised countries such as Sweden and Portugal.
App tracks deforestation - as it happens
14 Jun 2019
A new website allows companies to track deforestation in their supply chains as it happens, with campaigners urging more effort to stop it.
Fossil fuels ban helping, says energy innovator
13 Jun 2019
New Zealand's partial ban on new oil and gas exploration is driving the electricity market away from gas and towards renewables, says an energy market innovator.
UK likes our way with international credits
13 Jun 2019
Britain is following New Zealand's lead in saying it will probably use international carbon markets in its drive to carbon neutrality - despite the advice of its own experts.
Emissions from energy rise at fastest rate since 2011
13 Jun 2019
Carbon emissions from the global energy industry last year rose at the fastest rate in almost a decade.
KELP KILLING: Fortunes being made from seaweed harvest
13 Jun 2019
Growing awareness of the climate crisis and a shift to plant-based diets have turned kelp farming into a thriving industry.
Auckland lays out plan to combat climate crisis
12 Jun 2019
Auckland Council has unveiled a plan it says will prepare the city to cope with the impacts of climate change and cut its emissions.
Defence budget puts climate front and centre
12 Jun 2019
New Zealand’s defence forces will struggle to deal with climate-related security threats if they don’t make climate change a priority, officials say.
Largest hybrid-electric aircraft takes flight
12 Jun 2019
The highest-capacity hybrid-electric aircraft has taken to the skies in California on its first test flight.
Emissions pricing not working, says World Bank
11 Jun 2019
Just one per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions are at prices likely to drive the emissions cuts needed to preserve life as we know it, the World Bank says.
Loss of plants will make a world of difference
11 Jun 2019
Up to a million species might go extinct due to human activity. We all know the mammals in trouble, but how many of us could name an endangered plant?
More rain brings big problems for dam builders
11 Jun 2019
For the builders of hydro-electric schemes – usually multi-billion dollar projects involving vast amounts of complex engineering work – changing rainfall is a serious problem.
OPINION: Australia pays the price
11 Jun 2019
By DERMOT O'GORMAN | Over the past five years Australia’s standing in the Pacific has declined dramatically because of an unwillingness to take strong action on climate change.
Farmers not alone in methane mix, say Nats
10 Jun 2019
The farming sector isn’t the only industry that should be targeted for methane reductions, the National Party says.
It's going to take a long time, says former BP chief
10 Jun 2019
Former BP chief John Browne talks about squaring his business dealings with his personal convictions – and what he would say to Greta Thunberg.
Global natural gas boom about to slow
10 Jun 2019
The world’s appetite for natural gas grew at the fastest pace since 2010 last year, but that blockbuster growth is shifting into lower gear, according to the International Energy Agency.
Reward farmers for climate work, says Muller
7 Jun 2019
Farmers who plant trees for shelter and to protect waterways and who increase the amount of carbon being stored in their soils should get carbon credits, the National Party says.
Only one firm signs up to investor guidelines
6 Jun 2019
Just one New Zealand company has signed up to international guidelines on disclosing climate exposure to investors.
Compound heat waves mean double trouble
6 Jun 2019
The risk of economically devastating, physically debilitating and potentially lethal extremes of heat will multiply, and in unexpected ways, according to US scientists.
Mark issues warning to Asian defence ministers
5 Jun 2019
New Zealand’s defence minister is calling on his counterparts across Asia and the Pacific to get serious about climate change.
IT'S OFFICIAL:We should cut down on meat meals
5 Jun 2019
It’s World Environment Day – and officials are telling New Zealanders to mark it by eating less meat.
Our businesses are catching on to sustainability
5 Jun 2019
Sustainability is now mainstream business in New Zealand, the Sustainable Business Council says.
SNOW BUSINESS: Could flakes be a source of clean energy?
5 Jun 2019
Two scientists have developed a device that captures the electrical charge from falling snow.
Why many farmers aren't cutting emissions
4 Jun 2019
Almost half New Zealand’s farmers don’t think they should have to cut greenhouse gas emissions from their operations – yet most are willing to do it if they can be convinced it won’t cost them money, new research shows.
Well-managed soils make better carbon stores
4 Jun 2019
Soils could store more carbon if they were managed better, scientists say.
Taxpayers face $600m carbon prices bill
31 May 2019
Rising carbon prices are likely to cost taxpayers $600 million this year.
Emitters choose to pay carbon fee to Govt
31 May 2019
More emitters this year are opting to pay the Government fee instead of surrendering carbon units, leaving the Government with a potential carbon deficit when it comes to meeting the country’s international obligations.
Sky-spy will map all carbon emissions
31 May 2019
Europe is readying a new fleet of satellites that will monitor CO2 emissions at every point on earth, creating the first worldwide system to independently track polluters.
$100 million Green fund ready to invest
30 May 2019
The Government’s $100 million Green Investment Finance fund says it is about to start investing.
You're welcome (not), Mayor Cull tells mineralists
30 May 2019
Dunedin mayor Dave Cull welcomed minerals sector executives to his city this week by telling them he backed the anti-fossil-fuel protesters trying to stop them.
OPINION: Plundering the planet
30 May 2019
By BRIAN EASTON | Can we consume limited resources forever? Is economic growth just a Ponzi scheme in which we borrow from the future? Is economic growth as we know it coming to an end?
Tesla’s electric-car dream will soon come crashing down
30 May 2019
Tesla completely transformed the car landscape when it introduced the Roadster, pioneering the mass-market electric car. Now, it is doomed.
Why scarred millennials want to punish business
29 May 2019
Years of economic uncertainty, growing inequality and fear of an inhospitable planet have created two generations prepared to punish companies whose motives they suspect, a new survey shows.
Big emitters get together and make a plan
28 May 2019
New Zealand’s trade-exposed industrial emitters – who between them are given more than five million free carbon credits a year – have produced a plan to help to cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With New Zealand's $1.3 billion international climate finance commitment set to end with no clarity on what follows, the Auditor-General says oversight of that funding remains patchy and long-term outcomes are unclear.
NZ hydrogen regulation to catch up with the world
18 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The government has announced a regulatory reset for New Zealand’s emerging clean tech hydrogen sector.
State-owned farmer drives profit growth with emissions reductions
19 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Government-owned Landcorp, trading as Pāmu, is one-third of the way to meeting its 2031 emissions reduction targets, with five years left to run to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30.3% against 2021 emissions.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transport pollution was the biggest contributor to an increase in New Zealand’s consumption-based emissions in 2023, with emissions from household travel up 12%, and consumption-based emissions totalling 58.3 million tonnes – up 1.6% from the previous year.
NZ could become ‘dumping ground’ for dirty vehicles: Commissioner
16 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Simon Upton, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, has warned the Government that its changes to the clean car standard could turn the country into a dumping ground for high emitting cars, making future emissions budgets harder to achieve.
Uncertainty eroding confidence in forestry sector
5 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Warnings are mounting that tree planting is set to plunge to “very close to zero”, as new Ministry for Primary Industries data shows ETS registration applications falling sharply as confidence in forestry declines.
Investors must support positive climate-tech
28 Nov 2025
OPINION: We need better leadership than the current ‘climate opportunism’ that is rife in the Beehive, and we need to back a marketplace that will make it happen, writes Rob Campbell.
