New Zealand: All stories
Microplastics take to the skies by riding with flying insects
21 Sep 2018
Microplastic can escape from polluted waters via flying insects, research has revealed, contaminating new environments and threatening birds and other creatures.
Why all new buildings should be carbon-neutral
20 Sep 2018
Requiring all new buildings to be carbon-neutral is the most cost-effective emissions-reduction action New Zealand can take, the Government is being told.
‘Circle of five’ carmakers under EU cartel probe
20 Sep 2018
The European Commission's anti-competition team is looking into BMW, Daimler and the VW group for allegedly limiting the roll-out of technology meant to clean up car emissions.
Diesel vehicle numbers still growing
20 Sep 2018
Three years after the Dieselgate scandal erupted, the number of highly polluting diesel vehicles on Europe’s roads has risen to 43 million.
European nations make plans for hydrogen
20 Sep 2018
Dozens of European countries are backing a plan to increase the use of hydrogen as an alternative to fossil fuels to cut the continent’s carbon emissions.
Germany takes the h-train
20 Sep 2018
Germany has launched the world's first hydrogen train. It has a range of 960km on a single tank of hydrogen, similar to that of diesel trains.
New maps will settle forest-planting posers
19 Sep 2018
The thorny question of whether land is eligible for carbon forests could soon be solved – with a map.
Shell announces methane emissions target
19 Sep 2018
Royal Dutch Shell has announced plans to reduce methane emissions.
It’s time to make polluters pay for damage
19 Sep 2018
In the last few days as hurricane Florence battered the east coast of the United States and typhoon Mangkhut hit the Philippines and China an important scientific breakthrough took place.
Officials wobble under Govt's climate assault
18 Sep 2018
The Government’s heavy climate-change work programme is putting pressure on officials, confidential papers show.
OPINION: The answer's not a better kind of coffee cup
18 Sep 2018
By GEORGE MONBIOT | We must challenge the corporations that urge us to live in a throwaway society rather than seeking ‘greener’ ways of maintaining the status quo.
Mexico strikes green gold with bioplastics
18 Sep 2018
Tequila, avocado and corn are proving their worth beyond Mexican fiesta staples as key components for a fast-growing bioplastics market.
Google street cars will map city air pollution
18 Sep 2018
Google Street View cars will be outfitted with sensors that test air quality in cities and towns across the globe.
WISE WORDS: Where ProdCom report is wrong
17 Sep 2018
The Productivity Commission has got it wrong, say some of our wisest people.
OPINION: A dangerous political compromise
17 Sep 2018
By SIR ALAN MARK | After decades of sitting on our hands, the simple the act of commissioning an inquiry into becoming a low-carbon economy has been hugely positive on public perception.
Farms can grow more and slow climate change
17 Sep 2018
New ways of digging the dirt could both deliver more food and slow climate change. And farmers in the developing world are making a difference.
Climate action-man puts new emissions option
14 Sep 2018
The man who got politicians from both sides of Parliament to agree on climate change says there might be a third option for dealing with New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Science is getting forests to release carbon secrets
14 Sep 2018
Ground-breaking research suggesting New Zealand’s native forests store more carbon than believed is being stepped up as the country pushes to carbon neutrality.
Quarter of world's 100 busiest airports in danger from the sea
14 Sep 2018
As a typhoon tore through Japan last week, travellers at Kansai International Airport looked out on a terrifying void: Where the runway should have been, they saw only the sea.
OPINION: Politicians, get your heads out of the coal pit
14 Sep 2018
By PETER HOLDING | Farmers are dealing with increasingly extreme weather as a result of global warming. We need meaningful action now.
Minister plays it safe on agricultural emissions
13 Sep 2018
Agriculture minister Damien O’Connor steered clear of making promises to cut New Zealand’s agricultural greenhouse gas emissions when he spoke on an international stage yesterday.
Businesses make it to EECA finals
13 Sep 2018
Finalists in this year’s EECA Business Awards range from the country’s largest company to a thermal hot-pool operator.
Clean energy can provide all electricity, says study
13 Sep 2018
All the electricity the world needs can come from clean energy, reliably and throughout the year and at any time of day or night, UK researchers say.
Vertical farming sounds great but it eats energy
13 Sep 2018
A company in Scotland has unveiled what it claims is the world’s most technically advanced indoor farm.
GE ryegrass could slash emissions, Govt hears
12 Sep 2018
Feeding animals a genetically engineered high-energy ryegrass could cut greenhouse gas emissions from New Zealand farms by more than 20 per cent, the Government has been told.
Why carbon removal is not enough to save climate
12 Sep 2018
Carbon removal from the atmosphere cannot match reducing emissions of greenhouse gases as a way of slowing global warming, US analysts say.
Gluckman report backs cuts to methane emissions
11 Sep 2018
A third investigation says New Zealand must make drastic cuts to methane emissions.
New forestry rules will boost planting, says Govt
11 Sep 2018
Changing forrestry accounting rules under the Emissions Trading Scheme is expected to lead to the planting of 102 million trees in new forests by 2030.
Low-carbon economy worth $26 trillion, says Stern
11 Sep 2018
Making the transition to a low-carbon economy has the potential to unlock $US26 trillion in benefits by 2030, says economist Lord Nicholas Stern.
Can big business and the environment get along?
11 Sep 2018
Sustainability can bring benefits to everybody – including company execs with their eyes on the bottom line.
Green power set to surge while fossil fuels decline
11 Sep 2018
Electricity is set to dominate energy demand by mid-century, doubling to a 45 per cent share, says a new report.
Fewer cows can mean more profit, says scientist
10 Sep 2018
Cutting stock numbers on farms to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect waterways would actually boost farm profits, says the lead author of research out today.
The world is not building enough green power
10 Sep 2018
All across the world, we hear uplifting stories that reflect the fast changes in the energy scene. Yet the Paris climate targets seem in jeopardy and most forecasts say not enough is being done.
Farmers' cost claims wrong, says commission
7 Sep 2018
Claims by the farming sector that cutting agricultural greenhouse gas emissions will cost farmers $230,000 a year by 2050 are wrong, the Productivity Commission says.
Parties begin climate commission talks
7 Sep 2018
Cross-party discussion has started on establishing a climate commission to oversee the decarbonisation of the economy.
OPINION: Don't be fooled, weather is not climate
7 Sep 2018
By KATE MARVEL, climate scientist | I’m going to say something controversial. As a climate scientist, I predict a sustained, noticeable, and severe cooling trend across the Northern Hemisphere.
Batteries could be made from paper ... and spit
7 Sep 2018
Scientists have found a way to make batteries from paper and spit. But don’t expect the batteries to power your electric vehicle.
Electric Mercedes spearheads Germany's assault on Tesla
6 Sep 2018
Mercedes-Benz is set to unveil its much-anticipated electric SUV this week, marking the start of a German onslaught against Tesla.
Foresters happy, farmers wary of carbon path
5 Sep 2018
Recommendations for what is being called the biggest land-use change in New Zealand’s history are pleasing foresters but not farmers.
World Bank issues first sustainable water bond
5 Sep 2018
The World Bank has launched a Sustainable Development Bond series to raise awareness of the importance of ocean resources.
PRODCOM 1: Innovation key to our carbon future
4 Sep 2018
Carbon prices of $200 a tonne, the end of fossil-fuels and agriculture subject to carbon pricing are on the cards if the Government picks up a new report.
PRODCOM 2: Market needs special treatment
4 Sep 2018
The carbon market should be managed by a special authority, the Productivity Commission says.
PRODCOM 3: Farmers deserve emissions subsidy
4 Sep 2018
Farmers should be paying for greenhouse gas emissions – albeit at a subsidised rate, the Productivity Commission says.
PRODCOM 4: Farewell to fossil fuels
4 Sep 2018
Fossil fuels should be consigned to history, the Productivity Commission says.
PRODCOM 5: Where we got it wrong
4 Sep 2018
What went wrong with New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme? The Productivity Commission spells it out in a report released today.
Methane needs special approach, says expert
3 Sep 2018
Methane should be treated differently from other greenhouse gases when it comes to cutting emissions, says the man who did the calculations for the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s latest report.
Our weather will get worse, warn scientists
3 Sep 2018
El Niño and La Niña – the weather patterns that bring New Zealand droughts on the one hand and storms on the other – will get worse as the climate warms, scientists say.
NZ eco-friendly footwear wins backing of Leonardo DeCaprio
3 Sep 2018
Eco-friendly shoe brand Allbirds, founded by a New Zealander, has received investment from actor Leonardo DiCaprio.
New PCE report backs mission to cut methane
31 Aug 2018
New research released by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment confirms that New Zealand’s methane emissions must be cut.
Drivers foot huge bill for carmakers' scam
31 Aug 2018
Drivers in Europe have paid $NZ260 billion more on fuel than they would have if their vehicles had performed as well on-the-road as in official laboratory-based tests, says a new report.
Watts full-throated in National’s support for Paris
Today 12:45pm
By Pattrick Smellie | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts came to this week’s Climate Change and Business Conference with nothing to announce.
Milestone for NZ Steel electrification
Today 12:45pm
By Pattrick Smellie | NZ Steel has passed an installation milestone for its new electric arc furnace, which will reduce emissions from the Glenbrook steel mill site by as much as one megatonne (1Mt) a year.
International scientists slam NZ govt's proposed approach to methane
13 Aug 2025
New Zealand's proposed approach to methane emissions has again been attacked by international climate scientists, with a new study saying the attempt to redefine climate target-setting by livestock-exporting countries undermines the transition to a sustainable and equitable food system
Vector hits emissions reduction goal five years early
Fri 5 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | Auckland lines company Vector has met its 2030 emissions reduction reduction target five years early, more than halving its direct emissions, and crediting innovation and a laser-focus for its success in a hard-to-abate sector.
NZ needs to be part of a regional SAF strategy: Z, Air NZ
Tue 9 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand needs to be part of a regional strategic approach to sourcing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with domestic production less the aim than ensuring access to the fuel from one of a number of strategically positioned bio-refineries around the world.
Kawerau's new hope: Plan to replace coal with pine ramps up
Mon 8 Sep 2025
By Diane McCarthy, Local Democracy Reporter | Construction on a $300 million wood pellet plant in the Eastern Bay of Plenty is expected to start next month, with hopes it could cut the use of coal in New Zealand.
XRB consults on delaying climate reporting requirements
Thu 4 Sep 2025
The External Reporting Board is proposing a further two years relief for companies to adopt anticipated financial impacts reporting and scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions reporting and assurance.
