New Zealand: All stories
Govt must show the way, says planning chief
30 Jan 2019
The head of the Planning Institute says the Government needs to step up and show the way for communities to plan for the impacts of climate change.
Hands off carbon price this year, says Contact
30 Jan 2019
Contact Energy is one of the companies which opposed the Government lifting the $25 carbon price cap this year.
Maori landowners back use of older forests
29 Jan 2019
Iwi involved in the Treelords settlement are backing calls for extra carbon stored in old and indigenous forests be recognised.
Why Gen Z has real power to influence business
29 Jan 2019
Armed with social media and growing economic clout, Gen Z is best positioned to influence business practices, rather than global climate agreements.
Don't ignore pre-1990 trees, foresters urge
25 Jan 2019
The Emissions Trading Scheme should be used to encourage more carbon storage in old forests, the forestry industry is telling the Government.
Scientists warn of groundwater 'time bomb'
25 Jan 2019
Climate change might be creating a groundwater "time bomb" as the world's underground water systems catch up to the impacts of global warming.
Boeing's flying car lifts off in race to revolutionise travel
25 Jan 2019
Boeing says its flying car prototype hovered briefly in the air during an inaugural test flight, part of the race to change the face of the aerospace industry within the next decade.
Free public transport is great but it’s no silver bullet
25 Jan 2019
Luxembourg's recent announcement that all public transport in the country will be free from next year was received with astonishment.
ETS proposals won't cut it, says carbon forester
24 Jan 2019
Proposed changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme alone will not trigger the forestry planting levels New Zealand needs to cut emissions – agriculture must be brought into the scheme, says one of the country’s largest forest companies.
OPINION: Climate action counts, not rhetoric
24 Jan 2019
By TODD MULLER | It was disappointing to see yesterday’s Carbon News claim that figures I had used in my recent article were “wide of the mark”.
Muller keeps Nats' climate job
23 Jan 2019
The National Party’s climate portfolio remains in the hands of Todd Muller, who kicked off the year with a row over whether his party is ambitious or a climate laggard.
Tiwai could lead way in new-deal aluminium
22 Jan 2019
The owner of New Zealand’s only aluminium smelter says the country could have a bright future producing low-emissions aluminium for a carbon-constrained world.
Govt gives Foodstuffs $1m for green vehicles
22 Jan 2019
Food giant Foodstuffs is to get more than a million dollars of public money as part of a drive towards low-emissions vehicles.
Govt explains why $25 cap should stay for now
21 Dec 2018
The Government says the current cap on the price of carbon needs to stay in place while the Emissions Trading Scheme is reviewed.
Government releases new forestry rules
20 Dec 2018
The Government has released further details of changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme’s forestry rules.
All farming gases must be cut, scientists say
19 Dec 2018
Cutting methane and nitrous oxide emissions from farming are critical to keeping the world to no more than 1.5deg of warming, scientists say in new research.
NZ commits to zero-emissions transport
19 Dec 2018
New Zealand has joined countries committed to a zero-emissions transport system.
Storm left bill of $5b after tearing apart air force base
19 Dec 2018
Hurricane Michael smashed through Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, in October this year doing damage worth $5 billion.
OPINION: Divestment is hitting where it hurts
18 Dec 2018
Trillions of dollars of investments are being taken out of carbon-intensive companies, says BILL McKIBBEN. Governments must now take notice.
2020 target set to start HFCs phase-out
17 Dec 2018
New Zealand will start phasing out the use of climate-damaging hydrofluorocarbons from 2020.
Fewer animals is real answer, says forest group
14 Dec 2018
A group set up to advise the Government on the role of forestry in cutting greenhouse gas emissions says the real answer is reducing livestock numbers.
OPINION: When will the real action begin?
14 Dec 2018
The Government’s Emissions Trading Scheme announcement this week has left carbon forestry pioneer Dr MURRAY McCLINTOCK, of Nelson company Carbon Farm, underwhelmed and asking when the real action on combatting climate change will begin.
Government stalls as carbon price hits high
13 Dec 2018
Record carbon prices have failed to convince the Government that the price cap should be lifted immediately.
Permanent forests become permanent fixture
13 Dec 2018
Permanent forests are to come into the Emissions Trading Scheme, but there’s no decision yet on recognising the carbon stored in timber products and whether landowners will be able to average out carbon stored in their forests.
International trading back on agenda
13 Dec 2018
The Government wants to open the New Zealand carbon market to international trading again.
Carbon trading will mean fair trading
13 Dec 2018
Insider trading is to be banned from New Zealand’s carbon market.
Government announces wide ETS changes
12 Dec 2018
A cap on emissions, a system to manage carbon credits supply and prices, the inclusion of permanent forests, and the possibility of a price a price floor are the major changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme just announced by the Government.
ETS changes could see price cap lifted
12 Dec 2018
The next round of changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme to be announced later today could see the $25 price cap lifted.
Government eyes using ETS money to help farmers
12 Dec 2018
Using revenue from the Emissions Trading Scheme to fund carbon sequestration by farmers is one of the options the Government is considering as it opens discussion with other countries on ways of dealing with agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.
Our climate efforts 'highly insufficient'
12 Dec 2018
New Zealand’s efforts on climate change remain “highly insufficient” and consistent with twice the level of warming that scientists say we should not go beyond.
Government rules out carried-over Kyoto credits
11 Dec 2018
New Zealand will not use carried-over Kyoto carbon credits to meet its 2030 emissions reduction target, the Government says.
BP faces shareholder challenge over carbon targets
11 Dec 2018
BP, Chevron and ExxonMobil face a shareholder challenge to set carbon targets in line with the Paris Agreement, as a green group seeks to repeat its success in pressuring Shell to set environmental benchmarks.
By 2025, VW intends to be making million e-cars a year
11 Dec 2018
German auto giant Volkswagen is embarking on an electric spurt, pressing ahead with plans aimed at producing more than a million electric cars a year by 2025.
JAMES SHAW: A year of living hopefully
10 Dec 2018
Climate minister James Shaw arrives in Poland today for international climate negotiations. This time last year he was a brand-new minister, just three weeks into the job and announcing on the world stage that New Zealand would be carbon-neutral by 2050.
What state farmer said about green taxes
10 Dec 2018
New Zealand’s largest farmer, State-owned Pamu, has triggered outrage in some circles by telling the Government’s Tax Working Group that it supports some environmental taxes.
Airlines not using enough green planes
10 Dec 2018
Airlines are failing to take up the most efficient planes in sufficient numbers to make a significant dent in their carbon dioxide emissions, says a new study.
We must cut animal numbers, says new report
7 Dec 2018
Another report has confirmed that New Zealand cannot meet its Paris Agreement commitments without reducing the number of farm animals – and says that carbon prices up to $80 a tonne are needed to do it.
Maersk has idea to slash ship emissions
7 Dec 2018
The world's biggest shipping company, Maersk, wants to slash its carbon emissions to zero by developing a new kind of container ship to ply the oceans.
We're not ready for droughts and rising seas
6 Dec 2018
New reports on drought and sea-level rise highlight New Zealand’s lack of preparation for the impacts of climate change.
Tarrant to head Green Investment Fund
5 Dec 2018
Angel investor and independent director Cecilia Tarrant is to head the Government’s $100 million Green Investment Fund.
Polite applause for e-cars, but fans go ga-ga over Gladiator
4 Dec 2018
Car makers served notice at the Los Angeles motor show that they're going electric, and introduced a few new models to some applause. But the lustiest cheers were for something else: the massive new Jeep Gladiator.
We're on the move but dragging the doughnut
3 Dec 2018
New Zealand is one of three countries leading the charge to the new economy – but it’s got no right to call itself a developed country, says Doughnut Economics founder Kate Raworth.
Recycling alone not plastics solution
3 Dec 2018
Recycling alone will not solve New Zealand’s plastics pollution problem – the country needs to use less, a new report says.
ClimCom could make methane call, says Treasury
30 Nov 2018
Treasury has suggested the Government delay setting a 2050 emissions reduction target, saying giving the decision to the yet-to-be-established climate commission would allow more time to decide by how much methane emissions should be reduced.
New tech hailed as tool to protect oceans
30 Nov 2018
New technologies that can remotely monitor the high seas will be crucial to enforcing a proposed deal to preserve the biological diversity of oceans, researchers say.
We must farm fewer animals, say scientists
29 Nov 2018
A new science paper spelling out why animal agriculture will have to be severely curtailed if the Paris Agreement targets are to be met could have huge implications for New Zealand.
New round opens for Taranaki permits
29 Nov 2018
The process to issue new exploration permits in the last part of the country in which they are allowed is under way.
Fiery February El Nino could mean summer could sizzle
29 Nov 2018
UN experts say there is a good chance of a climate-warming El Niño event by February - similar to the one that made 2016 the hottest year on record.
EDITORIAL: New UN report drops a bomb
28 Nov 2018
A report out today saying that global emissions are rising again because of economic growth should be the bomb needed to blast us out of our self-congratulatory complacency.
Hydrogen confuses Government, says National
28 Nov 2018
The National Party says the Government is “confused” over hydrogen technology and the use of natural gas.
Green Party calls for national electrification plan
Mon 20 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Green Party is calling for a national plan to electrify homes, transport and industry using renewable energy, to reduce fossil fuel dependence in response to the Middle East crisis.
Going concern status flags depth of Methanex NZ's gas crisis
Tue 21 Apr 2026
Methanex's New Zealand operation is relying on financial support from its Canadian parent to remain a going concern after a second consecutive year of asset impairments left the business with negative equity.
Fonterra admits ‘100% grass-fed’ claim breached law in greenwashing row
2 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Fonterra has admitted its “100% New Zealand grass-fed” claims on Anchor butter were misleading and breached the law, settling a case brought by Greenpeace Aotearoa over packaging used between December 2023 and April 2025.
Climate pollution static but NZ still on track for first emissions budget, says MfE
Fri 17 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand is still on track to meet its first emissions budget, according to the Ministry for the Environment, despite the pace of emissions reductions slowing to a standstill.
NZ’s latest push to roll out more EV chargers is a good thing – but can it go the distance?
14 Apr 2026
A $50 million plan to expand New Zealand’s public electric vehicle (EV) charging network marks another step toward a lower-emissions transport system.
Wilding conifers continue to plague Southland
Fri 17 Apr 2026
By Matthew Rosenberg, Local Democracy Reporter | Fast-spreading conifer trees are causing headaches in Southland as inconsistent funding continues to hinder control efforts.
Victorian Hydrogen announces Southland urea fertiliser project using coal
Wed 22 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Australian-based Victorian Hydrogen has announced it is developing a new 1.5 million-tonne-a-year urea fertiliser operation in Southland, which it will apply for under fast-track legislation.
