New Zealand: All stories
NZ to stand by Pacific climate change victims
18 May 2018
New Zealand is softening its stance on climate refugees.
Green Investment Fund eyes start this year
18 May 2018
Climate minister James Shaw’s Green Investment Fund will be in business by the end of the year, he says.
DRYING OUT: Water shortage key challenge of the century
18 May 2018
Scientists voice new concerns about water shortages as data reveals swathes of the globe are drying out.
BUDGET 2018: Green is good
17 May 2018
There are no changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme, but the promised Green Investment Fund is being backed with $100 million of taxpayer dollars in a budget being described as the greenest in history.
Tax system must go green, says enviro group
17 May 2018
Another organisation is telling the Government to shift the tax burden from the production of private wealth to the consumption of public wealth, aka the environment.
Volvo to stop making diesel cars
17 May 2018
Swedish car company Volvo has announced its intention to stop making diesel cars.
Warming planet faces a cooling crisis
17 May 2018
As climate change warms the Earth, one significant concern is the cooling crisis, the quest for energy-hungry artificial ways to keep ourselves cool.
Sheep and beef farmers make carbon-neutral call
16 May 2018
New Zealand’s beef and sheep sector says it will be carbon-neutral by 2050.
US battens the hatches for season of storms
16 May 2018
The US is bracing for another harrowing spate of hurricanes this year, with forecasts of an active 2018 season coming amid new research that shows powerful Atlantic storms are intensifying.
Climate change threatens our food and health
15 May 2018
Whether it is food shortages, diseases like dengue fever or respiratory conditions caused by wind-blown Australian dust, climate change is a serious health threat for New Zealanders, the Government is being told.
New steel plant will emit only water vapour
15 May 2018
A pilot plant being built in Sweden will produce steel using hydrogen from renewable electricity. The only emissions will be water vapour.
Tesco cuts emissions by 13% in one year
15 May 2018
UK supermarket giant Tesco cut its 2017-18 carbon emissions by 13 per cent on the previous year, and a full 26 per cent on 2015.
Use taxes for a better world, says thinktank
14 May 2018
Taxes should be aiming at keeping human activity within the planet’s physical capacity – and that means carbon prices that deliver fast, deep and sustained emissions reductions, the Government’s Tax Working Group has been told.
New technology could slash aluminium emissions
14 May 2018
Technology has been unveiled that could drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions from aluminium production, in a development that could transform the way one of the world’s most common materials is made.
Government pumps $15m into new forest service
11 May 2018
The Government will set aside an extra $15 million in next week’s Budget to boost the capacity of the new forestry fervice.
THE HOUSE: When was the last gas bonanza?
11 May 2018
The Government’s ban on new oil and gas exploration permits, threats to restrict the number of cows and charging applicants for the cost of inquiries for marine consents were all on Parliament’s agenda this week.
EU warms to plastic waste as transport fuel
11 May 2018
A proposal to use non-recyclable plastic waste in the production of transport fuels is picking up momentum among EU member states, despite warnings from environmentalists.
Natural gas not the solution, claims new report
10 May 2018
Natural gas is not a transition fuel to a low-carbon economy – and the Government should go further than just banning all new offshore exploration licences, a new report says.
We're still talking electric locos, says minister
10 May 2018
KiwiRail says the new government hasn’t told it to reverse plans to replace electric locomotives on the Main Trunk Line with diesel engines.
Get ready for longer droughts, warn scientists
10 May 2018
New Zealand’s land-based primary industries need to get ready for more serious crop diseases as climate change causes longer droughts, warns new research.
Renewables employing 10 million people
10 May 2018
More than 10 million people are working in the renewable energy industry. In 2017 alone, the sector added more than 500,000 jobs globally.
Fonterra front and centre of dairy industry review
9 May 2018
The Government’s overhaul of the climate-damaging dairy industry is under way.
Kiwis question cow numbers and need for more farms
9 May 2018
Roughly half of the country thinks New Zealand has too many cows and nearly as many want a moratorium on new dairy conversions, a poll suggests.
Tax system should have role in environment
8 May 2018
The tax system should protect the environment, the Tax Working Party has been told.
Small land area, big rewards from solar panels
8 May 2018
Covering 0.06 per cent of New Zealand’s land with solar panels would provide enough power for the country’s total energy needs, a new study says.
Young scientists to get NZ study money
8 May 2018
New Zealand is funding doctorate scholarships for nine young scientists to investigate ways to get greenhouse gas emissions out of food production.
TALANOA TIME: Talks hear climate tales
7 May 2018
It’s Talanoa Dialogue day in Bonn – and New Zealand is suggesting the world take a look at Maori concepts of stewardship as a way of battling climate change.
Bill Gates company goes in search of nuclear Nirvana
7 May 2018
Microsoft founder Bill Gates' company TerraPower aims to build a safe, nearly waste-free nuclear reactor that won't contribute to weapons proliferation or climate change.
One way or another, oil industry got the message
4 May 2018
By publisher ADELIA HALLETT | Did the Government consult the oil industry before announcing there would be no new licences granted for oil and gas exploration?
SHIP SHAPE: What will vessels look like in the next 30 years?
4 May 2018
With a global shipping industry target to halve its huge carbon footprint, the race is on to find new technologies to green the fleet.
Parker's new-look RMA might include climate
3 May 2018
New Zealand's resource management regime is to be overhauled – and it could mean the climate ramifications of projects are again taken into account.
Open up carbon capture rules, says Prod Com
3 May 2018
All carbon capture and storage in New Zealand should qualify for credits under the Emissions Trading Scheme – no matter where the carbon comes from, the Productivity Commission says.
War on coal making money for mineowners
3 May 2018
The world’s war on coal is making its biggest producers a lot richer, at least for now.
BP profits leap 71% as oil prices rebound
3 May 2018
BP’s profits jumped 71 per cent during the first three months of the year, in the latest sign that the British oil company is back on the path to growth.
ROCK ROLE: Sorry, but nitrogen from stone is no magic bullet
3 May 2018
Nitrogen from rock could fuel plant growth around the world – but not enough to prevent climate change.
Global markets and agriculture our Bonn targets
2 May 2018
Access to international carbon markets and getting the rest of the world to cut emissions from agriculture are two of New Zealand’s negotiating priorities at international climate talks this week.
Fonterra turns to wood to help fire dairy plant
2 May 2018
Fonterra says it will replace some coal with wood at one of its factories, a move expected to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2400 tonnes a year.
New tool eases pathway to disclosure
2 May 2018
Businesses wanting to disclose their carbon exposure to investors have a new tool.
Prod Com off course, says carbon tech company
1 May 2018
The Productivity Commission is badly under-estimating the potential to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the steel and iron industries, says a New Zealand company with technology to do just that.
Industrial emissions can be cut - but it's not easy
30 Apr 2018
Soaring emissions from the industrial sector can be cut through improved efficiency and using lower-emissions fuels, but there’s no easy fix, the Productivity Commission says.
OPINION: Ministers have gone deaf
30 Apr 2018
The Productivity Commission might be talking about big things from the energy sector, but the Government doesn’t seem to want to know, says Bioenergy Association chief executive BRIAN COX.
PROD COM REPORT: Keep the ETS ... with changes
27 Apr 2018
New Zealand should keep the Emissions Trading Scheme, but it should include agricultural emissions and subsidises for heavy emitters should go, the Productivity Commission says.
PROD COM REPORT: Farmland into forests
27 Apr 2018
New Zealand might need to convert more than three million hectares of farmland into forests to meet its emissions targets, the Productivity Commission says.
PROD COM REPORT: Nats to take a look
27 Apr 2018
The Productivity Commission’s draft report will be high on the agenda for the National Party’s Bluegreens forum in Christchurch this weekend.
One debate that's now over
27 Apr 2018
By publisher ADELIA HALLETT | Debate about whether New Zealand can decarbonise without going bankrupt should now be over.
VW makes $25 billion bet on e-cars in China
27 Apr 2018
Volkswagen will invest $NZ25 billion in electric and autonomous vehicles in China by 2022.
We're getting more worried about climate change
26 Apr 2018
New Zealanders are more worried about climate change than they have been for six years.
Graphene could be game-changer for concrete
26 Apr 2018
The novel “supermaterial” graphene could hold the key to making concrete greener, new scientific research suggests.
PSSST! Ferrari quietly - very quietly - testing electric car
26 Apr 2018
Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne has admitted the supercar manufacturer has been quietly - very quietly - testing a gasoline-electric hybrid car.
Government on global hunt for carbon credits
24 Apr 2018
The Government is locating sources of international units that could be used to meet New Zealand’s international climate obligations – but hasn’t decided yet whether to use them.
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.
