New Zealand: All stories
Big businesses back zero emissions
6 Jun 2018
More than 200 businesses, organisations and prominent New Zealanders say they support the Government’s drive to make New Zealand carbon-neutral by 2050.
We could switch millions of hectares, say officials
5 Jun 2018
Two million hectares of New Zealand farmland could be switched from meat and dairy to more environmentally friendly horticulture, officials say.
Methane is a different beast, say scientists
5 Jun 2018
Methane – a gas causing New Zealand major headaches as it tries to cut its emissions - should be treated differently from other greenhouse gases, scientists say.
Major businesses vow to get rid of plastics
5 Jun 2018
Twelve companies – including our largest supermarket chains – say their operations will be free of non-recyclable plastic by 2025.
Companies call on governments to act
5 Jun 2018
Companies with nearly $37 trillion under investment are calling on the world’s governments to step up action on climate change to meet the Paris Agreement targets.
Fiat Chrysler to stop making diesel cars
5 Jun 2018
Italian-American carmaker Fiat Chrysler will stop producing diesel-fuelled passenger vehicles within three years,
Officials look at carbon liability hedging
1 Jun 2018
Officials say they will advise the Government on the potential to hedge New Zealand’s future carbon liability.
Ministry seeks waste mountain solution
1 Jun 2018
A taskforce is being set up to look at how to deal with a growing mountain of recyclable waste for which New Zealand is struggling to find a market.
BIT ON THE SIDE: Lambo looks at a new way to power e-cars
1 Jun 2018
Lamborghini wants to build a super e-car, but has no faith in today's battery technology to do the job. The Italian carmaker says the answer is likely to be rechargeable side panels.
How drones could boost economies by billions
1 Jun 2018
Drone technology has the potential to transform economies, says a new report.
OPINION: Meet Justin Trudeau, the newest oil executive
1 Jun 2018
By BILL McKIBBEN | In case anyone wondered, this is how the world ends: with the cutest, progressivest, boybandiest leader in the world going fully in the tank for the oil industry.
Northland iwi kicks off Billion Trees planting
31 May 2018
The first deal has been done under the Government’s Billion Trees programme.
Seaweed slashes cow emissions, say scientists
31 May 2018
A small amount of marine algae added to cattle food can reduce their methane emissions by as much as 99 per cent, scientists say.
OPINION: Beware of a grumpy public
31 May 2018
By NEIL WALKER | In Gilbert and Sullivan's opera The Gondoliers, we hear about a king "in wonder working days of old whose heart was twice as good as gold", but who, in the end, "although no one denies his heart was of enormous size he would have acted otherwise if he had been acuter".
Sea-level rise will cost councils billions of dollars
30 May 2018
Local authorities face at least $4 billion worth of infrastructure damage if sea-levels rise 1.5 metres, Local Government New Zealand is warning.
Insurance industry goes slow on climate risk
30 May 2018
A new report has highlighted the global insurance industry’s continued failure to recognise the existential threats posed by climate change.
Green bonds help to protect waterways, forests
30 May 2018
The financial mechanism known as green bonds can help to overcome systemic failures in water infrastructure development that are increasing in frequency and severity as Earth’s climate shifts.
Walking is good for you ... and for the planet
29 May 2018
Walking and cycling programmes in New Plymouth and Hastings are paying good returns on investment by cutting greenhouse gas emissions and improving health, a new study shows.
BP invests $20m in tech to charge EVs in 5min
29 May 2018
BP will invest $20 million in an Israeli startup that claims to offer five-minute electric-vehicle charging with new-generation batteries.
Let's be clear - the future excludes fossil fuels
28 May 2018
By publisher ADELIA HALLETT | Debate about the future of oil prospecting in New Zealand is ignoring one very important point - the world is facing an emissions crisis, and the future does not include fossil fuels.
E-waste 'miner' wins Government funding support
28 May 2018
An Auckland company looking to “mine” base and precious metals from electronic waste is being given a Government boost.
Electric vehicles seen driving crunch time for cobalt
28 May 2018
The increasing popularity of electric vehicles might create a crunch for supplies of cobalt in the early-to-mid 2020s, miners and analysts say.
Govt hears of pitfalls in property damage payouts
25 May 2018
New Zealanders’ expectation of insurance payouts for property affected by the impact of climate change is stopping them from taking action to prevent it, the Government has been told.
Oil industry should be very afraid of fuel-efficient engines
25 May 2018
Oil demand is set to face an even bigger threat from fuel-efficient engines than from electric vehicles over the next two decades, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
EU trade deal could include carbon trading
24 May 2018
Linking New Zealand’s carbon market to the European Emissions Trading Scheme could be part of a new free-trade deal.
Stop reacting and start planning, says report
24 May 2018
Climate change adaptation must be part of the Climate Change Commission’s agenda, says a new government report calling for strong action.
Hitting 1.5deg warming point could save the world trillions
24 May 2018
Holding global warming to 1.5deg instead of 2deg could save the world more than $29 trillion, researchers say.
How the 'carbon budget' is causing problems
24 May 2018
Few ideas in climate science have gained greater public attention in the last decade than the concept of the “carbon budget”.
We're looking at 11 million electric-car sales by 2026
24 May 2018
Sales of new electric vehicles will reach 11 million within the next eight years, according to new analysis.
Wood fuel benefits beg for attention, say backers
23 May 2018
New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions could be cut by more 640,000 tonnes a year by burning wood instead of coal in boilers in the Otago region alone.
Just 0.01% of all life, but we've wiped out most living things
23 May 2018
Humankind is revealed as simultaneously insignificant and utterly dominant by a groundbreaking new assessment of all life on the planet.
Soon your phone might be powered by ship soot
23 May 2018
Researchers found a way to turn carbon pollution into graphite, a component widely used in batteries.
CCC bill points to cost of carbon-free economy
22 May 2018
The bureaucratic costs of shifting to a carbon-free economy are starting to be felt.
Modern diesels part of the pollution solution
22 May 2018
Concerns over urban air quality and the rise in global temperatures have spurred technological innovation by car makers, meaning that the era of dirty diesel is now over.
Low warming goal vital to our primary production
21 May 2018
New research with serious implications for New Zealand’s primary production-based economy and the country’s rare and endangered species says global warming needs to be kept below 1.5deg.
Natural gas will last bit more than a decade
21 May 2018
Officials have confirmed that at the rate we're using it, New Zealand has about 10 and a half years’ worth of natural gas reserves.
Why greener fuels might not make shipping safer
21 May 2018
The shipping industry is concerned that compared with traditional fuels, greener alternatives have a greater potential to cause major accidents.
Tesla could be looking for $10 billion boost
21 May 2018
Elon Musk might need to tap capital markets for more than $10 billion by 2020 to fund Tesla’s automaking operations, new products and an expected expansion into China,
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.
Local govt shake-up risks weakened environmental outcomes – Commissioner
Fri 27 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s push to simplify local government is "deeply flawed" and has been launched without a clear understanding of which functions must remain regional, according to the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
Govt plan to encourage new energy investment won’t cut costs for ordinary Kiwis
Thu 26 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | While gentailers and major energy users have welcomed the Government’s plan to leverage public sector demand to drive new energy projects, an expert says it is unlikely to reduce prices for ordinary people.
Govt's solar on farms initiative to cut costs, boost resilience
17 Feb 2026
Farms across Aotearoa will begin installing solar panels and battery systems as part of a government-backed demonstration programme designed to test whether on-farm renewable energy can reduce electricity costs and improve energy security for the food and fibre sector.
Annual emissions fell to lowest in 15 years in Sept 2025
5 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions fell to their lowest annual total in the year to September 2025 since records began 2010, according to Statistics New Zealand data published this morning.
NZ’s EV uptake decelerates
23 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand’s EV uptake is lagging behind other countries, with a huge drop in EV sales since 2023 bucking international trends, at the same time the Government contemplates abolishing its standard for clean cars entirely.
Tairāwhiti needs proper Govt support to heal the land – not empty announcements for political optics
24 Feb 2026
OPINION: The Government’s answer to Tairāwhiti’s severe erosion crisis – that the region apply for modest, contestable funding rounds – while rejecting the region's own land transition business case, leaves our long-term resilience hanging in the balance, writes Manu Caddie.
Kiwi startup takes on global plastic pollution
12 Feb 2026
A New Zealand startup is launching what it says is the world’s first plastic-free effervescent drink tablet, with the ambitious aim of eliminating bottled beverages to reduce global plastic pollution.
