New Zealand: All stories
Exempting methane won't change our obligations
13 Jun 2018
Exempting methane from New Zealand’s 2050 emissions-reduction target will not stop the country being held liable for it under international rules.
Why methane should be treated differently
13 Jun 2018
New research provides a way out of a longstanding quandary in climate policy: how best to account for the warming effects of greenhouse gases that have different atmospheric lifetimes.
Daimler moves on e-truck market
13 Jun 2018
Daimler, the largest truck manufacturer in the world, is eyeing up the prizes to be won from electric vehicles.
Shaw invites Nats to work on Zero Carbon Act
12 Jun 2018
Climate minister James Shaw has invited the National Party to help him to draft the Zero Carbon Act.
At last, we get to see proposed ETS forestry rules
11 Jun 2018
The Government has finally released some of its proposed changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme’s forestry rules – but the sector won’t see the rest until the end of the year.
Parker to talk hydrogen energy in Japan
11 Jun 2018
Developing a sustainable hydrogen energy industry will be on the agenda for talks between New Zealand and Japan this week.
Sustainable Business Network looks for winners
11 Jun 2018
Entries are open in this year’s Sustainable Business Network awards.
‘Liquid air’ storage technology comes step closer
11 Jun 2018
A UK company has completed a test plant for its liquid air energy storage technology which it hopes will be a long-duration challenger to lithium-ion storage and will avoid the pitfalls that have stymied similar startups.
Climate stand gives us trade edge, says Shaw
8 Jun 2018
New Zealand's tougher stand on climate change is already paying dividends, earning the country support for a free-trade agreement with Europe, says climate minister James Shaw.
Carbon Bill provides certainty for fuels chief
8 Jun 2018
The Zero Carbon Bill gives the certainty that has been lacking to tackle one of the biggest problems facing business, says Z Energy chief executive Mike Bennetts.
Green economy closes in on fossil fuel sector
8 Jun 2018
The green economy now holds roughly the same market share as the fossil fuel sector, according to a leading market analyst.
OPINION: Military won't ride to the rescue
8 Jun 2018
The Australian Senate’s declaration last month that climate change is a “current and existential national security risk” was clearly intended to inject much-needed urgency into the country’s climate policy stalemate.
NEW-WAVE: Microsoft goes deep with subsea data centre
8 Jun 2018
Microsoft has placed a data centre on the sea floor off the Scottish coast in an innovative environmental test.
Government hears of $800 carbon price possibility
7 Jun 2018
Carbon prices of more than $800 a tonne will be needed if New Zealand doesn’t tackle greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, the Government has been told.
OPINION: Welcome to the revolution
7 Jun 2018
Climate minister James Shaw says we’re in the midst of a new Industrial Revolution – and that’s why he’s asking for input on the Zero Carbon Bill before it’s drafted.
STORM SEASON: Category 5 warning is no longer enough
7 Jun 2018
As the Atlantic hurricane season begins, scientists are worried that US coastal communities could face more storms so intense that current warning categories don't fully capture the threat.
ICCC to probe impact of oil and gas exploration
6 Jun 2018
The Interim Climate Change Committee will investigate the impact of further oil and gas exploration on New Zealand’s emissions reduction targets.
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.
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.
