New Zealand: All stories
Yoogo is a-go-go in Christchurch
16 Feb 2018
The Southern Hemisphere’s biggest deployment of pure-battery electric cars has been launched in Christchurch.
Thank the seagulls – guano makes the world go round
16 Feb 2018
Three new studies of how the world works show that seabird excrement plays an unexpected role, as do polar algae and rotting trees.
Raise cap or pay the price, warns ETS pioneer
15 Feb 2018
Taxpayers could get a hefty carbon bill if the Government doesn’t urgently lift the carbon price cap, a gathering of Emissions Trading Scheme experts has heard.
Energy producers want mandatory disclosure
15 Feb 2018
European energy producers are calling for mandatory disclosure to customers of information about where their electricity comes from.
China will show the way with solar power
15 Feb 2018
China will be the first major country in which solar energy gives fossil fuels a run for its money, says Lloyds Register.
Climate change and storms our greatest threats
14 Feb 2018
Climate change and related impacts like intense storms are now the greatest threats the world faces.
Victoria University think-tank up there with the best
14 Feb 2018
The New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute has been named one of the best environmental policy think-tanks in the world.
Hydrogen could be the fuel to finish off the fossils
14 Feb 2018
The surplus electricity from solar and wind power gives hydrogen the chance to replace oil and gas.
WONDER WOOD: New material could replace steel in building
14 Feb 2018
A type of super-strong wood, which could replace the use of steel in manufacturing, has been developed by US researchers.
Drones deliver the goods ... and clean the atmosphere
14 Feb 2018
Delivering parcels by drone could help to cut carbon emissions.
Why now's the time for businesses to cost carbon
13 Feb 2018
Businesses are being told to price carbon into their forecasts now – regardless of whether they currently face a carbon price.
Lack of women in energy ‘holding back the fight’
13 Feb 2018
The lack of women in energy companies is holding back the sector’s efforts to tackle climate change, a leading industry watcher has warned.
Changing climate could bring bad news for broccoli
13 Feb 2018
The warming climate could spell trouble for cabbages and broccoli. Research out today shows that seed dispersal by brassicas will be affected by rising temperatures.
Neoliberalism not way, says environment report
12 Feb 2018
Neoliberalism is failing to protect New Zealand’s environment, warns a new paper on the future of environmental law.
Cities most likely to run out of drinking water (like Cape Town)
12 Feb 2018
Cape Town is in the unenviable situation of being the first major city in the modern era to face the threat of running out of drinking water.
Climate change might cause birds to hatch early
12 Feb 2018
Climate change might cause birds' eggs to hatch early, a new study shows.
Emitters can keep stashed free carbon credits
9 Feb 2018
Trade-exposed heavy emitters sitting on free NZUs from taxpayers will be able to keep using them - even if they did contribute to New Zealand’s embarrassing “dodgy credits” incident.
BP aims to invest more in clean energy
9 Feb 2018
BP has declared it is looking to acquire more green energy firms, as the British oil giant pledged to set carbon targets for its operations.
FAIL MARK: Environmentally, NZ has got it wrong
8 Feb 2018
New Zealand is one of the worst countries in the world when it comes to exceeding planetary boundaries, new research shows.
We'll soon feel the effects of China's market
8 Feb 2018
China’s new carbon market will have a profound impact on electricity companies, says Standard & Poors.
Big companies back circular economy moves
8 Feb 2018
A new global initiative to foster the circular economy principles has been backed by more than 30 major international companies.
Is paint stripper causing new problems for the ozone layer?
8 Feb 2018
The ozone layer that protects people from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation is not recovering over most highly populated regions, warn scientists.
After an oil-soaked past, Saudi wants to let the sunshine in
8 Feb 2018
Oil kingdom Saudi Arabia is trying to tie its future to another natural resource it has in abundance: sunlight.
Government wants drive for more electric vehicles
7 Feb 2018
The new government wants more electric vehicles on the road – but it’s not yet saying how many.
Ikea buys 25,000 acres of sustainable forestry
7 Feb 2018
Swedish multinational Ikea has announced it is buying 25,000 acres of forest in Alabama.
We've just had the hottest month on record
5 Feb 2018
New Zealand continues to tick off the climate records, with January the hottest month ever recorded.
Sweden setting up first fossil-free steel plant
5 Feb 2018
A new Swedish venture is working to establish a first-of-its-kind pilot steel plant to be fuelled with hydrogen.
Electric flying taxi has lots of engines ... and lots of money
5 Feb 2018
A California company developing a multi-engined electric air taxi has just received $100 million in venture funding from several major outfits, including Toyota.
One way to save energy is to stay at home
5 Feb 2018
Americans spent nearly eight more days at home in 2012 compared with2003 - with the result that they consumed less energy.
Maori landowners oppose delay in ETS changes
2 Feb 2018
Changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme are needed now, not at the end of next year, if the Government wants Maori land owners to plant carbon-sequestering forests, says a specialist in climate change and Maori development.
'It’s good to hear a government finally talking sense'
2 Feb 2018
What kind of reception is climate minister James Shaw likely to be getting from the Iwi Leaders Group as they meet at Waitangi today?
Sustainable agriculture needs financing
2 Feb 2018
Agriculture stands at a crossroads between its current contributions to greenhouse gas emissions and the number of mouths it needs to feed in the developing world.
Negative emissions have ‘limited potential’
2 Feb 2018
The potential for using negative emissions technologies to help to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement could be more “limited” than previously thought, says a new report.
These cargo ships will draw power from solid solar sails
2 Feb 2018
A Japanese company is moving ahead with plans to equip ocean-going cargo ships with rigid sails embedded with solar panels.
OPINION: Kiwi consumers push sustainability
2 Feb 2018
New Zealand businesses that plan to wait for regulation before taking sustainability seriously are in for a rude awakening.
When the heat's at its worst, trees will sweat to stay alive
2 Feb 2018
Climate experiment shows trees release water but stop absorbing carbon in extreme heat.
Ryanair makes pledge to become plastics free
2 Feb 2018
Irish airline Ryanair has vowed to eliminate use of nonrecyclable plastics on aircraft and at head offices and bases.
Poll shows we're divided over carbon-neutral aim
1 Feb 2018
The country is split over the Government’s plans to make New Zealand carbon neutral – despite most New Zealanders now realising it is the world’s biggest problem.
Telling the story is climate panel's problem
1 Feb 2018
The IPCC is taking guidance on how to communicate its crucial findings beyond speciality scientific and policy circles.
HOT NEWS: Mustard seeds help to power breakthrough flight
1 Feb 2018
A Qantas aircraft powered partly by mustard seeds has made the first biofuel flight between Australia and the United States.
Biomining delivers the elements of the future
1 Feb 2018
Biomining is the kind of technique promised by science fiction: a vast tank filled with microorganisms that leach metal from ore, old mobile phones and hard drives.
How our climate research was turned into fake news
1 Feb 2018
Science is slow. It rests on painstaking research with accumulating evidence. This makes for an inherently uneasy relationship with the modern media age, especially once issues are politicised.
Landowners keep credits under Billion Trees plan
31 Jan 2018
Landowners will keep the carbon credits and liability under proposed new production forestry joint ventures with the Government as part of its One Billion Trees programme.
Breakthrough could mean seawater fuel of the future
31 Jan 2018
Advances in electrolysis technology bring seawater one step closer as the fuel of the future.
How Shaw intends to massively change our lives
30 Jan 2018
Climate minister James Shaw has outlined economic changes on the scale of those brought in by Michael Joseph Savage in 1935 and Roger Douglas in 1984.
Doughnut economics? What Shaw's on about
30 Jan 2018
When British economist Kate Raworth wanted to show where she saw economics going, she picked up a pencil and drew two circles, one inside the other.
Our phosphorus levels are getting dangerous
30 Jan 2018
Man-made phosphorus pollution is reaching dangerously high levels in freshwater basins, new research says.
El Nino and emissions are the reasons it's so hot
30 Jan 2018
Record hot temperatures over the past few years are down to the El Niño weather pattern releasing huge amounts of heat caused by greenhouse gas emissions, scientists say.
Time to put the kettle on as solar power scheme tees off
30 Jan 2018
Aucklanders buying and selling solar-generated electricity to each other have shared enough power to make five million cups of tea, says peer-to-peer energy company P2 Power.
TAKE FIVE: Renewable energy projects are out to impress
30 Jan 2018
As renewable energy is no longer considered a niche technology, countries and energy companies have embarked on a race to impress the world with majestic clean energy projects of all kinds.
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.
Air NZ joins Marsden Point SAF project
Today 12:30pm
By Pattrick Smellie | Air New Zealand has quietly added its name to a consortium exploring the viability of green hydrogen production for sustainable aviation fuel at Channel Infrastructure’s Marsden Point energy hub.
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.
