Best by the rest...
15 Jul 2022
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| Agricultural consultant Sarah Hawkins Photo: RNZ/Sally Round |
IN our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: some of the country's biggest companies won't be covered by new climate disclosure laws; how protein from our paddocks could by-pass the cows-in-the-middle altogether; and is the government indulging in "magical thinking" with its biofuel plans?
Why The Warehouse will have to reveal its climate position but Farmers won't
By Eloise Gibson - STUFF
Big businesses will have to reveal their climate situations beginning in 2023. But many of our most popular companies aren’t covered. Eloise Gibson explains.
Gravy with your grassburger, madam?
Country Life - RNZ
It sounds radical but protein from farm pasture could be making its way directly from the paddock to your plate, without the need for an animal to chomp it up first.
New Zealand scientists have developed the technology to do this but can farmers be incentivised to lock up some of their fields for grass farming and reduce the number of cows on farm?
Regional council steps in over wetland clearance
The Waikato Regional Council is looking into the clearing of a designated Significant Natural Area (SNA) site in Matarangi linked to a new housing development.
But Forest & Bird said the desecration could have been avoided given the Thames-Coromandel District Council was told by the property developer’s contractor in August last year the work was going to happen.
Empowering whānau through māra kai and the maramataka
By Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes - The Spinoff
Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke (Waikato, Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Porou, Te Atiawa, Ngāi Tahu) from Waahi Pā in Rāhui Pōkeka is helping her people connect to the taiao through māra kai (food gardens) and mātauranga Māori tied to the maramataka.
On The Pacific Islands Forum gathering
By Gordon Campbell - Scoop
In recent months, China has been widely portrayed as a major strategic threat to the Pacific region, yet the Pacific states themselves beg to differ. Pacific leaders insist that climate change is a far more pressing existential threat.
Wishing for fairy dust – why the NZ Biofuels Obligation is the worst kind of magical thinking
By Jake Roos - Low Carbon Kapiti
Wouldn’t it be great if wishes came true, and all your problems just went away? If all you needed to do is ask for something and it materialised out of thin air before you? Of course it would, but the world doesn’t work like that. But it seems the NZ Government is in the thrall of such magical thinking when it comes to ‘sustainable’ biofuels.
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Extreme weather in Wellington ‘a different beast’
Tue 21 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Climate scientist Luke Harrington says the small-scale but intense floods which have slammed the capital in recent days are the kind that intensify most rapidly in a warming climate – and are the hardest to predict.
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.
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.
Diesel crunch exposes fuel vulnerability
Mon 20 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Rising diesel prices and tightening supply are exposing New Zealand’s heavy reliance on fossil fuels, with experts warning the squeeze on farming and forestry is likely to ripple through the economy while strengthening the case for lower-emissions energy alternatives.
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.
Fresh complaint targets hidden LNG modelling
Fri 17 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action and New Zealand Climate Foundation have complained to the Ombudsman about redactions in documents released by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, challenging its refusal to disclose key conclusions from modelling underpinning the Government’s $2.7 billion LNG import facility proposal.
Media round-up
Fri 17 Apr 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: The fuel crisis is a chance for government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, what would it take to tap into New Zealand's oceans energy, and which political parties would subsidise your rooftop solar panels?
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.
Latest emissions inventory: ‘Something has gone very wrong’
Thu 16 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2024 decreased by just 0.1% compared to 2023, in what an expert says is a “terrible result”, compared to faster progress in previous years.
How much is climate misinformation shaping NZ Govt policy?
Thu 16 Apr 2026
COMMENT: While an inquiry into climate misinformation is sounding alarm bells about fossil fuel propaganda and its threat to the very foundations of society across the Tasman, we’re even more vulnerable to misinformation and unseen influence here in Aotearoa, writes Matt Halliday.
