Wooden skyscrapers cool idea in a warming world

11 Apr 2014

By TIM RADFORD.- US scientists have a new green solution to urban construction: chop down trees and use the wood for buildings.


Good strong timber buildings – and there are plans for 30-storey skyscrapers built of wood – would save on concrete and steel, save on carbon dioxide emissions and cut the use of fossil fuel.


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Fed Farmers launches campaign against carbon forestry

Fri 6 Jun 2025

By Liz Kivi | Federated Farmers has launched what they are calling the ‘Save Our Sheep’ campaign, blaming carbon forestry for declining sheep numbers and calling on the government to urgently review the Emissions Trading Scheme.

A Gisborne beach covered in wood debris after Cyclone Gabrielle.

Environmentalists see forestry changes as dangerous step for Tairāwhiti

Tue 3 Jun 2025

By Zita Campbell, Local Democracy Reporter | Tairāwhiti environmentalists have called changes for commercial forestry under proposed Resource Management Act reforms “a slap in the face” and a return to weaker forestry regulations.

Council delays forestry plan as national rules remain unclear

21 May 2025

Tairāwhiti’s forestry reforms are facing fresh delays, with Gisborne District Council now tying its plan changes to national direction that remains uncertain.

Farming lobby attacks ‘loopholes’ in carbon forestry limits

7 May 2025

Beef + Lamb New Zealand is urging the government to close what it says are loopholes in new guidance around limits on carbon forestry.

Govt on track to ban farm-to-forest conversions - McClay

2 May 2025

Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has confirmed that restrictions on full farm-to-forest conversions on LUC 1-6 farmland will be in place this year.

Commissioner calls for urgent reform of carbon forestry in ETS

10 Apr 2025

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment is calling on the Government to remove forestry from the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme, warning that the country’s flagship climate policy is entrenching risky land use decisions and undermining long-term emissions reductions.

'Don't tinker with the ETS': forestry groups

10 Apr 2025

Foresters have hit back against the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s call to remove forestry from the Emissions Trading Scheme, saying the move would threaten New Zealand’s climate goals.

Slash under the Mangatokerau Bridge on Paroa Road

East Coast advocates join calls to take forestry out of the ETS

10 Apr 2025

Sustainable land-use advocates in Tairāwhiti are demanding immediate government action on the Environment Commissioner's recommendation to phase forestry out of the Emissions Trading Scheme.

Experts back scepticism about carbon forestry

10 Apr 2025

Experts from around the country agree that the Environment Commissioner's 'Alt-F Reset' report is "incredibly timely" as the world faces unprecedented climate change.

Govt plan for forestry on Crown land raises questions for the Emissions Trading Scheme

4 Apr 2025

By Liz Kivi | The government’s latest plan for carbon forestry includes a large chunk of planting on Crown land, with 155,000 hectares of exotic forestry projected to enter the Emissions Trading Scheme by 2042.