Topics tagged with 'Agriculture'
Australian government to pledge to reduce methane emissions by 30%
14 Oct 2022
Australia is set to pledge its support to reduce global methane emissions by 30% by 2030.
Climate change is testing resilience of UK wheat yields
14 Oct 2022
Wheat yields in the UK have largely been resilient to varying weather over the past 30 years. However, the future security of our most widely grown food crop is uncertain due to increasingly frequent extreme wet and dry conditions as a result of climate change, say scientists.
Farm soil carbon: Is the focus on sequestration right?
13 Oct 2022
Arable farmers must be realistic about the amount of carbon that can be locked up in soils and should be wary of exaggerated claims about sequestration, warns a leading soil scientist.
Beef in the time of net zero: Reducing livestock emissions in Latin America
13 Oct 2022
Beef production accounts for almost 60% of emissions from agriculture and land use change in Latin America, according to a recent study by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). However, its researchers suggest it is possible to reduce these emissions through new production models and changes in diets.
NZ proposed agricultural greenhouse gas cuts a fraction of Ireland’s
12 Oct 2022
The farming lobby is huffing and puffing about the government’s tweaks to the He Eke Waka Noa agriculture emissions proposal but will be relieved that the plan’s aim to cut emissions by 10% on 2017 levels by 2030 are a fraction of the cuts imposed on Irish farmers earlier this year.
Farmers to benefit from sequestration from riparian and native vegetation
11 Oct 2022
Farmers are set to benefit from the CO2 sequestration from riparian and native vegetation, a government discussion document on agricultural emissions released today reveals.
The return of Aztec floating farms
11 Oct 2022
In Mexico City, a 700-year-old Aztec farming technique is giving a sustainable edge to modern agriculture. Chinampas, or "floating gardens", are ancient engineering wonders. These man-made island-farms are the last vestiges of a massive 14th-Century land reclamation project of the Aztec Empire that continues to feed the people of Mexico City even today.
Can’t plant our way to net zero: Upton
7 Oct 2022
Offsetting the emissions from a single dairy cow would require the planting of 0.6 hectares of pine forest, a new report from the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has found.
Best by the rest...
7 Oct 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best local climate coverage: The majority of local election candidates have climate action at front of mind; a new research project aims to forecast risks to New Zealand as the world continues to heat; and while there's government assistance for those switching to EVs, e-bikes are yet to catch up.
New research to future-proof New Zealand wine sector
30 Sep 2022
Media Release - A new experimental vineyard in Blenheim will help enhance the supply of quality grapes for New Zealand’s wine sector into the future.
Reducing beef’s carbon footprint is key to achieving net-zero in Latin America and the Caribbean
28 Sep 2022
In Latin America and the Caribbean, one of the biggest drivers of greenhouse gas emissions in the region — and its best hope for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 — remains the food system.
New report reveals organic dairy farming stores carbon, reduces greenhouse gas emissions
27 Sep 2022
A recent study published in the Journal of Cleaner Productions finds greenhouse gas emissions to be 24% lower on organic dairy farms when compared to conventional dairy farms in the United States.
California's dairy farm methane capture scheme may have "unintended consequences"
20 Sep 2022
Scientists and environmentalists say more data is needed on ammonia emissions resulting from California's dairy farm methane capture scheme.
Is government move to protect productive land too little, too late?
19 Sep 2022
The government has released a National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land, aiming to enhance protection for the country’s most productive land and provide security for domestic food supply and primary exports.
Will the food and livestock industry follow fossil fuels over the market cliff?
19 Sep 2022
We are generally pretty relaxed about this. Anyone miss Nokia? Kodak? Blockbuster Video? But when the drivers for change become politicised, or worse – ideological – an intense process unfolds to resist the market process.
Fonterra bill threat to climate change targets: Upton
14 Sep 2022
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton, has written to the government warning an amendment to the Dairy Industry Act, currently before parliament, is likely to result in increased greenhouse gas emissions and more pressure on freshwater resources.
How climate change is tweaking the taste of wine
13 Sep 2022
Warming, wildfires and unpredictable weather threaten to disrupt the delicate processes that underlie treasured wines, putting the fine distinctions between grapes at risk.
Best by the rest...
9 Sep 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: A proposed 400 megawatt solar power station near Taupō will be pitched for resource consent later this month; experts urge changes in forestry and farming; and wallabies are quickly becoming an invasive species.
The botanic matchmakers that could save our food supply
5 Sep 2022
Undomesticated plants could help their farmed cousins adapt to climate stresses, but that requires tracking them down around the world while also 'decolonizing botany'.
Central Otago grower world’s first to go fossil fuel free
2 Sep 2022
By Liz Kivi | A Central Otago cherry grower believes they are the first in the world to operate a commercial food orchard without burning any fossil fuels.
A crop-by-crop comparison of urban vs conventional farms yields turns up some surprising results
1 Sep 2022
Roof-grown lettuces and warehouse-cultivated tomatoes could be more than just a frivolous foodie trend: a new study finds that crops cultivated in cities can be up to four times more productive per square meter, than those grown in conventional agricultural fields.
Despite conservative outcry, reducing fertiliser emissions won’t lead to famine
31 Aug 2022
The US government’s plan to cut fertilizer emissions by 30% by 2030 has garnered significant attention from farmers, agriculture organizations and other industry stakeholders.
Canadian farmers push back against fertiliser emissions target
24 Aug 2022
As part of Canada’s net-zero target, the country is seeking to significantly cut the emissions from fertilizers, a move that is seeing pushback from the agriculture industry.
Organic dairy farming can store carbon and reduce GHG emissions: study
19 Aug 2022
A new study in the August issue of the Journal of Cleaner Production reveals that it is possible for farms to sequester carbon and reduce their overall greenhouse gas emissions. A University of Wisconsin Madison research group unveiled a dairy lifecycle assessment conducted on Organic Valley farms that shows small organic dairy farms, which focus on grazing and organic production techniques, are low greenhouse gas champions.
How climate change threatens Kashmir's crucial apple industry
19 Aug 2022
As Indian-administered Kashmir continues to witness abnormally high temperatures, apple growers fear that climate change will wipe out the region's orchards — which produce 80% of India's apples.
Organic dairy co-op launches new on-farm standard
18 Aug 2022
A Waikato-based organic dairy co-operative is launching a new standard for organic and regenerative processes for its farmers.
Climate-resilient breadfruit might be the food of the future
18 Aug 2022
In the face of climate change, breadfruit soon might come to a dinner plate near you.
‘Heatflation’ warning as 2022 EU crop harvests affected by climate change
10 Aug 2022
As much of Europe bakes in the latest heatwave, fears are growing about what’s being dubbed ‘heatflation’ – climate change-driven staple crop losses that could see already inflated food prices reach new highs this autumn, deepening the cost-of-living crisis.
Groundswell tells farmers to “Say No” to reporting emissions
5 Aug 2022
Farming protest group Groundswell is undermining climate efforts by the government and He Waka Eke Noa, launching a campaign to boycott government requests for information.
Best by the rest...
5 Aug 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: Former Green Party leader Russel Norman on greenwashing and He Waka Eke Noa; political journalist Branko Marcetic on why the pundits are getting the Green Party leadership stoush all wrong; and land use expert Keith Woodford underlines the significance of recent government announcements for forestry rules and carbon pricing.
How the climate deal would help farmers aid the environment
4 Aug 2022
The climate deal reached last week by Senate Democrats could reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that American farmers produce by expanding programs that help accumulate carbon in soil, fund climate-focused research and lower the abundant methane emissions that come from cows.
Britons would rather give up meat than pay more tax to tackle global warming, poll reveals
1 Aug 2022
More Britons would be willing to cut back on meat than pay extra in taxes to tackle climate change, a new poll has revealed.
Petition to support transition to plant-based agriculture
29 Jul 2022
The Vegan Society is calling on the government to support farmers to transition to a plant-based economy, with a petition sent to parliament yesterday.
The case for paying carbon taxes on unsustainable food
26 Jul 2022
Minimizing the risk of living on an unlivable planet requires significantly reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through various means, like shifting to renewable energy and electrifying sectors that rely on fossil fuels.
FactFind: Are Irish farmers the 'most carbon-efficient food producers in the world'?
25 Jul 2022
It is often argued by politicians and agriculture industry members that Irish beef and dairy producers are more climate-friendly compared to other countries.
Federated Farmers “devastated” stations sold to offshore forestry interests
22 Jul 2022
By Liz Kivi | Federated Farmers says the sale of 6000 hectares of sheep and beef farming land to an overseas buyer for forestry is “devastating” for the East Coast.
Best by the rest...
22 Jul 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: How not to solve the climate crisis; Are carbon markets hurting farming communities? Plus the government’s $9.8 million climate-wrecking stimulus.
AAP fact checks Groundswell and finds it's telling porkies
21 Jul 2022
The Australian Associated Press has fact checked a claim by lobby group Groundswell that New Zealand has the world's lowest carbon footprint and, not surprisingly, declared it false.
Irish agriculture 'cannot opt out' of emissions targets: environment minister
20 Jul 2022
The final Irish Cabinet meeting before the summer break is expected to agree sectoral targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
As temperatures rise, farms are sprouting in Alaska
13 Jul 2022
Even as farms decline across the US, a longer growing season is bringing food security to a state that has long relied on sustenance from afar.
Southland oat milk producer gets Govt boost
11 Jul 2022
Media Release - Southland-based oat milk producer New Zealand Functional Foods is getting new Government backing, with a $6 million investment from the Regional Strategic Partnership Fund, Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash announced today.
Denmark to roll out new state-run climate label for food
11 Jul 2022
Denmark will establish a state-controlled climate label in order to help residents purchase more environmentally-friendly foods.
Anger simmers for Dutch farmers who oppose pollution cuts
11 Jul 2022
Bales of hay lie burning along Dutch highways. Supermarket shelves stand empty because distribution centers are blocked by farmers. Then, at dusk, a police officer pulls his pistol and shoots at a tractor.
Climate change contributes to dip in hummus supplies
8 Jul 2022
Global supplies of chickpeas are expected to drop by 20 per cent this year, which means hummus could be harder to access in supermarkets.
“Time for action is now”: Climate Change Commission
7 Jul 2022
The Climate Change Commission has thrown its support behind a system of farm-level pricing for agricultural emissions outside of the ETS in its advice to government released yesterday.
DMK’s climate targets: ‘This is about the credibility of an entire industry’
6 Jul 2022
DMK Group has committed to new climate targets under the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi). The dairy cooperative’s CEO explains that action is needed to drive down dairy emissions in order to safeguard the reputation of the ‘entire’ dairy industry.
Climate change threatens coffee growers in Tanzania
4 Jul 2022
Coffee-growing farmers in Tanzania’s northern Kilimanjaro region are bearing the brunt of climate change, which is affecting their incomes and livelihoods.
Best by the rest…
1 Jul 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: questions about new carbon offsets; wrestling with methane metrics; and He Waka Eke Noa’s programme director argues Kiwi innovation will be key to reducing emissions.
The benefits of growing brocolli beneath solar panels
1 Jul 2022
Despite being “yucky” according to some picky eaters, broccoli is well-suited to grow alongside solar panels, according to a new study.
Climate impact of food-miles up to 7 times higher than previously thought: study
30 Jun 2022
Fresh research suggests transport accounts for one-fifth of total food-system emissions, with fresh fruit and vegetables amongst the most carbon-intensive.
Farm-level emissions cuts possible, but almost everything stands in the way
18 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Progress to slash farming emissions is being blocked by limited farmer confidence in mitigation tools, inconsistent engagement, misinformation and a lack of clear policy signals, according to a new report.
NZ’s government wants tourism to drive economic growth – but how will it deal with aviation emissions?
22 Oct 2025
By Robert McLachlan, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University | Following a brief dip during the COVID pandemic, aviation is back in a growth phase.
Air NZ inks deal for its first internationally verified carbon credits
9 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Air New Zealand has committed to buying 8000 tonnes of carbon removals by 2030, in partnership with local native forest investment platform My Native Forest.
State-owned farmer drives profit growth with emissions reductions
Fri 19 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Government-owned Landcorp, trading as Pāmu, is one-third of the way to meeting its 2031 emissions reduction targets, with five years left to run to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30.3% against 2021 emissions.
Govt launches strategy backing wood-based heat sector
23 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Forestry biomass could replace as much as 40% of fossil fuel-generated process heat by 2050, but access to supply, regulatory settings and business cases for converting to wood-based heat sources are required, the Government says in a series of documents released yesterday.
Climate law change spanner in the works for Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry
Fri 19 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s controversial changes to New Zealand’s legal framework for climate policy have thrown a spanner in the works for a long-running Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry into climate change.
Seven quiet wins for climate and nature in 2025
Fri 19 Dec 2025
This year's environmental backdrop is familiar: emissions are rising and nature is continuing to decline. But there have nevertheless been bright spots in 2025.
Govt unveils plans for carbon storage regulations – and ETS rewards
18 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government has released plans to regulate carbon capture and storage in natural geological formations, which include Emissions Trading Scheme incentives, with the aim of introducing related legislation in 2026.
Global coal demand hit record high this year but is set to decline by 2030
18 Dec 2025
Global coal demand reached a record high in 2025 but is expected to decline by 2030 as renewables, nuclear power and abundant natural gas squeeze its dominance in power generation.
Investors must support positive climate-tech
28 Nov 2025
OPINION: We need better leadership than the current ‘climate opportunism’ that is rife in the Beehive, and we need to back a marketplace that will make it happen, writes Rob Campbell.
RMA’s successors hinge on two untested bets
17 Dec 2025
Two ideas sit at the heart of the Government’s replacement for the Resource Management Act: regulatory relief and spatial planning.
India at COP30: A mismatch between grandstanding and climate action
11 Dec 2025
Despite India’s attempt to anoint itself as the leader of the developing world, at the COP30 summit, New Delhi’s track record remains contradictory.
Govt warned that scrapping ag emission pricing comes with risks
11 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s move to halt plans for agricultural emissions pricing without replacing it with any other action will leave New Zealand facing a bigger gap to meet its third emissions budget, Environment ministry officials have warned.
NZ hydrogen regulation to catch up with the world
18 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The government has announced a regulatory reset for New Zealand’s emerging clean tech hydrogen sector.
DOC trims costs and winds down jobs for nature
10 Nov 2025
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is entering a new phase of tighter budgets and structural change as it winds down the pandemic-era Jobs for Nature programme and reshapes its operations to absorb long-term cost pressures.
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
Fri 19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With New Zealand's $1.3 billion international climate finance commitment set to end with no clarity on what follows, the Auditor-General says oversight of that funding remains patchy and long-term outcomes are unclear.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transport pollution was the biggest contributor to an increase in New Zealand’s consumption-based emissions in 2023, with emissions from household travel up 12%, and consumption-based emissions totalling 58.3 million tonnes – up 1.6% from the previous year.
Hydrogen emissions are ‘supercharging’ the warming impact of methane
Fri 19 Dec 2025
The warming impact of hydrogen has been “overlooked” in projections of climate change, according to authors of the latest “global hydrogen budget”.
RMA to speed up fossil fuel consents
18 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | An energy lobby group has welcomed a last-minute amendment to the RMA that puts fossil fuels on the same footing as renewables, however a sustainable energy expert says the move “beggars belief.”
Westpac NZ announces partnership to form Blue Economy hub in Nelson
17 Dec 2025
Media release | Westpac NZ has announced a new three-year partnership with the Nelson Regional Development Agency and Kernohan Engineering to help accelerate the development of a sustainable marine economy – also known as the blue economy.
NZ ‘clearly’ breaching international law on climate – Vanuatu Climate Change Minister
12 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister, Ralph Regenvanu, says New Zealand restarting fossil fuel exploration and subsidies is an obvious breach of international law, exposing the country to international and domestic litigation.
Govt slammed for weakening methane target
15 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams The Government has pushed through legislation under urgency to almost halve New Zealand’s 2050 methane target – a move Opposition parties say disregards scientific advice, breaks the country’s hard-won political consensus on climate action, and shifts the burden of higher warming and higher future costs onto the next generation.
COP30 microcosm of difficult geopolitics, says Vanuatu's Climate Minister
15 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Despite ‘intransigent’ states blocking multilateralism and a disappointing official outcome, Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu says he left the COP30 climate summit feeling more positive than after previous UN climate conferences.
Hiringa eyes green methanol plant near Whanganui
29 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Green hydrogen pioneer Hiringa Energy is deep in planning to develop an “eight-to-nine figure” methanol plant near Whanganui, using a combination of biomass and hydrogen produced using renewable energy.
Insurers welcome govt decision to keep NHC levy unchanged
21 Nov 2025
Media release |The Insurance Council of New Zealand | Te Kāhui Inihua o Aotearoa (ICNZ) has welcomed the Government’s decision to leave the Natural Hazards Commission levy unchanged, amid ongoing concerns around the cost-of-living.
Why I’m not outraged at the Govt’s latest climate backsliding
7 Nov 2025
COMMENT: The Government’s latest climate rollbacks underline New Zealand’s long history of a lack of genuine desire to cut emissions, writes Geoff Bertram.
Three Greenpeace activists removed by police from Fonterra
17 Dec 2025
Media release | Three Greenpeace activists were removed by police from Fonterra’s downtown Auckland offices, following a protest on Monday at the Shareholders’ Fund meeting over the corporation’s role in the contamination of rural communities’ drinking water.
Oil and gas majors would create $78bn more value by stopping exploration
11 Dec 2025
Media release | Ten of the world’s largest oil and gas companies would create significantly more shareholder value by ending exploration and sharply curtailing upstream development, according to new analysis released today by ACCR.
Wetlands and biodiversity at risk as mining rules loosen: Greenpeace
Fri 19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Greenpeace says Government changes to national direction instruments under the RMA paves the way for mining in wetlands and biodiversity hotspots and will expose some of Aotearoa’s most fragile ecosystems to irreversible damage.
NZ could become ‘dumping ground’ for dirty vehicles: Commissioner
16 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Simon Upton, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, has warned the Government that its changes to the clean car standard could turn the country into a dumping ground for high emitting cars, making future emissions budgets harder to achieve.
NZ's latest climate target 'weak' – Climate Action Tracker
24 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand's new international climate target to 2035 is weak, and could even allow for higher emissions than the 2030 target, according to a global scientific project that tracks government climate action.
Offshore windfarms enhance function of coastal waters and diversity of aquatic life
Fri 19 Dec 2025
Media release | A study conducted by researchers from Murdoch University in Australia and Dalian Ocean University in China has found that offshore windfarms can improve marine ecosystems and diversify aquatic food chains.
‘A shift no country can ignore’: where global emissions stand, 10 years after the Paris climate agreement
16 Dec 2025
The watershed summit in 2015 was far from perfect, but its impact so far has been significant and measurable.
Govt consulting on Pacific Resilience Facility
12 Dec 2025
The Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee is calling for submissions on its international treaty examination of the Agreement to Establish the Pacific Resilience Facility.
Govt green lights rural recycling scheme
4 Dec 2025
The Government has approved new regulations to bring rural waste schemes under one unified framework.
KiwiRail pauses coal trains amid rising climate protests
9 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate activists are ramping up actions this week, with a Christchurch protest leading to KiwiRail pausing some coal train operations on Saturday, and another protest against the Fast-Track Amendment Bill planned for parliament today.
Straterra has a new name: the New Zealand Minerals Council
16 Apr 2025
Media release | Straterra has been renamed as New Zealand Minerals Council, says chief executive Josie Vidal.
Could tidal energy one day power NZ?
18 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New research suggests Aotearoa holds some of the world’s strongest tidal-stream energy potential – enough to generate up to 93% of today’s electricity use – but one expert cautions that extracting energy at such a scale could have significant impacts and remains highly uncertain.
NZ could lose nearly all glaciers this century without stronger climate action
16 Dec 2025
New Zealand could see 97% of its glaciers vanish by 2100, with new international modelling projecting a rapid acceleration in glacier extinction from the 2030s onward – even under lower-warming scenarios.
Solar households to get little-noticed tax break
23 Sep 2025
A provision in the government’s latest tax bill would exempt households from paying tax on income they earn by selling excess electricity back to the grid.
Last minute change to oil and gas legislation over cleanup costs
31 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government is expected to repeal the oil and gas ban today, with a last-minute amendment handing discretionary power to two ministers over the controversial issue of decommissioning.
The surprisingly convincing case against cars
Fri 19 Dec 2025
Life After Cars dares to imagine how different, and enriching, a car-free world could be.
Kaicycle celebrates ten years of collective climate action in Pōneke
14 Nov 2025
Media release: Kaicycle | Since 2015, Kaicycle has grown from a humble pilot project growing kai and collecting compost on bicycles into the thriving urban farm and composting hub that Wellingtonians know and love.
Heatwaves, downpours and droughts – Auckland on track for more extreme weather
1 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show Auckland will face more heatwaves, heavier downpours, worsening droughts and growing coastal threats as climate extremes intensify, according to a new report from Earth Sciences New Zealand.
NZ just had its hottest spring in at least 116 years
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | This year New Zealand had its hottest spring since records began, with widespread heat, rainfall extremes and destructive wind driven by sudden stratospheric warming.
Media round-up
12 Dec 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Another offshore wind firm exits New Zealand over a clash with seabed mining; Fonterra falls behind on its climate goals as farm emissions remain flat; and the businesses trapped by the gas 'death spiral'.
