Topics tagged with 'Agriculture'
European MPs push for binding methane target
22 Oct 2021
The European Parliament yesterday passed a resolution calling for a binding international agreement limiting methane emissions to be agreed on at next month's COP26 in Glasgow.
NZ dairy industry linked to illegal Indonesian palm oil plantations: Greenpeace
22 Oct 2021
Media Release - A new report released today by Greenpeace Indonesia, " Deceased Estate: Illegal palm oil wiping out Indonesia’s national forest", reveals that illegal palm oil plantations are destroying protected Indonesian rainforests and other habitats, and New Zealand’s industrial dairy sector is a major beneficiary.
Beef industry tries to erase its emissions with fuzzy methane math
20 Oct 2021
Scientists with the world’s top climate organization made reducing meat consumption an official policy recommendation in 2019, echoing what environmentalists had urged for years: Eating less meat, in particular beef, reduces the large volume of emissions attributed to livestock.
NZ ranks 9th in KPMG Net Zero Readiness Survey
15 Oct 2021
NEW ZEALAND'S agri-food sector is ranked first for decarbonisation in KPMG’s Net Zero Readiness Survey – a result that will be welcomed by the farming industry and raise eyebrows among environmentalists.
NZ should commit to regenerative agriculture at COP26: Greenpeace
1 Oct 2021
The National and ACT parties weren't the only ones, last week, criticising climate minister James Shaw's decision to travel to COP26 in November. Former Green Party co-leader, and current Greenpeace executive director, Russel Norman took to Twitter saying New Zealand had nothing to offer at the talks.
Government commits $28.7 million to decarbonising industry
30 Sep 2021
Media Release - The Government is continuing to back businesses in their switch from fossil fuels to cleaner power to fuel their industry, with the announcement of 23 new projects that will receive government co-investment from Round Two of the Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry (GIDI) Fund. The recipients will receive $28.7 million and will match this with $54.5m of their own funding.
Greenhouse gas emissions up by 2.1% in 2019
29 Sep 2021
Greenhouse gas emissions increased by 2.1% in 2019 according to figures released by Stats NZ today.
What would a net zero emissions policy mean for Australian agriculture?
29 Sep 2021
As the warring parties in the Coalition debate the idea of a net zero carbon emissions policy, a number of questions remain unanswered. What would such a policy mean for Australian agriculture?
Food waste feeds climate change
29 Sep 2021
Media Release - NZ Food Waste Champions 12.3 are calling on the Government to reduce food waste as a climate change solution. On 29 September, it is International Food Waste Awareness Day.
UN Food Summit commits to tackling world hunger and climate change
27 Sep 2021
Media Release - More than 150 countries made commitments to transform their food systems, while championing greater participation and equity, especially amongst farmers, women, youth and indigenous groups.
Civil society groups declare UN Food Summit 'anti-people'
27 Sep 2021
Media Release - The Global People’s Summit (GPS) on Food Systems slammed the recently concluded UN Food Systems Summit (UN FSS) for paving the way for greater control of big corporations over global food systems and misleading the people through corporate-led false solutions to hunger and climate change.
Climate Commission ignored climate benefits of cutting synthetic nitrogen: Greenpeace
23 Sep 2021
Media Release - A hidden report uncovered by Greenpeace shows that the Climate Change Commission ignored its own internal advice that could cut agricultural climate emissions by a third or more.
NZ climate change plan a missed opportunity to save thousands of lives and billions of dollars
21 Sep 2021
The Climate Change Commission’s final advice to government fails to take account of the potential health benefits of climate change mitigation measures that have the potential to save thousands of lives and billions of dollars in health costs, according to a paper published in the New Zealand Medical Journal.
Govt gives cautious welcome to US-European methane pledge
20 Sep 2021
Climate Change minister James Shaw says it’s great to see the EU and US committing to reducing methane emissions by 30% over the next nine years but isn’t committing the government to signing New Zealand up just yet.
UN calls for 'repurposing' farm subsidies harming environment
15 Sep 2021
Farming subsidies worth around $500 billion doled out by governments every year must be repurposed, three UN agencies warned on Tuesday, citing the environmental and health damage they cause.
Media goes potty over toilet trained cows
14 Sep 2021
There was never any doubt that a scientific paper on the viability of toilet training cows to fight climate change, released today, would be a hit with news editors. And they didn’t disappoint with, ‘No Bull,’ ‘Moos in the Loo’ and ‘Potty trained cows’ making headlines in media reports around the globe.
The carbon footprint of a full English breakfast
14 Sep 2021
Over four-fifths of the English population say they enjoy a full English breakfast. But when food production accounts for a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions, and 11% of UK emissions come from agriculture, it’s time to think critically about how we can reduce the impact of our breakfasts – without compromising on quality or taste.
Organic Week @ Home
13 Sep 2021
Media Release - COVID-19 may have stopped our planned in-person events, but there are loads of fun ways you can still celebrate Organic Week at home.
Top 5 meat and dairy companies match Exxon in greenhouse gas emissions
10 Sep 2021
The world's five biggest meat and dairy companies emit the same volume of greenhouse gases as fossil fuel giant ExxonMobil.
Is the price of carbon beginning to bite?
9 Sep 2021
For years critics of the ETS said the price of NZUs were too low to make a difference. With NZUs smashing through the $65 mark, this week, that could be changing.
Will chocolate survive climate change? Actually, maybe
1 Sep 2021
The forecast has been bad for domesticated cacao. But some environments in Peru might hold the key to the future of the world’s sweet tooth.
Forced farm buy outs mooted in Netherlands
31 Aug 2021
One solution to reduce the Netherlands’ nitrogen compound emissions would be for the state to buy out farmers, according to experts.
Has methane-free vegan icecream arrived?
30 Aug 2021
Nothing hits quite so good as a cone full of ice cream on a sweltering summer day. Alas, that single serving of classic vanilla may cool you off, but it has the exact opposite effect on the Earth. The dairy industry accounts for a massive 3.5 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, and the US's 8.8 million cows are a huge source of the planet-warming gas methane.
Sweet taste of carbon neutrality
27 Aug 2021
Listed Manuka honey producer Comvita has committed itself to being carbon neutral by 2025 and carbon positive by 2030.
Climate change will lead to changes in crop diseases
24 Aug 2021
A new study that looked at climate change models has predicted that with rising temperatures, the burden of crop diseases will increase in some parts of the world and fall in others.
Time for a cow tax?: Mother Jones
23 Aug 2021
During a debate about the Democrats’ new infrastructure bill in the Senate chamber on Tuesday night, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) took the floor, positioned next to a sign stating “No Cow Tax.”
NZ could be at forefront of blue carbon market: report
16 Aug 2021
Government support is needed if New Zealand is to position itself at the forefront of an emerging market in seaweed-based environmental services including ‘blue carbon’, a report released today says.
Indonesia urged to ban new oil palm plantations forever
12 Aug 2021
Indonesia should make permanent its temporary ban on new permits for oil palm plantations to advance progress on tackling deforestation and meet its climate goals, environmentalists say.
Climate change policy farmers' number one concern
10 Aug 2021
Media Release - Asked to identify their three greatest concerns in a recent survey, farmers listed climate change policy and the ETS (chosen by 18.5% of respondents), followed by regulation and compliance costs (17.1%), and freshwater policy (11.0%).
Could winter tomatoes and capsicums be facing carbon extinction?
9 Aug 2021
The production director of one of New Zealand’s largest capsicum producers says the hike in the cost of carbon is a contributing factor in the decision by an increasing number of growers to quit the industry.
Price of carbon driving forestry conversions
5 Aug 2021
Research commissioned by Beef + Lamb New Zealand has found that about 26,550 hectares of farmland has been sold to “carbon-only” entities since 2017.
The ‘queen of vegan cheese’ wants to change the dairy industry
5 Aug 2021
Miyoko Schinner has been on a years-long quest to make tasty vegan cheese. Now she wants to help dairy farmers switch to plant-based farming.
Land of milk and fecal matter
4 Aug 2021
New Zealand's 6.5 million strong dairy herd’s fecal output is equivalent to that of 1.4 billion people – that’s one of the more startling facts in the six-part documentary Land of Milk and Money currently streaming on TVNZ on Demand
Investors sought for carbon cutting cooling technology
4 Aug 2021
Introducing Eco2Dairy; Cold Energy Technology’s latest piece of innovative cooling technology, capable of reducing New Zealand’s dairy farming carbon footprint by 263,250 tonnes of CO2e per year.
Avoiding the potential pitfalls of lab-grown meat
30 Jul 2021
If cellular agriculture is going to improve on the industrial system it is displacing, it needs to grow without passing the cost on to workers, consumers and the environment, write Jan Dutkiewicz and Gabriel N Rosenberg.
Climate change threatens pomegranates in their land of origin
28 Jul 2021
Climate change is threatening to end Afghanistan's 'historical cradle' of world pomegranate production.
Coal imports hit historical high; methane targets require 'scientific Hail Mary': RNZ
26 Jul 2021
Climate change is making a splash on RNZ this morning. The public broadcaster has published an in-depth report on methane, a report on coal imports hitting and all time high, and a story on a new on-line emissions tracking tool.
The huge sequestration potential of regenerative farming
23 Jul 2021
By some estimates, if the 1.2 billion acres of American agricultural land (more than half of the U.S. land base) transitioned towards regenerative farming practices, it could sequester up to 20 percent of the carbon required to reach the Biden administration's goal of fully offsetting America's carbon emissions by 2050.
Bioenergy Assoc responds to environmental concerns
22 Jul 2021
Last week we published an article outlining the concerns of a coalition of zero waste and regenerative farming groups about the potential for biogas development to lock in unsustainable farming practices. Today the Bioenergy Association's executive officer Brian Cox responds.
10 YEARS AGO...
19 Jul 2021
Ten years ago, the manager of NZ Carbon Farming was saying confidence in the future of the Emissions Trading Scheme had led to an upsurge in carbon investment.
Biogas proposals risk locking in unsustainable agriculture: groups claim
15 Jul 2021
Proposals in a recent biogas report, part-funded by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), risks locking in agricultural practices that harm the country’s soils and waters and contribute to climate change, a coalition of zero waste and regenerative horticulture groups say.
Silver Fern Farms launches "net carbon zero" beef
9 Jul 2021
Media Release - Net Carbon Zero Certified* Beef, Regenerative Agriculture and the elimination of coal by 2030; today, Silver Fern Farms has committed to several bold initiatives to drive its vision of being the world’s most successful and sustainable grass-fed red meat company.
Strong case for biogas generation: Professor Ralph Sims
8 Jul 2021
EMERITUS Professor Ralph Sims, who co-wrote an NZ Standard on biogas in the 1980s, responds to the Biogas and Biomethane Report released yesterday.
Biogas could meet 20% of NZ’s needs by 2050
7 Jul 2021
A joint study by engineering consultancy Beca, Firstgas and Fonterra claims renewable gas could replace close to 20% of New Zealand’s total gas usage by 2050.
Shuttering NZUs 'wouldn't hurt': Shaw
5 Jul 2021
Minister for Climate Change James Shaw says buying NZUs with the intention of lowering New Zealand's total emissions 'wouldn't hurt,' in part two of his interview with Carbon News.
Feebate could see ETS cap reduce: Shaw
1 Jul 2021
Minister for Climate Change James Shaw says policies like the feebate scheme will allow the government to reduce the ETS cap quicker than would otherwise be the case.
Oxfam launches farm emissions petition
1 Jul 2021
Media Release - Oxfam Aotearoa launches a new campaign to rally Kiwis across the country to demand greater climate action.
UN Food System Summits' action areas announced
30 Jun 2021
Media Release - The UN Food Systems Summit has revealed the 15 action areas with more than 50 solution clusters that will serve as a key element to underpin discussions at the Pre-Summit gathering in Rome, Italy from July 26-28.
10 YEARS AGO...
29 Jun 2021
Ten years ago, the then Labour leader of the opposition, Phil Goff, told Federated Farmers that under a Labour government agricultural emission would be included in the ETS.
Peatlands critical for climate
29 Jun 2021
GLOBAL peatlands store more carbon than is naturally present in the atmosphere but are under pressure from drainage-based agriculture.
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'.
