Topics tagged with 'Agriculture'
GASES ARE GO: Our emissions on the rise again
11 Aug 2017
New Zealand’s reported greenhouse gas emissions are on the rise again, new figures show.
How to turn $1 into $3: Plant the waterways
11 Aug 2017
Every dollar spent on planting New Zealand’s waterways would pay returns of at least $3.
Nutrition will suffer as warming affects diet
11 Aug 2017
By 2050, heat waves, floods and other climate change effects won’t be the only worry. There’s also the evidence that warming affects diet.
EDS CONFERENCE: Water, water everywhere
10 Aug 2017
It was freshwater at 10 paces on the first day of the Environmental Defence Society’s Tipping Points conference yesterday, with both National and Labour releasing their policies.
Emissions group might branch into ETS
9 Aug 2017
The Productivity Commission could recommend changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Sustainable Farming Fund grants open
9 Aug 2017
Applications for the latest round of Sustainable Farming Fund grants are open.
Foresters greet environmental standards move
8 Aug 2017
The introduction of a national environmental standard for plantation forestry is vitally needed, forest owners say.
PICKY PROBLEM: What makes a carbon forest?
3 Aug 2017
The regeneration of vast areas of carbon-storing native forests is being hampered by “pickiness” over the definition of carbon forests.
ETS changes of little help, say foresters
1 Aug 2017
The Government’s latest changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme will do nothing to get more trees in the ground, the forestry sector says.
To be sure, Ireland's long on words and short on action
28 Jul 2017
There’s no shortage of good intentions in Ireland’s climate plan, but they are too vague to cut emissions significantly.
We need expert climate advice, says commissioner
27 Jul 2017
New Zealand should adopt a UK-style Climate Change Commission and all political parties should support it, says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
ETS CHANGES: Good news and bad news
27 Jul 2017
The latest changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme have met with mixed reactions.
Wood-for-coal switch would save us millions
14 Jul 2017
Using wood instead of coal to provide industrial heat would cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions by 460,000 tonnes and save more than $11 million a year in carbon credits, a new report says.
Net-zero worthy target, says cross-party group
13 Jul 2017
The pan-political Globe climate group says cutting New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050 is worth serious discussion.
And now, the weather: Prepare for 10,000 years of drought
13 Jul 2017
Climate history locked in stalagmite evidence warns of 10,000 years of drought – 100 centuries – to come in the Middle East.
Changing climate puts load on labourers
12 Jul 2017
Climate change could affect labour productivity – at least in the wine industry, new research suggests.
Wildlife faces climate survival and breeding problems
11 Jul 2017
Climate change could cast a dark shadow over the bees of Europe, with global warming posing sex problems for the sea turtles of the Atlantic.
Climate change will worsen US poverty
5 Jul 2017
Yet another study has exposed the cruel cost of climate change as it increases US poverty. It could be worse than the Great Recession.
THE COUNT: Who said what ... or not
3 Jul 2017
Climate change wasn’t on the agenda for public statements by any of our political leaders last week.
Half-a-degree makes all the difference, say scientists
3 Jul 2017
HALF-A-DEGREE of warming made a big difference to the type of weather Earth experienced in the past, scientists say.
LIFT-OFF: Hydrogen fuel reaches trial stage
3 Jul 2017
Using surplus electricity from renewables to make hydrogen fuel is starting a new era for all forms of heavy transport.
State should show the way, says bioenergy group
29 Jun 2017
The Government needs to put its new energy efficiency strategy into place – and State-owned operations are the place to start, says the Bioenergy Assocation.
Federated Famers warns of consequences
26 Jun 2017
Federated Farmers is warning politicians of “consequences” if agricultural emissions are brought into the Emissions Trading Scheme before other countries put a carbon price on farming.
Soil scientists back putting carbon in the ground
23 Jun 2017
Carbon sequestration in soil has the potential to enhance food security and mitigate climate change, says an international team of soil experts.
COUNTRY CALL: Farmers want ETS and water price
21 Jun 2017
Parts of the agricultural sector are calling for farming to be included in the Emissions Trading Scheme and for a price on water.
Welcome to the sustainability revolution
20 Jun 2017
The winners of an annual worldwide competition to spread clean energy have been urged to see it as a sustainability revolution.
OPINION: Adaption versus mitigation
20 Jun 2017
Adaptation is about survival. Mitigation is about finding and implementing solutions to prevent the need to go into survival mode, says DR ANN SMITH chief executive of Enviro-Mark Solutions
TOWER POWER: Another solar system is on the march
16 Jun 2017
Solar generation systems can now produce electricity and store it for hours, using solar tower power without any need for batteries.
We must do something, dairy industry agrees
15 Jun 2017
The dairy industry is acknowledging it needs to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Hopes rise for longer-term climate forecasts
13 Jun 2017
A study of the interaction between sunlight, air, water and foliage should lead to better longer-term climate forecasts, scientists say.
COMPUTER GAMES: Science invests $18m in super stuff
9 Jun 2017
NIWA is investing $18 million in new supercomputers that will significantly enhance scientists’ abilities to solve crucial issues facing the country.
Brazil’s environment risks political capsize
8 Jun 2017
A serious political crisis over demands for its president to step down is adding to the threats to Brazil’s environment.
GMO crops could expect a brighter future
31 May 2017
Genetically modified crops remain controversial, but scientists still have faith that they will help both to replace fossil fuels and to feed the world.
There's no way we can plant our way out of trouble
30 May 2017
Nothing, not even the creation of huge plantations of trees to absorb carbon dioxide, is a viable alternative to drastic cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
Food industry is cooking the planet
29 May 2017
One of the biggest contributors to climate change is the agricultural food industry, but the political will to tackle the issue is lacking.
Drought brings drop in greenhouse gas emissions
26 May 2017
New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions fell slightly in 2015 - but only because a drought forced dairy farmers to cut production.
BUDGET: No boost for tree-planting
26 May 2017
The Government’s Budget will not get landowners planting trees on the scale needed to meet New Zealand’s Paris Agreement commitments, forest owners say.
BUDGET BONUS: New money for emissions cuts
25 May 2017
The Government is putting $4 million into figuring out how New Zealand can cut its greenhouse gas emissions.
Cuts now will take heat out of climate shocks
23 May 2017
Substantial cuts to greenhouse gas emissions now will prevent New Zealanders alive today being exposed to temperatures they have never experienced before, says the New Zealand lead author of research published today.
Free credits cost taxpayers almost $1.7 billion
16 May 2017
Free carbon credits for trade-exposed heavy emitters have cost taxpayers nearly $1.7 billion.
Foresters want carbon price range and ETS promise
11 May 2017
A price range for carbon and a promise that changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme will be backdated would get landowners planting carbon-sequestering trees now, says the Forest Owners’ Association.
MPs out of the loop on farm emissions advice
10 May 2017
Parliament has again been told that the Government is getting advice on bringing agricultural emissions into the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Targeted forests could slash farm emissions
9 May 2017
Planting forests to clean up waterways could cut New Zealand’s net greenhouse gas emissions from land use by 80 per cent.
MICROBE MAGIC: How we can be mates with methane
8 May 2017
Ingenuity in laboratories worldwide is harnessing microbes, water and hot air to produce different types of renewable energy from greenhouse gas.
Officials look at pricing of agricultural emissions
4 May 2017
Officials are investigating whether a price should be put on agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, despite the issue being specifically excluded from the current review of the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Government acts on decarbonising the economy
3 May 2017
The Productivity Commission is to investigate the cost of decarbonising New Zealand’s economy.
Next decade will be critical for climate targets
3 May 2017
European researchers stress urgency in tackling global warming to meet climate targets, and say the goal of a less than 2deg rise may be unrealistic.
Climate change will alter flow of the Nile
3 May 2017
The 400 million people who depend on the predictability of the River Nile face an uncertain future as global warming delivers more extreme weather.
Nitrite pollution puts warming waters at risk
2 May 2017
Nitrite pollution caused by rising temperatures is changing the chemistry of coastal waters, threatening more algal blooms and zones devoid of fish.
Government agrees dairying can't keep growing
28 Apr 2017
The Government is publicly acknowledging that the dairy industry is running into environmental limits.
NZ art focussing on climate on display at Beijing Biennale
Thu 12 Feb 2026
An artist responding to the consequences of climate disruption is the first New Zealander in six years to feature at the prestigious Beijing Art Biennale.
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.
Why Trump might be onboard with a UN carbon-offset programme for airlines
Thu 12 Feb 2026
The president’s team has backed the rollout of an initiative that calls for the use of sustainable aviation fuel and carbon credits, even as Trump has pulled back from other international emissions-reduction efforts.
World fight against invasive species comes to Auckland
Tue 10 Feb 2026
Media release: University of Auckland | From countering invasive pink salmon in Norway to controlling feral cats in the Cayman Islands, knowledge on eradicating invasive species will be shared by international experts in New Zealand.
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.
Carbon market rallies but auction floor still out of reach
Fri 13 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market has rallied, with secondary market prices up more than 25% in the past two weeks, although current prices in the mid-$40s are still far below this year’s $71 auction floor, with the first auction of 2026 less than three weeks away.
Point of no return: a hellish ‘hothouse Earth’ getting closer, scientists say
Fri 13 Feb 2026
The world is closer than thought to a “point of no return” after which runaway global heating cannot be stopped, scientists have said.
Minister’s letters: Mildly positive or just virtue signalling?
5 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market was buoyed slightly yesterday, after letters between the Government and the Climate Change Commission were proactively released.
NZ still lacking coherent energy strategy
Fri 13 Feb 2026
By Rod Carr | COMMENT: The government’s levy-funded foreign gas proposal for an LNG terminal shows New Zealand’s politicians being outmanoeuvred yet again by the multi-trillion dollar energy industry.
LNG: a rational choice compared to unpalatable alternatives
Tue 10 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: By deciding to underwrite the private construction of a liquefied natural gas import facility in Taranaki, the Government has made a rational choice in favour of energy security and affordability.
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.
Opposition attacks Govt over fossil fuel phaseout backdown
2 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Revelations that Resources Minister Shane Jones ruled out New Zealand signing up to a 'road map' away from fossil fuels at last year’s global climate summit show the National Party’s minor coalition partners’ undue influence over the Government, according to Labour leader Chris Hipkins.
EU weighing options to support industry in carbon market overhaul
Mon 9 Feb 2026
The European Commission is looking at various ways to support industries in an upcoming overhaul of the EU carbon market to prevent them moving to areas with lower pollution standards, the head of the Commission’s climate department said late on Wednesday.
Lawyers seek answers on climate impacts of LNG import facility
Fri 13 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action has written to Climate Change and Energy Minister Simon Watts warning that the Government's plan for an LNG import terminal could be in conflict with New Zealand’s climate obligations and emissions reduction targets.
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.
Media round-up
Fri 13 Feb 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Senior UK ministers have asked their New Zealand counterparts to explain new climate policies, National’s LNG blunders are a warning ahead of election campaign, and what are the lessons New Zealand should take from another summer of weather disasters?
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.
'Damning' report challenges forestry’s role in Tairāwhiti as sector rejects conclusions
4 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New independent analysis commissioned by Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti challenges long-standing claims that industrial forestry underpins the Tairāwhiti economy.
LNG plan risks fossil fuel dependency: Environment Commissioner
Wed 11 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Importing liquefied natural gas risks creating a “new path dependency on fossil fuel” unless LNG is ring-fenced for use only in the electricity system and only during extended periods of hydro-electricity water shortages, says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton.
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.”
European Central Bank's green supervision grows teeth, but will banks avoid being bitten?
Fri 13 Feb 2026
After several years of issuing guidance and repeatedly calling on banks to take climate and environmental risk management seriously, the European Central Bank is moving from guidance and expectations to enforcement.
Green Member’s Bill aims to give whales legal ‘personhood’
Mon 9 Feb 2026
The Green Party wants to give whales legal rights, including the right to sue.
Kiwi startup takes on global plastic pollution
Thu 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.
Govt missing opportunity to slash electricity prices, says expert
Wed 11 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s fixation on eliminating the "dry-year risk margin" as a lever to reduce costs misses a much bigger opportunity to lower electricity prices, according to Christina Hood, head of Compass Climate.
Hydrogen emissions are ‘supercharging’ the warming impact of methane
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”.
Wales council to buy and demolish homes prone to flooding
4 Feb 2026
A row of homes in a village in south Wales is to be bought by a local authority and demolished as they can no longer be protected from flooding caused by the climate crisis.
Climate law change spanner in the works for Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry
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.
Greenpeace set to take UK Government to court over deep-sea mining licences
5 Feb 2026
Environmental NGO Greenpeace has kick-started a legal challenge against the UK Government’s decision to approve the transfer of two seabed exploration licences to a newly-formed mining company with US links.
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.
Ministers celebrate fast-track milestone amid criticism
Tue 10 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government is marking the first anniversary of its fast-track approvals regime, saying it is helping “build New Zealand’s future”, despite continued criticism from environmental groups, opposition parties, and industry voices following several controversial project decisions.
Govt looks to Commission for ways to shore up carbon price
4 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government has asked the Climate Change Commission to look at lower auction volumes and an increase in the auction floor price as options to revive the Emissions Trading Scheme, as carbon prices remain weak.
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.
Climate change linked to decline in southern right whale
Thu 12 Feb 2026
Scientists in Australia are warning southern right whales are showing signs of climate-related stress, just days after a Green Party Member’s Bill was introduced in New Zealand proposing legal personhood for whales.
Climate ambassador moves on
Fri 13 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government is on the hunt for a new top climate diplomat, with previous climate ambassador Stu Horne moving on to a posting in Honolulu as New Zealand’s Consul General to Hawai’i.
Commentators slam Govt inaction in aftermath of climate change-fuelled storms
30 Jan 2026
By Liz Kivi | Climate action - or inaction - is shaping up to be an election issue, with multiple commentators drawing a line between the Coalition Government’s backsliding on climate targets and the deadly extreme weather events of the past week.
Major health risks linked to plastics emissions set to soar by 2040
28 Jan 2026
The adverse health consequences stemming from the global plastics system are projected to more than double by 2040, driven by greenhouse gases, air pollutants and toxic chemicals released throughout its lifecycle.
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.
Critical minerals talks with US questioned in Waitangi Tribunal climate inquiry
Mon 9 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand and the United States' negotiations over critical minerals have raised questions for the Waitangi Tribunal’s long-running inquiry into climate change.
January floods driven by tropical systems and La Niña conditions
Thu 12 Feb 2026
Record-breaking rainfall across parts of Aotearoa in January was fuelled by tropical moisture and persistent low-pressure systems, with some regions recording more than five times their normal monthly rainfall, Earth Sciences New Zealand says.
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.
NZ-UAE partnership boosts advanced tech
Mon 9 Feb 2026
Media release | A new Antarctic science partnership with a leading UAE university will grow New Zealand’s advanced engineering and modelling capability, supporting high-value jobs, encouraging economic growth, and enabling smarter climate risk management, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti says.
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
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.
China maximises battery recycling to shore up critical mineral supplies
Wed 11 Feb 2026
Beijing is bracing for a tsunami of spent EV batteries by taking steps to boost recycling – a strategy that could also cut its reliance on imports of clean energy minerals.
EU to ban destruction of unsold clothes and shoes
Thu 12 Feb 2026
The European Commission has adopted new measures that will require medium and large companies to stop discarding unsold clothing and footwear, in the bloc’s latest move to target textile waste.
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.
Argentina fires ravage pristine Patagonia forests, fueling criticism of Milei’s austerity
4 Feb 2026
The wildfires, among the worst to hit the drought-stricken Patagonia region in decades, have devastated more than 45,000 hectares (174 square miles) of Argentina’s forests in the last month and a half, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists.
Hydrogen plant to start construction
Tue 10 Feb 2026
Construction is set to start this month on Hiringa Energy’s long delayed green hydrogen project in South Taranaki, after years of consenting fights that culminated in the Court of Appeal rejecting Greenpeace’s challenge in late 2023.
